March 21. 2020 - The Most Important Piece

Before I go on with a shopping list of amazing mentors, it's important to talk about the most important component of Inception, especially in this cohort.

Don't tell them this, but it's the young composers... the kids who brightened all of ours lives during the miserable shut down. I frequently refer to them as "the homeschoolers", but in 2020, every student was homeschooled.

Even more importantly than my background in music, I think Inception took off because I could relate to kids. I'm frequently told that my emotional age is 13, and I don't think people who say that are joking.

It was not just my nephews, but I would race my colleagues' kids around the office when they were brought them in. When one of Shea's friends was throwing a tantrum with his mom because he did not want to eat his lunch, we had a sandwich eating contest. (I lost.)

It became clear in this cohort that Inception's goal was not just to train composers, but to foster humans.

Kids have an amazing capacity to learn and create. Their brains aren't cluttered with stuff. (Well, they had homeschooled college level stuff, but not emotional adult baggage.) And they have this incredible appetite to learn.

Matteo may have been at the beginning of his cello journey, but came on each session with the most positive personality and the willingness to explore: drumming on the cello or playing the strings with a spoon. Whenever we asked the students to grab something other than their instrument, he would go running off and be the first one back. I'm sure he dented a pot or two. Sorry, parents.

Dante, my studious math and English marathoner loved to write in all quarter notes. I finally restricted him to only whole, halves, eighths and sixteenths, and it became a huge laugh in class. (I got him a mug that said "no quarter notes" for Christmas.)

Cadence, Dante's sister, was the youngest in the cohort. She was smart as a whip, hilarious in her own right, and was always a delight. At one point, she started writing a piece about a circus flea. I accidentally sent an email spelling it F-K-E-A. When she called me out on it, I told her "fkea" is how you spell "flea" in Swedish. I still can't believe she looked it up.

Nikko was a low brass player who was having an issue with his lips when he first joined Inception, so he couldn't play the trombone. I had really low expectations as this went on for a couple of weeks, and then he played. I love it when kids blow me away.

Sean was the most diligent composer. He NEVER missed a private lesson or a Saturday. I mean he was the definition of perfect attendance! He added the recorder as an instrument for one of his pieces, so for Christmas,I gave him one. Years later, I am still apologizing to Ruby, his mom. He included the recorder on every piece from there on out and loved to blast that high pitch hyena-sounding whistle louder than his trumpet. (I should apologize to the mentoring team too.)

When we were just starting, and I was teaching the kids the music software, Sibelius, Sean randomly started circling the page with his mouse clicking every which way. It turned into a great piece. Luck or genius? I'll take it either way.

Kids. Love 'em.