Posted by Aubrey Foard on February 02, 2001 at 22:58:12:
In Reply to: Out of touch posted by Rick Denney on February 02, 2001 at 12:02:42:
Alright, I admit that neither of my horns were purchased by myself. Yes, they were bought for me by my parents; my CC when I was 16, my F in June, 2000. It also just so happens that both were bought on extremely good financial strokes of luck: my CC with the refinancing of a mortgaged house and my F with the selling of my deceased grandparents' house.
I have to tell you, Mr. Denney, that not a day goes by when I'm not overwhelmingly grateful to them. I could never have afforded to pay for either horn (a total of $12,000 with cases and mouthpieces) myself in high school due to an extremely busy schedule which left only enough time to work at minimum wage to pay for weekly lessons ($50) and practice two to three hours per day. They have made it clear to me that they expect to be paid back whenever I have the means, but have told me countless times that they bought the horns for me because they want to see me meet with the highest success. If they had told me to pay for the horns myself, I certainly wouldn't have both of them right now, and I certainly wouldn't be in the position I am today.
In a way, the horns have already paid for themselves. I've practiced countless hours (now four or more per day), won principle positions in major ensembles, won or placed in many concerto competitions, taken part in major music festivals, and received thousands of dollars in scholarships. I can tell you for certain that none of this would have been possible if I was still playing on that junker 3 piston valve 6/4 Holton BBb that I had played for my first two years of high school.
This is not a slight against you, Mr. Denney, because I truly sympathize with your cause. Remind your high school friends that Arnold Jacobs won his Curtis audition on a sousaphone because he couldn't get in on piano (from a bigraphical video M. Dee Stewart once showed me). Also tell those kids that they should be practicing till their lips buzz involuntarily without the use of a mouthpiece every day, because their parents bought their horns for them to see them succeed and that they should be putting in the maximum effort every day just to reciprocate.