In retrospect, it could have gone a lot worse, but I really wasn't all that thrilled with how I played. I forgot that I do get stage fright, and while it doesn't show on my face, my brain does shut down, and my fingers do forget everything they've ever been taught. Fortunately, the kids are all good little soldiers, and just kept singing when a sour note (or worse... SILENCE!) came from the piano, and several people I talked to afterwards said that it was great, and they had no idea that I'd made any mistakes. Whew.
I had hoped that they really were just there to listen to the kids, so I'm glad that my glitches faded into the woodwork. But to be honest, I will say that I will not be ordering a DVD of the evening's concert.
And for those of you who commented on the price, I'm really just ball-parking, based on the fact that I play with the three choruses three times (or more) a week, which is at least 10 hours of face-time per week, since September. Even at minimum wage, and factoring in private practice time (which, for a real honest-to-goodness pro, would be minimal), and the two nights, 4 hours-per-evening concerts (yes, I was there from 6 until nearly 10) you're looking at about 120 hours that could be billed.
Tonight is the final concert evening. It's a little lower stress, in that I'm only playing for one chorus, but the stakes are higher because they are singing a few things that are above my pay grade as an accompanist. Exhibit A: "For Good". A broadway show tune that modulates to SIX FLATS right in the middle,
Um, and I know there are three other songs, but right now, that one consumes my brain.
Hmm. OK, there's this kind of melancholy-starting one that has a neat African groove going on. I suck at the piano part on that, but the vocals are pretty interesting, so I just don't play all the notes. That one's hampered by the fact that the first 2 months, I just played the vocal lines for the kids, so I actually don't really *know* how the piano is supposed to go, because my fingers sometimes just play the alto line, or the tenor line.
Their opener is a song that they did for a music festival (to a CD track) back in September, but fortunately, it's got a completely intuitive piano part, so the fact that I just saw the music 2 weeks ago isn't giving me heart failure.
Ah, and they're doing a song that's got a real strong three-against-four vibe, that I have difficulty playing (that is the one I was blocking out of my brain). Listening to it, it sounds easy, and it was an easy one for the chorus to learn, so honestly, I probably rehearsed it with them only 3 or 4 times, which is kind of making me mental, because playing it by myself is pretty easy, but the minute you put the distracting vocal track with it, my concentration is shot to pieces.
Bla bla bla, wah wah wah, first world problems, etc.
But by this time tomorrow, it'll be all over but the shouting.
Now, to just find some time today to make Beaver Tails for the Concert Bake Sale. I'm just really glad that Kelly's basketball game (in another city) after school was re-scheduled. I think that would've been the straw that broke my back today.
OH! Ha ha ha ha.
So while I was at the piano, I did the secret-spy move of holding my phone up and snapping a quick shot of the audience. Or part of the audience...
Ah! Also? funny story... The intermediate choir (7th and 8th graders who didn't audition for the advanced chorus) was performing, and between songs, suddenly there's this pop-tune noise, and folks are looking around, and from my vantage point, I see a girl in the back row OF THE CHOIR grab into the belt of her skirt, and CHECK HER TEXT MESSAGES.
She is SO busted. I should've taken a photo of that, but, like, you know, my hands were kind of busy...
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