Meister the Maestro

 As a kid, I grew up in a musical family. Out of five children, we had two pianists, a singer, a guitarist, and a violinist. My parents also loved to sing together and my mom was a dancer. I cherish the memories of the many Sundays where we all gathered around the piano and had a sing-a-long or danced around the house together. The music always brought great joy to my soul.

Now as a mother with my own family, I had the same desire for my children: to feel the joy that music brings and to develop a great love for music. I know that it was divine intervention that brought my daughter's violin to her.

From the time she was very small, my daughter, who we affectionately call Meister (MY Ster), always wanted to be like her Uncle Cameron. Cameron, my youngest brother, is only eight years older than Meister. When he was five, he started playing the violin and now is quite a virtuoso. Meister grew up hearing him practice and when she was little, she got a toy violin that she played until it broke.

As she started school, I had an inkling that she would be a violinist. I always yearned to get her a violin, but since my husband was in school, we never could afford it. So, I waited.

Then, about a year and a half ago, just before her eleventh birthday, we acquired a free violin. A lady from church happened to be a violin teacher and had an extra violin, just the right size. We started lessons and Meister had great success. It brought such joy to my heart when one day she said, "Mom, playing the violin just makes me so happy!"

As my Meister started middle school in the fall of 2010, we gave her teacher back the small violin and rented a bigger size which she used in her school orchestra. Because she had practiced so hard all summer, the director moved her from the beginning orchestra to the intermediate orchestra where she was fourth chair. Since many of the best musicians are Asian, there were many oriental kids in her orchestra. She was one of two non-Asian kids in the whole orchestra!

When school ended for the year, the music store wanted the violin rental back and we could not afford to buy her a violin since they are usually thousands of dollars. I prayed that Meister would have a violin and that the Lord would help her find a way to continue her talent. Meister and I looked online and on Craig's List to look for an affordable instrument. One day she came across one on Amazon straight from a violin shop that was only $100. It was a discontinued model and was made with great care and quality. While our funding was limited, some relatives happened to send the exact amount of money for my birthday which we used to buy the violin. The music she has played since is a gift that we both can enjoy for the rest of our lives.