My friend Jan, who plays the Celtic harp, emailed me while I was visiting family in Pennsylvania. She wanted to know if I could play for a memorial service the first weekend in October. Originally, I thought it was something she wanted me to play with her. It turns out that a memorial service for a close friend of hers is the same weekend, so I'll be playing alone.
What am I playing? I don't know because I get to select the music. I spoke with Sr. Celelia of the Masonic Home health & Hospice yesterday, and the only pieces I need to give her ahead of time for inclusion in the program are the opening and closing songs, which will probably be hymns.
Primarily as a result of the gig, I practiced for an hour today. The last 20 minutes or so I spent playing through Taize music because I had a couple of ideas for some of the "musical interludes" in the service. It also gave me a chance to work on tone and interpretation rather than technique. Sometimes it's nice to just make music.
Most embarrassing moment of the practice session: Having to pull out a fingering chart to remember how to play b3.
Most surprising moment: Being able to start playing the Frederick the Great Daily Exercise #2 at the me speed I left off playing #1. I'm working on one of these per week at this point because they are musical as well as technical. That makes them fun to play as well as providing me with things that help improve my technique.
I am yet again impressed with you, Jeff. Enjooy!
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