The director of the Capitol City Philharmonic takes notice of Lisa’s talent and attempts to convince her to join them, which upsets her band teacher; Homer inadvertently puts strain on the family when he works extra shifts to support Lisa.
Plot[]
After the Springfield Elementary School music teacher and band director wakes up from a graduation nightmare next to his boyfriend. He remembers that he graduated top of his class, his once promising musical conductor career failed and led him to teach at Springfield Elementary School, where he is now unhappy with the way his has turned out.
While teaching at school, Largo is conducting the school orchestra where he receives an email from Victor Kleskow, the musical director of the Capital City Philharmonic informing Largo that he will be attending the concert tomorrow night. Largo, now newly inspired by Kleskow to impress him, begins training the students with the The Stars and Stripes Forever. The next night is a success, with the children playing "Troika" from Lieutenant Kijé music, but Largo is saddened when instead of poaching him, Kleskow chooses to take Lisa Simpson for his youth orchestra.
Homer and Marge struggle to find a way to pay for Lisa's new extracurricular school activity. Upon arrival in Capital City, Lisa finds it difficult to work with Kleskow, as he reveals his true personality, and how just one simple mistake can make him angry.
In order to earn extra money to pay for Lisa's orchestra membership, Homer starts a graveyard shift at work. Meanwhile, back at the orchestra's campus, Bart is confined to a closet with the siblings of other musicians. Lisa wins first chair the competition by outperforming another student; however, after seeing what her family is feeling, she realizes that she has become a selfish person, and how the toll of her new music lessons and associated travel times are taking on her family. Over time, Marge has finished every page of her sudoku book and is constantly using her hands like a steering wheel; on the other hand, Homer, due to his night shifts, is missing his time at Moe's.
Kleskow offers Lisa the next step in her music, which is even further away from home and costs more. Meanwhile, Homer is suffering from sleep deprivation and begins to have hallucinations during his shift at the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant: dancing and drinking with bartender Lloyd from The Shining. Marge tells Homer that if Lisa does get the spot, it'll be at least three more years of driving. Lisa learns this, and in order to avoid issues for her family and herself, in trying out for the upper-level orchestra, she instead fails, intentionally ruining her saxophone career.
