I called New York again today. Talk about lucky timing. My contact told me that just yesterday the board had agreed that I could play in Carnegie Hall on a masterclass program.
So it really is going to happen! I had been feeling rather doubtful since my last call to New York. But after a bad masterclass experience some years ago, I had vowed never to open myself up to other’s comments in public.
I inquired politely whether I would be performing for comments, or in recital. He confirmed that I would be one of several performers on the program who were not getting comments from the master teacher. I will need to prepare eight minutes of music.
So here is the date:
February 23, 2014 at 1:30 p.m.
Time to get a move on! Choose a program! get a dress that fits! scare up some frequent flyer miles and a cheap place to stay! Start letting people know about the date!
I’m actually fine with only playing eight minutes. In my book, that’s plenty of time for a listener to decide if they like your playing or not. When I am judging competitions, I can usually tell in less than 30 seconds whether I need to listen closely (this person might be in the top two or three) or focus on writing helpful comments.
I’m excited again about piano.
