Simon, approaching fifty, is a distinguished violinist, but he’s at a low point in his life and career. He winds up teaching a 6th-grade orchestra class at a Parisian middle school,under the direction of the kindly Mr. Farid. He gets off to a rocky start and his strict teaching style doesn’t help him connect with the more difficult students.

One of these students is Arnold, a painfully shy but gifted boy who is passionate about the violin. Inspired by Arnold’s raw talent and the warm enthusiasm of the rest of theclass, Simon regains his zest for life and rediscovers the joys of music. But will he be able to overcome the obstacles and keep his promise to take the class to perform at theParis Philharmonic?