The music event, that was supposed to be memorable, happened almost a month ago. And it was memorable, indeed. It was a concert that took place as a part of the International Choral Festival in a small town, somewhere in the always sunny Spanish coast. Before the preparation time reached its final phase, the concert itself, we had many rehearsals that went in similar conditions like that one I published here in QSounds corner. If you would like to see that post, click in the following link. Some of those rehearsals brought even more fun, but others were calmer where I could rest more in the front of the black and white keys. Those ones were focused on the diction of the words that the singers had to practice, the intonation, the musical phrase, or even practising how to stay and take the stage to be everything perfect and organized. It was a great experience too, to feel how the conductor of the choir gave all his energy into it.
Other rehearsals were interesting too, as we received some new fans.
We were practising in one hall, and although the air conditioner was on, some of the big windows were open because of the ventilation. I saw a man standing in the street that was looking at us and listening to the songs we were playing. Then another one came, and another... In the end, it was a small audience listening to the rehearsal from the street, so one of the members of the choir invited them to come in and take a seat and listen to us. They were coming every next time to the rehearsals, so I think they will become active members too of this small local singing group. I have to clarify, the singers are not professional musicians, but as the conductor is so demanding they improved a lot in every aspect. The combination of discipline and love makes miracles.
Empty hall waiting for the audience
In the last rehearsal, before the concert, one of the singers offered to dance tango with one woman from the choir. Ow, that was so so nice, we all watched their dance, so it was challenging to look at the music scores, the keys, the conductor, the dancing couple and to play, all at the same time. But it was great, applause of all of us broke out in the hall after that spontaneous show. This positive vibe gave us confidence for the concert that took place the next day.
The concert day came. Normally, when I have a performance or a gig, I feel the day differently. It is not just an ordinary day then. A mixture of excitement, and a little nervousness. Although, it is good as that way the adrenaline can sharpen your focus and you can execute better your work. Not too much nervousness, of course... When we arrived at the concert hall, we had about twenty minutes available for the soundcheck. That's not enough to play the whole repertoire we had, so we only played some parts of the songs. Then dressing, leaving our belongings in the locker room, and waiting for our turn.
Sound check time
Usually, at the beginning of such events, presentation and introduction cannot be absent. This International Choral Festival was scheduled to take place last May. It was later postponed to November, but even then it could not take place. You guessed it, the same reason all the other concerts and social events stopped. The artistic director of the festival was so excited that at the end of his speech he forgot to invite the mayor to the stage to say a few words. As the town sponsored this festival, it was the turn of the mayor to officially open the event. The mistake was corrected in a few moments when the director returned to the stage and invited the appropriate person to have his speech, and the festival started.
When we started our performance, it turned out that not only the director was nervous and confused. We musicians were the same. In one song, I forgot to open all the sheets of music scores, so when I realized that, I quickly opened the next page while playing with the other hand, but that contributed to the loss of some played chords. It was not noticed, fortunately. In another composition, which has a great emotional charge, I struggled with tears in my eyes. I told myself that I had to be focused and professional, that there was no place for emotions to take control over me. But it was too beautiful to listen to the voices from the singers, which complemented my chords and melodies. Also, it just came as a reaction to this experience, to play in front of audience. The connection between the singers, the musicians, the conductor and me was perfect. There was an extraordinary atmosphere. That is actually the goal of every performance, to connect and transmit music. Small mistakes are less important.
No better photo of me playing the piano that evening...
A great piece of advice I received that same morning was to go and make the audience happy. I hope we fulfilled the mission, as we received some bravo s from the listeners. And a red rose, that I forgot to take home as we had an "after concert party". You know, the Spaniards really like to celebrate every little thing, so this concert received a pretty big celebration. Tapas, a wide variety and quantity of them, music, singing, talking, celebrating. The company, many different nationalities...a mixture of languages and cultures, but the humour and laughter is a universal thing. The next day my throat suffered a bit, but it doesn't matter.
What does matter is that I remember the concert and the feeling it gave us. So, I can justify that it was memorable for me :)
My apology as I don't owe a good video or a better photo of our performance. I only took some photos before the concert and when I was waiting my turn, behind the scenes. I do have a bad quality video, from where one photo is coming, that someone playing the piano in the previous photo is Mipiano. If you don't see me, you can imagine me there :)
Hope I could bring a little bit of the feeling I had before and during this concert. It took me some time to write it down, but I think it is good I waited until now, as this way I am looking back to the past and refreshing my memory.
Do you have a memorable music event you would like to share with us? If yes, don't be shy, bring it to the screen and share the emotions you had or still have in your memories with us! You don't have to be a musician, you can bring here your personal experience of any music event you visited.
You can see the guidelines in the invitation post, which later became an Endless Challenge !!
My office desk that day
