What a performance!!

We are a family of performers! This past week/month (sorry for the delay), we've had a number of grand performances by the children. From Reilly's desperations for dropping out of school, to Sean's emense hunger that would soon take his life, I think we should be up for Emmy's! Okay, but seriously, I performed twice at the string masterclass. The first was pretty good, but nothing special. I had only been playing Vitali's Chaconne for just over a month and hadn't mastered much of it. I only played half the piece and none of that was from memory. The second time I played it, with accompaniment and without music, it was significantly better. For the most part, I think my biggest weakness for live performances is that the audience can tell where my 'trouble spots' are. Just by watching my facial expressions, I give it all away. So, this time, my teacher encouraged me to focus on the song, style and movement of the piece instead of section, after section, after section... it's a long piece with a lot to listen to. I tried my best, and successfully (for the most part) managed to pull the wool over the eyes of my fellow string players. I focused on how I wanted the sections to be expressed and didn't give myself time to get nervous. I struggled - that didn't change - but I managed to do something with the song. Hooray! My best performance ever! I guess the kids have helped me with that!