About that Masterclass ...

I know I've mentioned the masterclass here a few times, but I don't think I've said much about it.

It's going to be conducted by pianist Orion Weiss, who will be performing with the Augusta Symphony the night before (Sept. 27). Which reminds me, I need to get tickets.

OK. I just took a break from writing this to buy a couple of symphony tickets. $158 -- ouch! I could have gotten balcony seats for just $60, but I'm so deaf and my eyes are bad. Anyway, the deed is done.

So, four area students will be participating in this masterclass. An 11-year-old, a 16-year-old, a 17-year-old, and me. I saw the pieces being played, and one is Liszt's Consolation 3, which I played back in high school. It was one of my first "two-against-three" pieces.

Two of the pieces seem to be intermediate/early-advanced, and I think the Consolation and my Chopin are probably comparable, as far as level. So it should be a good little masterclass. Mr. Weiss will also perform at the end, so that'll be good.

I'm excited about it. Also a little nervous. I'd hoped to really double down on getting the Chopin back up to speed in August and September, but that hasn't happened. So now I'm doing best. I know the piece well, have known it now for several months, so I should be OK.

The big unknown is whether my mind will go blank when I'm playing in front of an audience. It nearly always does. I need to practice playing for people ... yeah, sometime in the next 16 days.

So, that's the masterclass. Wish me luck!

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Picking Up the Pieces

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