Beautiful Mind

Today Calder participated in an audition in his school, held by Beautiful Mind Charity (BMC). I thought it was a vocal audition so didn't bring his piano scores. But he went straight to the piano when he entered the audition room. And started playing "You are My Sunshine" which he has been practising for his class' Teachers' Day presentation. There was a panel of lady judges who looked Korean who had most beatific smiles like they belong to a choir of angels. They asked him to play other songs which he did imperfectly since he didn't have the scores. One of them asked me if he can read music. "No, he can't. If you point to a note and ask him what it is, he wouldn't be able to answer you. But he associates the score with finger positions and he uses memory to play the song," I explained. They asked him "how old are you" and as usual he answered "I'm fine thank you". Then they decided to test his vocal potential. Can he play and sing? No, he cannot, I answered. And when the music teacher-in-charge moved to the piano preparing to provide accompaniment, I told her it may be better to let him sing by himself. Because usually he cannot do 2 things - in this case listen and sing at the same time. We asked him to sing "You are My Sunshine" but he thought we wanted him to play the song again so I gestured for him to come over and I put an arm around him to keep him still. He had been pacing around and beaming (he responds to mood; I supposed the angels must have been radiating very positive vibes). He leaned over to smell my hair as is his habit and the judges exclaimed, "Look at his smile! So cute!" And the music teacher-in-charge verified that yes, he is a very happy boy. So Calder sang "You are My Sunshine" and when he reached the high notes, he dived an octave lower, as is his habit. Then they asked him to sing "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" to piano accompaniment.  The tricky part is the music changed pitch at every line. Calder sang at the same pitch throughout. So if you ask me if he has a chance of being accepted, I think: Ha! Only God knows. And indeed, I pray that whatever the outcome, it'll mean  joy for Calder and the family. At the end of the audition, I put out my thumb and cheered: "Good job, Calder!" And he beamed. Maybe he'll get accepted after all, because he has a beautiful mind.