It was so fun and satisfying to be able to perform so much music I love- with people I love, for people I love! Seriously, nothing beats that feeling.

I’m doing another performance of the recital program on Oahu in a few weeks with some fantastic local musicians, and with the addition of Schubert’s Der Hirt auf Dem Felsen (Shepherd on the Rock).

I performed Donizetti, Gounod, and Bizet from memory, and it went pretty well. By the end, I had a couple of concentration slips- at one point I had to restart a section of the Bizet. The audience was very chill and forgiving, I guess because I’d played enough by then 🙂 Plus they had some alcohol in them… 😛

Seriously though, it was very liberating to realize that nothing terrible happened when I got a bit lost, because I was able to restart and continue successfully. I really feel that my performance is better when I play from memory.

I plan to develop this skill further, and gain more experience and confidence with performing from memory. It’s a great way to give myself a challenge to know the music on a deeper level.