All of us are mediocre in some ways; does this mean that we have to
wait outside or use the servants' entrance? The fact that I have some
mediocrities does not mean that I shouldn't attempt to do some things that
give me pleasure and statisfaction.  The fact that a community orchestra
with "amateur" players does not reach the lofty stratosphere occupied by a
major symphony orchestra does not mean that the community should not have
aspirations.  Many individuals seem to forget that playing symphonic music,
even if far from perfect, is the kind of activity which brings people who
lack mediocrity in other respects to a fuller appreciation of the kinds of
music which all of us hold dear.  I once felt obliged to point out to a
Russian cellist that the players whom he was advising to "give it up" are
also the people who would be buying tickets to his concerts and buying
recordings of the music which they were attempting to play in a less than
perfect manner.  I believe that all of us favor striving for excellence,
but let us not forget our own imperfections.  There are occasions when
arrogance should be classed as one of the deadly sins.

Paul