Item: The Late Starters Orchestra
Rating: 4.00
Author: eclecticreading

by Ari L. Goldman

"We're all living longer. What should we do with the time? Ari Goldman has a solution. The Late Starters Orchestra is warm, soulful, sometimes rueful, sometimes passionate --just like his beloved cello. I found myself laughing out loud in places --and unexpectedly moved at the end."
--Jonathan Weiner, Pulitzer Prize winning author of The Beak of the Finch

In a cluttered room in an abandoned coat factory in lower Manhattan, a group of musicians comes together each week to make music. Some are old, some are young, all have come late to music or come back to it after a long absence. This is the Late Starters Orchestra--the bona fide amateur string orchestra where Ari Goldman pursues his lifelong dream of playing the cello.

Goldman hadn't seriously picked up his cello in twenty-five years, but the Late Starters (its motto, If you think you can play, you can) seemed just the right orchestra for this music lover whose busy life had always gotten in the way of its pursuit.

In The Late Starters Orchestra, Goldman takes us along to LSO rehearsals and lets us sit in on his son's Suzuki lessons, where we find out that children do indeed learn differently from adults. He explores history's greatest cellists and also attempts to understand what motivates his fellow late starters, amateurs all, whose quest is for joy, not greatness. And when Goldman commits to playing at his upcoming birthday party we wonder with him whether he'll be good enough to perform in public. To the rescue comes the ghost of Goldman's first cello teacher, the wise and eccentric Mr. J, who continues to inspire and guide him--about music and more--through this well-tuned journey.

With enchanting illustrations by Eric Hanson, The Late Starters Orchestra is about teachers and students, fathers and sons, courage and creativity, individual perseverance and the power of community. And Ari Goldman has a message for anyone who has ever had a dream deferred: it's never too late to find happiness on one's own terms.

I received a copy of this novel through the LibraryThing Early Reviewers programme in exchange for an honest review. This review in its entirety was originally posted at caffeinatedlife.net: http://www.caffeinatedlife.net/blog/2014/08/01/review-the-late-starters-orchestra/

The Late Starters Orchestra recounts Ari Goldman’s relationship with music and the cello and his involvement with the LSO. The LSO is an interesting group, I like the concept of there being a group out there for people who just want to play regardless of how well they can play their instrument and stuff. I really enjoyed reading his accounts as he recalled his early instructor, Mr. J., and his children’s relationship and upbringing with their respective instruments and musical instruction. I also learned a lot about Ari Goldman himself, his career as a reporter and journalism professor, his Jewish faith.

But what’s really wonderful is that at the heart of this book and all of his accounts and his love of music, it’s all about being able to pursue the things you love regardless of age. I’ve also heard of the notion that for instrument learning, especially something like the strings, you need to start learning at a very young age and that your ability to learn diminishes as you get older. Goldman’s book is a testament that that is not necessarily the case; perhaps you’ll never be as proficient or as advanced as those who started at a very young age, but as long as you love what you’re doing, you’ll strive and learn well enough.

The Late Starters Orchestra is a wonderful book, hitting all the notes that the above book blurb mentioned. Goldman’s writing is very accessible, drawing readers into his stories and accounts and messages. I learned a lot, not only about the author, but also about music. I highly recommend this book if you’re looking for a non-fiction title to read or something uplifting and positive.

The Late Starters Orchestra

by Ari L. Goldman

Reviewed by Lianne on Jul 20, 2014

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