Sarah stood and took a bow, allowing the swelling sound of rhythmic clapping from the audience to wash over her.
Goosebumps pricked her skin as shouts of ‘Encore!’ filled the concert hall of the Sydney Opera House. She’d dreamed of this moment since she’d first touched her father’s cello when she was five years old, and drawn his bow across the strings, coaxing a deep, melancholy groan out of the dark wooden beast that stood taller than she did.
‘You are a prodigy, my little minim,’ her father, Pierre, had said, and she’d blushed, even though she hadn’t known at the time what a prodigy was. He was wrong, of course, she wasn’t a prod- igy at all; the sound she’d coaxed out of the cello that first try was more of a fluke than anything else. But the thrill that had washed over her that day had set her on a melodic path that had led to this moment, twenty-five years later, playing on arguably the biggest stage in Australia as the most recent addition to the acclaimed Five Bows Quintet.
The members of the string ensemble bowed once more then retook their seats and raised their bows, poised ready to play their arrangement of ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’. Tabitha, the first violin, drew in a breath and lifted her shoulders to signal the upbeat as the other members of the ensemble followed her lead. The vibrant notes of the piece danced on the expectant air, building to a crescendo that filled the great space around them.
Waiting backstage after the concert, Sarah’s family greeted her with broad grins. Granny Rose, dressed in a black sequined dress that clearly took inspiration from the 1920s, clapped and gave her granddaughter an approving nod. Sarah’s cousin, Ryan, hugged
her, handing her a bouquet of red roses, before her daughter launched herself into Sarah’s arms.
‘Mama, you were so totally, completely, ah-ma-zing,’ Melody shouted in Sarah’s ear, squashing the bouquet between them in a tight hug. ‘Oops.’ She looked down at the mashed flowers. ‘Sorry.’
The six-year-old’s face fell…
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