this years recital was magical. It my be a case of “you had to be there,” but I would have to say that it is one of the best memories I have. The weather was gorgeous, the timing was perfect, 138 people came, so it was a pretty full audience. And we played well. Jeff was wonderful, I did well and Jerry played well. And there was a party afterwards. Nothing went wrong!
Thank you everyone for coming! You made it a splendid event!
I’m now working on the 2024 repertoire and I hope everyone will be there with me when I perform. I’ll update this space when I have a date and all the ducks are in a row.
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Written before the concert:
This is always the highlight of my year. Some like Christmas, or Thanksgiving by my favorite day of the year is Recital Day. I love performing, and more than that, I LOVE communicating with audiences.
For me, performing has several aspects to it. First, sharing the music with everyone. When I get kudos after the performance, I often hear “you were wonderful” which is nice… but I want to hear how the music made you feel. Was it new to you? What did you feel? What was your favorite? and Why?
Second, I love the opportunity to be expressive in music. As I get close to the performance, I listen to lots of performances on YouTube to hear how others hear the music. My inclination is to treat the learning of music as a logistical exercise, even though the opportunity for expression is what attracts me to any given piece. So, when I get the logistics under control, I have to remind myself what the expression can be.
Third, I know (wish/feel/sense), in my heart of hearts, that there is someone in the audience who will be inspired. It isn’t going to be just another day to at least someone.
I work on these recitals for a year, rehearsing with my pianist about once a week starting in January. I work with Mimi Morris Kim as my teacher every month – more frequently as I get closer to the performance – and I often go to my lesson with my pianist so she can advise us on ensemble issues. I choose music of varying difficulty, but since I’m working on them for a year, each piece has to require some sort of breakthrough for me or it is pointless. Luckily, much of the repertoire requires a lot to interpret, so even if I’ve played it before, there are always depths to plumb each time!
So, this is what a recital mean to me. I’d love to share it all with you. Check back for updates!