DANNNNNGGGGGGGGG

...what an incredibly satisfying performance last night.
There's something very special about performances done without applause, particularly in a dedicated space like St. Ignatius Chapel.
I'll break out of pedagogical mode for a minute to add my theological comment: to the tradition in which I'm ordained, EVERY space is sacred space. It depends upon you.
I'm not sure that I agree with that 100 percent, however. But, my perspective is limited by context, so who knows?!
Right now, I believe that the meaning of life is not a thing, but a process. You are given life; you must ACHIEVE consciousness.
Okay, we are given musical scores: we must achieve COMMUNICATION. It's not a given. It must be studied and worked and (yes!) sometimes it will take its pound of flesh from us. Artistry and excellence are not reserved for a chosen few. Everyone can achieve artistry and excellence at SOMETHING.
Well, our "something" was a wonderful program done wonderfully, and now on to the next objective.
(Insert sound of bucket hitting the wall)

The next objective is our Spring Concert weekend. Two performances, 24 hours apart. A daunting job even for people who do nothing but perform for their livings. For those of us who have lives (HAH!), even more daunting - but it doesn't have to be an Everest expedition.

Speaking from many years of solo performing, small ensemble work, and work with large groups of both "majors" and "volunteers," I have found a few things proven by time and experience:
1. PREPARATION. I'm a firm believer in Murphy's Law: Nothing is as easy as it looks. Everything takes longer than you think it will. If something can go wrong, it will - and likely at the worst possible moment.
Preparation is the most potent weapon in one's arsenal against Murphy. Preparation and confidence can leave The Great And Terrible Murphy begging in the dust.
2. THOUGHT CONTROL. If you think you can, or think you can't - you're right. Your call.
3. PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT, IF PRACTICE IS AS PERFECT AS POSSIBLE. I've learned this the hard way with solo work. Practice begins once you've figured out what to do and how to do it. Everything before that time is - well - figuring things out. The process of figuring things out is crucial and necessary and adds to one's overall abilities, but mastery of the specific skill really gets going once one is able to do many consecutive CORRECT repetitions and use the incorrect repetitions as feedback and course correction.

How does this relate to work with the SC music?
1. Murphy:
a. Nothing is as easy as it looks. Amen to that...in fact, one of the most seductive aspects of the work of a professional is that the professional makes everything look and sound easy. None but other professionals have a clear idea of the BST (blood, sweat and tears) behind that effortless-seeming performance. One of my teachers used to say, "You can either play a piece or you can't. It's either easy or impossible." Yahhhh, back to the metronome... But this is true, in a certain sense. I can't play a piece unless I can play ALL of it the way it should be played. If part of it isn't "there," then I haven't played it.
b. Everything takes longer than you think. One reason why class material is planned so thoroughly and worked so far in advance - small sessions done regularly have a more lasting and beneficial effect than frantic marathons. Long-term preparation gives everyone a good chance to achieve success. Since we're all in this together, we must ALL succeed if we are to say that we're successful.
If only one person isn't with it, this is usually audible (and cringe-worthy).
What about professionals who do amazing "short-order cooking," learning and performing complex music in record time? Well, what about the years upon years, thousands of hours of study and practice underlying these feats? There's still a price to pay.
c. If anything can go wrong, it will - at the worst possible moment. Oh yah, we don't like to think about this, but it does happen. However, having good solid prep in your arsenal will free up energy to deal with the crisis without crashing everything. I 'm thinking of my coach, who gave an unforgettably transcendent solo piano recital hampered by double pneumonia and a temperature of 104 degrees. Or of the recital I played 2 weeks after my mother died. Or of a horrifying experience of my undergrad years, when a good-hearted but incautious janitor moved our newly rented concert grand a little too far forward to clean and watched it crash from the lipless recital hall stage onto a concrete floor - the day of the big choir concert. Examples abound...

I also believe that few difficulties can withstand the constant and careful application of a focused, dedicated mind. THERE IS ALMOST ALWAYS A WAY TO GET IT DONE.

Spring break is the deal-maker or deal-breaker. Fifteen minutes of focused work on the concert music a day will yield amazing and positive dividends. Ten days of diligence also sets up a habit of work that will carry one through the concert week. s

(So does a countdown calendar, daily rewards for work accomplished, and a written record of what was done -  but I digress...)