I can�t say that my son is a musical genius, but he has also composed his own music on piano (which impressed his teacher). He absolutely loves the work of John Williams and listens to classical music by choice. He is never bored at the symphony, which he loved since he first went at three, while the rest of us fight to stay alert by the end. He had to give up piano last year due to expense of private school as well as commute time and homework load, but he has been practicing again on his own. He also plays trumpet fairly well considering he doesn�t practice beyond the bare minimum. He has been allowed /required to coast in band this year as he has more years of experience than most other middle school students and has lost interest as a result. Since the band director will not allow middle school students into any high school band, he will take next year (8th grade) off from school band.
Our daughter plays the flute quite well for a kid who never took a private lesson. She is in her high school�s advanced performance ensemble as a freshman and her teacher thinks she practices a lot. I would say almost never is more accurate-maybe a total of one hour at home the week before a performance. The music is advanced, but it appears effortless to her although she doesn�t seem to appreciate her musical aptitude and simply thinks it�s easy. She may actually get a partial music scholarship for college which she would consider desirable for travel and tuition help, but not necessarily to nurture her �passion�.
They each participated in a single school sports team and dd is involved in a couple academic clubs. They enjoy drama, but haven�t had the opportunity to try out for even one play due to conflicts with other commitments. Multi-potentiality or at least, multi-interest, is definitely an issue at our home.
