LEARNING FROM THE YOUNG ...

ARE you inspired by the young? Do you learn things from the young?

Yesterday, I mentioned again as being inspired by the toddler-violinist, Akim Camara.

(I am writing from memory what I read some time ago). 

Photo: Akim Camara, aged 3, on the violin in 2008.

The story goes that Camara, then aged two, went with his mother to a concert.

While other children who were of the same age as he were either dozing off or getting bored after the first item, Camara stayed awake and saw a violinist perform, accompanied by an orchestra.

“Mama, I can play like that too,” the boy said.

The mother (a sharp one) bought a violin for the boy and paid for his weekly lessons.

Camara’s teacher was amazed by his skills that she contacted Andre Reu, the famous Dutch violinist to have a look at the skills that the boy possessed.

They sent a video of Camara playing and Reu was impressed. His orchestra was also impressed when they saw the boy perform.

Within two weeks, Camara was on stage with Reu and his orchestra.

The YouTube clip I mentioned yesterday shows Camara with Reu and Reu’s orchestra performing before a crowd of 18,000 in Parkstad Stadium in the Netherlands. (Check that on YouTube.)

He was just three then.

While I was teaching students, I learned a lot too from them.

No, they did not teach me ... I observed them, taught them and learned certain things from them too. (Observation is a good teacher.)

A book on writing that I had has a title that sounds like “Be Creative Like A Child”.

The renowned author who wrote it said that children tend to be more creative than adults (and possibly adolescents too).

Creative people do not lose that sense of being interested about the simple things in life.

I hope you learn that too ...

Learn to learn from young people – those younger than you!