Practicing, or Why Not

Ok, I have to admit I skipped practicing two days this week, already failing to practice every day in August, but this was a really tough week to insert practicing into. I have had a very full work week, events to attend every night, and yesterday performed in two flute concerts. I thought one or both would be rained out, but the ominous clouds departed, and both went on as scheduled. I was kind of expecting, kind of hoping that the second one would be rained out. We had had so little time to prepare for either event, and I am the least accomplished player in both groups.

The first was with a woodwind trio (flute, oboe, and bassoon). It turned out pretty well. We were background music for a luncheon, so occasional flubs went unnoticed, and people came up to us telling we were "perfect." The oboe and bassoon were giving their players problems in the humidity, and the oboe player had to swab out her oboe after every tune, so we had plenty of rest time in the two hours we played.

Next, I played in a flute trio (all flutes) at the Falmouth ArtMarket, a weekly artists fair. We played for two and a half hours. This was set up more as background music than as a concert, but our music was sent to all corners of the art fair via a sound system. It's best not to even think about that while you are playing. It went well, for the most part; one piece (Haydn's second London Trio, which we had not rehearsed much) was messy, and some others were flawed, but Haydn's first London Trio drew applause, and we were praised by a flutist in the audience, who may join our group, and attracted the attention of a woman looking for entertainment for a wedding.

My whole body was aching by the end of the second performance, but it was only 5 PM, time to join my husband for a quick dinner out (it was our anniversary), before joining my son and his girlfriend to see the Woods Hole Theater Company production of The Rocky Horror Show. It was flashy and zany and lots of fun for all, even if the words were somewhat incomprehensible, in part because the very excellent band was abundantly amplified.

Before I crawled into bed, I played two or three scales on the cello, just to get back on track.