I always get an unmoored feeling at the end of a term. The usual schedule is interrupted, and things come one at a time in seeming random order. I suppose I am more a creature of habit than I like to admit.

I taught a good lesson this evening to a new student who is preparing for college auditions. He has played bass clarinet all through high school, and is an outstanding player on bass. He needs to shape up his embouchure and articulation on the soprano clarinet, and learn some new literature in six week. A tall order, but I think he is capable of it. He is motivated to study music education at a good college. He changed several things right away in the lesson, and that tells me he is very smart. I look forward to helping him get through these auditions with success.

It was a coincidence that he came in with a Vandoren 5rvLyre mouthpiece. I told him my teacher Harold Wright had helped Vandoren design the mouthpiece. He gets a good sound on it.