Pride in Daughters and Other Local Entertainers

Our daughters' former piano teacher, Mrs. Vold, moved away last summer, and we were grateful to have found a new piano teacher: Mrs. Arneson, who also plays organ and piano at our church--and who volunteered to come to our house for weekly lessons, which makes our lives much easier (i.e., no more shuttling girls back and forth, one at a time, across town to the piano teacher's house while trying to tend to other appointments and to the making of supper).  There are differences, of course, in how each of those teachers gives lessons; but one thing in common is that both have their students participate in annual piano festivals sponsored by the National Federation of Music Clubs (the same group that oversaw the annual piano festivals in which my sisters and I performed throughout childhood).

The girls' piano festival was held today at the university, and the results are in:

Christmas Music

What a lot of music we've heard/provided the past few days!

Superior Pianists

Faithful readers will recall that, since our daughters began taking lessons from their current piano teacher (Mrs. Vold), they have competed in the same annual music festivals as those that my sisters and I did as children. The National Federation of Music Clubs sponsors junior festivals under the auspices of its state-level organizations, and in this region of our state, the site for the annual festival is the university. We were there bright and early this morning (8:15 A.M. on a Saturday qualifies as "bright and early," right?) so that Suzanna could play in the first session. Hillary played next in a different building, and Abigail played in the same room as Hillary but not until this afternoon.

Suzanna played "Scherzo" and "Elegy in E"; Abigail played "Festival of Marrakesh" and "Dance"; and Hillary played "A Merry March" and "Grasshoppers." Each played with good form at the piano, nice rolls with her hands, expressive dynamics, etc.; we were proud parents. And the results?


Each girl earned a "superior" rating from her judge! A "superior" is worth five points, and one accumulates points from year to year in order to win gold trophies. The first trophy is earned after the first 15 points, a bigger trophy is earned after another 15, and so on. It used to be that there were four trophies total, so one had to take lessons for 12 years--and earn 12 "superior" ratings--in order to accumulate all the trophies. This is the third year of competition for both Suzanna and Abigail, and this is the third "superior" for each of them, so each has earned the first trophy! This is Hillary's first year of competition and first "superior," so she's just getting underway.

I've written before about how fun it is to see our daughters participating in something that was an important part of childhood for me and my sisters, too. It brings back a lot of fond memories. And my career as a piano festival performer may not be over yet! While waiting for Suzanna to perform, I was approached by a local music teacher who invited me to perform in April at a piano festival for boys; I suppose she's thinking that an adult male piano player would serve as an inspiration or role model for them. I'd better consult my collection of piano music from my festival days and start memorizing . . .

Funeral and Family

So today was the funeral for Susan's grandpa Elmer Gustafson. Susan picked up the girls from school after dinner and brought them home to get dressed for church. My dad and stepmom came to our house after dinner, and we went to the church together. Elmer had 11 children, so you can imagine the number of grandchildren and great-grandchildren in that family. Even with just a fraction of his descendants in attendance, the pews reserved for relatives were pretty full. Even though Elmer lived 98 years, it was sad to gather for such a farewell--and saddest of all to see how his wife, Susan's grandma Laura, cried and mourned the loss.

The congregation sang two hymns: "How Great Thou Art" and "Mine Eyes Have Seen the Glory." I accompanied our three daughters, who sang "He Is Good"; and the church organist accompanied Susan and me when we sang "Thank God for the Promise of Spring" (here's a beautiful version of the latter). It was the girls' first time singing for a funeral, so we coached them not to make eye contact with anyone in the congregation. At weddings and for other types of vocal performances, we usually give the opposite advice; but seeing a crying relative at a funeral can send a singer into sobs him-/herself and derail the song entirely. Anyhoo, they did a terrific job. And our accompanist, who had never rehearsed with us and did not even receive the music until right before the funeral, just knocked it out of the park, adding appropriate ornamentation throughout, slowing down at the right (albeit unmarked) places, all with the instincts of someone who has learned through the years how to follow a singer when accompanying.

We joined the funeral procession to Taylor afterward for a graveside service in the cemetery northeast of town. That's where Elmer's parents and siblings are buried, too. Afterward, there was no big family gathering. This is totally unlike my own family--and Susan's mom's family--who would have determined beforehand some relative's house for everyone to go to after the funeral for huge amounts of food and lots of visiting and sharing of memories and viewing of photo albums, etc. Nope, not today; everyone just said goodbye and drove away. Strange.

So we invited a few people to our house for supper: Susan's brother Jerrett, their dad Roger, Roger's girlfriend JoAnn, Roger's sister Sharon, and my dad Arlo and stepmom Beverly. Susan served a lettuce salad tossed in a vinaigrette with crunchy chow mein noodles, cashew nuts, and bacon; chicken cacciatore stewed all day in a crock pot and served over tri-color fettuccine noodles; a variety of fresh fruit in a yogurt sauce; and, for dessert, homemade angel food cake drizzled in homemade whipped cream and topped with both lemon and raspberry sorbet, served with "chocolate velvet" coffee. Yeah, pretty much delicious.

It was good to be together, to visit, to pose for photos (a "must" at any get-together that involves Mobergs), and to stand on the front step and wave goodbye to everyone until their tail lights were no longer visible (again, standard procedure for when we have company). It was a sad reason to have family over for supper, but it was nice to be able to host them.

Suzanna, Hillary, and Abigail with Grandma and Grandpa Moberg

Sharon, Jerrett, Abigail, Suzanna, Susan, Hillary, JoAnn, and Roger

P.S. I had to duck out of the house for a while this evening to attend parent/teacher conferences for Abigail and Hillary (Susan stayed behind to entertain our guests and finalize supper). I was feeling pretty proud as I looked at their report cards and heard from their teachers!