Before the essay started, there was a blurb in the beginning where it described Mike Tetreault as a hardworking individual who sacrificed everything he had in order to join a world-renowned orchestra. His dedication to practice everyday for long hours in a church and his passion to enter the orchestra impressed me. It also went into great detail about how the orchestra works. It makes one believe that Tetreault knew a lot about the orchestra, which shows his desire to be a part of it.

The essay was really detailed when it came to describing his practices, his achievements, and the orchestra. It was as if the author wanted to emphasize how hard he worked and how difficult it would be to succeed in getting into the Boston Symphonic Orchestra. These details discreetly made me unconsciously want to support Tetreault in his goals. However, I wonder what his friend felt when he found out Tetreault took advantage of him being denied tenure in order to achieve his own goals. I also wonder what his wife felt when he ignored her calls. Although I admire his passion for music, I feel as though he shouldn’t have sacrificed his personal life to the extent where he can’t see anything but his upcoming audition.

As the essay went on, I found it noteworthy how although Tetreault took advantage of his friend’s open position, Tetreault still didn’t pass the audition because he followed in similar footsteps. Tetreault was so focused on succeeding in the music industry, he failed to see that his focus on success eventually led to his downfall. The same thoughts that ran through his friend’s head ran through his. They started to become paranoid about playing the right notes and pleasing the judges. At the end of the essay, it was revealed that he suffered from not being able to do what he worked so hard for. This reminded me of when I read about his friend trying so hard to improve but was still denied tenure. His drive for success caused him to ignore any lessons he could’ve learned from his friend and made mistakes that cost him his chance of joining the orchestra.

Link to Maurice Ravel’s Bolero: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q4wb11w0ZHQ