I hope your summer is going well. Finally here I am, to give you a report of how my experience of performing at Carnegie Hall went! It took a while because the photos from the performance didn’t come from Carnegie Hall until just a few days ago.
Performing at Carnegie Hall was definitely a milestone in my life. Although it was never my conscious dream to achieve, it certainly gave me an affirmation that I have been on the right path. It truly was a honor and definitely something I will always remember.
My husband and I flew in to New York City on Saturday, the day before the performance. The weather was beautiful to compliment the trip. In my category (college students and professionals), there were five piano solo winners including myself, and two sets of piano duet winners. It was certainly international; some of them flew in from Germany, Italy, Norway, and Czech Republic, solely to perform for the occasion, and meeting and speaking with them was quite inspiring. We each had 15 minutes to perform, with a piece of our choice. I chose a less known piece by Busoni over a well known piece by Liszt, because I wanted to perform something unique. (It turned out that there were so many people played Liszt on the program. I was so glad I didn’t!)
Our recital was at 6:30pm on Sunday, May 21, and the hall was almost full. I had a girlfriend from childhood who lives in New Jersey, four of my former students who now live in New York, and one of Dilip’s adult students from Florida came to see me perform with their family members. Being away from home, I was pleasantly surprised to see so many familiar faces. It meant a lot and was truly wonderful to have such support!
Compared to some other performances on the program, my piece was rather dark and less flashy but I have absolutely no regrets in choosing the piece. The truth was, I didn’t play to impress people. I just wanted to play for me. I think I stood out in my own way because my piece was so different. Also I was the only one who spoke to the audience! I was very happy to be able to carry out my style of performing on the stage of Carnegie Hall. Overall it was a very beautiful and memorable evening. I wish you all were there to share the special moment!
Now that all the excitement is behind, my life has gone back to normal. I’m continuing to do what I have always been doing; teaching, performing, and PRACTICING! (That’s how I got to Carnegie Hall!) Is there is any difference at all? …Maybe a little invisible feather in my cap!
P.S. I’m in the middle of finalizing my 2017-2018 concert schedule. I’m going to send you a update as soon as it’s finished so please stand by!
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