Expect the unexpected because then it's not unexpected, it's expected.

My youngest daughter is now a junior in high school, so I only have another year or so to attend and savor school concerts. Therefore, it appears to be time for me to extract some overarching observations and perhaps even conclusions about them.

First of all, there is no sound as characteristic of an event as the slightly flat E played by every violin in every piece played in school concerts. It used to drive me crazy, but now I crave it because it makes the experience complete.

Last night's shindig featured vocal and instrumental groups. The performances break down as follows.

• Middle school singers can be incredibly cute when doing an upbeat, fun song (a highlight earlier this year was a quickly paced variation on do-re-mi, where the kids all stopped for a moments and called out, "Key change, wheee!") but maybe not so much on a more serious number.
• Performances of unexpected pieces has become so much the norm that it has lost its surprise value. Yes, it's initially amusing to hear "Bohemian Rhapsody" done by a group of flutists, but not all 7 minutes worth.
• Most disappointing, however, was a vocal rendition of the William Tell Overture. I love this piece of music- it's thrilling when done well, but part of what makes it great is how slowly it starts (and you know that part of the piece too, at least if you watch Bugs Bunny). As the slow part draws to an end, the fast, familiar part begins, almost out of the background, adding drama as it builds. It also has all kinds of crazy builds and climaxes. None of this was present. This same group had done a more successful version of the Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy earlier in the year. That piece is much quirkier and lends itself well to the a capella treatment.

So if you should find yourself ever having to plan one of these things, and god help you if you do, keep this in mind: If you're doing a song or a piece of music that's untraditional for groups of your type, and doing it just because everyone in the group really likes it, you are almost guaranteed disappointing results. The objectives of a performing is group is giving performance, not enjoying practice time. If you don't understand why you like a piece and try to make it work regardless, you will probably fail.