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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]DD plays the cello and wants to quit. [b]Played in middle school orchestra and is burned out[/b]. Has played for many years so easily gets first chair for most school events since her school orchestra is small.  Barely practices unless forced even when there is time.  She wants to switch to choir/musical theater but it’s very competitive in our area so she’s not likely to get solo roles but would be a solid group participant.

DD has some ASD/anxiety/ADD so her dropping her one activity causes me concern. She doesn’t really have any other activities so she is dropping one, very well developed activities for another one where she is fairly newer and May not stand out.

She is going into 9th. One option is I tell her she has to continue with cello in some way (whatever she chooses).  Another option is to just let her quit.
[/quote]

May I ask why she's burned out? DD is a MS violinist, and even in the highest orchestra, all the music can be sight read, and the requirements are trivial. Is it the case that she doesn't feel as if she has a peer group? If so, a youth orchestra (which can be *much* more rigorous) might be something she'll enjoy.

Obviously, if she doesn't enjoy playing the cello, I would 100% support allowing her to step back, with the caveat that she has to choose some activity to pursue. I don't have a theater kid, but from the experience of my friends' kids, there seems to be more time commitment there than there is in orchestra, if her stress is from feeling like she has no down time. But, they all love it, and don't think of it as work at all, so that probably helps a lot.[/quote]

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