Playing with the Pros

So, Sunday the 16th, 2007 I participated a grand concert. For the last few years, Mrs. O'T. has held a concert in Uniontown in order to raise enough money to but a nice piano for the Catholic church there. Last year she had enough money to buy the piano, so this year she wanted to hold a think you concert, free or charge, to thank the community. Mrs. O'T. contacted me through my harp teacher and asked me to play in this concert. I said yes (only to regret it days later). I have not played in a concert of any sort for quite a long time which made it rather exciting. What made it even more exciting was the fact that local university professors and heads of music department people were also performing. These included the Washington State University String Trio, the Tapestry women's choir, Jeff Savage on the piano, The Mauchley Duo on the piano, and the Idaho-Washington Concert Chorale Chamber Choir to mention a few. I was the youngest most inexperienced person there. Sunday I had to be at the church (St. Boniface) by 4:00 for a 15min run through. Well, there were people there. As soon as I started playing, the room went silent. Now this church is beautiful and everything echos amazingly, so all I was hearing was the song echoing around and my own breathing. On my last song, Canon in D, played from memory, I messed up on the last bit where I never mess up and was not able to really pull it together. Everyone applauded amazingly and Mrs. O'T. said I made here cry (there were tears in her eyes). Papa and I then hung around Uniontown till 5:30. The concert started and 6:00 and I was able to listen to the first half. For the second half I had to wait in a bed and breakfast next door to the church till it was my turn. They came a got me and I had to wait in a small stuff entrance way for one song. Then I was on. The first two songs were surprisingly relaxed feeling and I was sort of enjoying myself. Then Canon came and everything tensed. I was fine till that same part near the end. I hit something wrong, but fudged it and got back on for the last two sections and a final grand D chord. I took my bow and joined Papa in the audience. After a couple more performers I came up for a final bow. Afterward, I had people coming up and thanking me and telling me how much they liked it. I had one lady tell me I made her cry. A man came up and said that while I was playing a sudden idea poped into his head. "That's what it must be like to go to heaven; not loud blaring of trumpets but a soft, calming sound." I wasn't quite sure how to respond. Despite crazy nerves I pulled through and accomplished the following: performed with the head-haunchos, made someone consider what going to heaven is like, made a few people cry, and proved to myself that "I really can do these things!"