Sunday, March 19th

The National Trumpet Competition, Fairfax, Virginia

And we have a winner!  Bryce has won the first place prize for the High School Division of the National Trumpet Competition.  We're all very pleased and proud.  The day started VERY early again, as Bryce was the first contestant in the finals.  We left the hotel by 6am, ate a very speedy breakfast and then took a cab to George Mason.  Bryce had plenty of time to warm up and get ready for his performance. 

The room was sparsely filled at that time of day but the response was loud and positive, and not just because of all the relatives in the audience.  Bryce really relaxed and played his piece with great skill and beauty.  It was much better than his semi-final, but even with that, we knew we had 3 other trumpeters to go in his division.  Each played well, but one never knows exactly what the judges will be thinking.

Almost 5 hours later we finally got the results I mentioned before.  The prize is a scholarship worth nearly $6,000 for a summer at Interlocken Center for the Arts in Michigan.  The thought of being that far away from home, for that long is a bit daunting for Bryce right now but he's warming to the idea.  The school really is a unique opportunity for Bryce to learn from the very, very best in the world while rubbing shoulders with other young men and women that share not just the love of music but the gift of music as well.

The afternoon was spent decompressing by heading into Alexandria for dinner at the Hard Times Cafe.  The restaurant is renowned for their chili and those that had it said it was a well-deserved reputation.  (I had a yen for Fish and Chips.  Go figure.)  Then it was back to Fairfax for a late dessert and then home to the hotel.

Tomorrow we head out of the D.C. area and begin our long circular sweep of the surrounding area.  It will be nice to be "just vacationing" again, even though we will fondly remember our time at this year's competition.