It was unbelievably fun. I will admit, however, I was incredibly nervous--not only because I had friends and family there, but also because all of the head officials from Southwest Strings, our sponsor, were there as well. Plus, we were doing the concert as a charity performance for OMA--so the pressure to perform well was on!
It was nice to have such an enthusiastic AZ audience after the absurdly tiring schedule we'd had the day previous. I really have found throughout the years (and the Barrage managers have echoed this sentiment) that arts audiences in Arizona lean toward awesome.
That being said, I can't wait for tonight's sold-out show in Gilbert! I feel incredibly lucky to have grown up in such a supportive arts community here in Mesa--not only will quite a few of my former teachers be present, but also a bunch of kids from the Metropolitan Youth Symphony, the community orchestra I grew up in as a kid that first got me hooked on fiddling. It's very strange to be coming "full circle"...I've somehow, by many strokes of luck and good fortune, ended up doing the very thing I've wanted to do since in was in MYS. And now I will, in turn, be playing for those kids, who are going through the same musical experiences I had at their age. It's hard to capture that feeling in adjectives, but I think it's appropriate to describe it as a mixture of odd, humbling, and incredibly exciting.
Here are a few pictures from last night's Tucson show:
The autograph line.
With Allison Kellis, a good friend and fellow ASU violinist I've known since MYS.
My friends Kelley and Nora with the Barrage violinists.
With Hayley Ivins, a former (and current) role model.
2 comments:
What an awesome feeling that must be to have come "full circle". You truly are living your dream, and you deserve it! And better yet, you make a FANTASTIC role model to so, so many young violinists today! Love you!
Hey, I made the blog! Once again, great job in the show. It was so exciting!
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