In junior high school, embarrassments happen all the time, even during school concerts. Missed notes, bad tempos, even broken instruments can become the highlight of the night for some unsuspecting kids.
That was the case for 13-year-old Andrew Pawelczyk, who had his cymbal break during his bands rendition of the National Anthem. He didn’t let the broken cymbal stop the performance though. Sure, he looked stunned and embarrassed for a few seconds, but like a professional, he didn’t take the spotlight away from the song. Instead, he placed down the remaining instrument and saluted the flag during the rest of the piece.
The band’s performance and his immediate action was posted on YouTube. His simple movement made the video go viral, garnering over 8 million views since the videos release. Many people left comments. Some praised him for his quick thinking and one even said that he might go far in life with that kind of fast action.
Whatever is in his future, Andrew Pawelczyk showed how a professional musical, or any professional for that matter, handles themselves in an embarrassing situation. He certainly deserved a part of the round of applause the band received for their performance. Maybe next time his instrument will stay together as well as he did.