Hannah and the Piano Recital

The past few piano lessons I've had my piano teacher mentioned that she'd like me to be in our community wide music recital again. Hearing her mention that brought back a few memories from the last time I did one (and not all of them are good). It all happened like this....

It was March 2006 and before the actual recital (which wasn't until April) I was going to do a piano workshop where I played my pieces in front of another piano teacher in the area. I had memorized two pieces; one jazzy slow piece (not so hard to remember) and a classical, fast moving piece (very hard to remember). I had practiced endlessly on it though and I was sure I had it. That is until I arrived at the workshop. The piano teacher was very brisk and didn't even crack a smile as she called me up on the stage. I had a small hope that maybe she would let me use my book on the classical piece, but as soon as I made it up on the stage she said, "I'll have that," and grabbed my book. I felt like I was walking to my doom.

When I first started the classical piece I thought I was going to be absolutely fine. Then all of a sudden in about the 5th measure everything I ever knew about this song suddenly left me. My heart started hammering and it certainly didn't help matters that the lady was sitting just a few feet away from me scribbling away on a piece of paper with a very stern look on her face. To top it all off there was my poor piano teacher sitting in the front row probably thinking that I was about the stupidest student she had ever had. I managed to croak out after a few seconds of very akward silence, "Um I kind of forgot the next measure..." I had the strange urge to disappear into the floor. The lady, the stern, terrifying expression never leaving her face, gave me the next few notes. I gulped rather loudly, and finally managed to remember thanks to her prompting. Throughout this whole ordeal I was thoroughly grateful that there was no audience allowed at a workshop.

When I finally finished that ordeal (I will never never be able to play that song again for all my days) I made up for my forgetfullness by playing the jazzy, slow song completely from memory. As soon as she finished scribbling down notes and handed me my book back I was off the stage and prepared to blow past anyone who got in the way of me and the exit.

All to quickly the dreaded piano recital finally arrived. I was absolutlely positive I was about to hypervenilate (I hate performing) and it didn't help matters that I had to wait backstage with a bunch of kids I didn't know who I was sure were fixedly staring at me the whole time. However I almost cried with joy when I found out that for the recital you were only allowed to play one piece. Guess which piece I picked? I was still extremely nervous, however, and feared that my luck at the piano workshop would repeat itself here.Finally my turn came. As I walked out on the stage I could feel a whole bunch of beady little eyes boring into my head. As I sat down on the bench and the audience applauded, I wondered if they would be that quick to applaud after I was done...A few minutes later it was over. I had managed to remember every single note and I was so relieved that I almost fainted right there from pure relief. Well I made it off stage, but of course it wasn't quite the end of my ordeal.

While the other kids were performing I suddenly got one of those tickles right in the back of my throat. You know. The kind that starts this horrible choking cough that you can't cover up and that you definitely don't want to have backstage at a big piano recital. I immediately started to panic. What if they threw me out for causing a ruckus? I wouldn't put it past some of these ladies....I tried to stop it, but to no avail. The cough was probably heard around the world and back. I hurriedly got up and headed out into the hallway. It took me a full five minutes to stop coughing. Gee I sure have all the luck at these things.....

So after these fond (or rather not so fond) memories of two years ago, I am desparately hoping that this year will be much better. However, this year I found out I'll probably have to do a solo piece and play a duet with another student. Knowing my luck with these things I'm sure I'll find some awful way to mess everything up and prompt me to change my name and move to the North Pole.

Later everyone.