Beginner's Bow- thoughts from CYM Founder Victoria Raja McGinnis

Victoria Raja McGinnis

Below is an excerpt from Ms. Victoria's introduction of our beginners who took their first on-stage bow at CYM's Ensemble recital on November 2nd.

Some of you have asked about the Beginner’s Bow, wondering why it is included in the program. Let’s take a moment to examine a few of the reasons.

First...

The Beginner’s Bow is part of your musical training.

By getting up on stage today to present yourself (with your parent and teacher - your team), we want you to feel the excitement of receiving our full attention, and the nervousness too, and practice becoming focused while having these feelings. When you do this repeatedly, you will develop the confidence to share your musical skills in the future.

Second...

The entire CYM community wants to affirm you.

As you set your foot upon the stage, hear us say, “Yes, your team is willing do everything we can to help you bring out your best! We believe you can do this well!” You see, we want to be sure that you don’t miss how wonderful it is that you have chosen to learn to play an instrument as a means to challenge yourself and have fun!

Third...

During the Beginner’s Bow, we envision you meeting your full potential.

Though you may not have even received your own instrument yet, in our minds we hear you performing at a very high level and playing music that will help you bring people together and move them. We see you meeting your own goals, feeling great, and importantly, using music to serve others and make the world a better place.

Lastly...

We renew our commitment to support everyone in CYM’s family, remembering that each of us had a “starting line”, so to speak, as a musician.

Each student’s musical path has brought meaningful interpersonal connections to their lives and the beautiful performances that we hear in our concert today.