The MIM

If you've never been to the Music Instrument Museum - and you live in Arizona - you should definitely make a visit. 'Tis a fascinating place, divided up geographically and taking you through worlds of music. The best part is, it's not just a place to go and look at the instruments, though their collection is remarkable in itself. The fun is that it's an audio tour, so you actually get to hear all the different musics. There was an Native American water drum song that captivated me, and a Samoan haka that was just exciting. There were many, many, many more that were wonderful, but those two stand out particularly.

Anyhoo, the museum partners with my studio, and I was asked to perform there yesterday as part of their 'museum encounter' series. I was rather filled with trepidation, as I have mentioned before that playing piano in front of people scares me to death. So, I figured out my songs, spent a lot of time rehearsing, found myself a wonderful accompanist, and performed.

me and the wonderful Drew Nichols

It actually went pretty well! Being my own biggest critic, there are a great many things I think I should've done, but I am satisfied. I have to confess how very, very grateful I am for my friends - and friends' parents - who came out to support me, who encouraged me, and who helped calm my nerves and keep me from completely stressing out. I love them all dearly, and it meant so much to have them there! (in hindsight, I'm really wishing I'd gotten a group picture yesterday!)





If you're curious as to what I performed, I sang:
Misty
How High the Moon
Someone to Watch Over Me
Ain't Misbehavin'
Home from Beauty and the Beast
Your Daddy's Son from Ragtime
E l'uccellino - Puccini
A Chloris - Hahn
Elfenlied - Wolf
Fußreise - Wolf
Heidenröslein - SchuBERT (I couldn't remember if it was -mann or -bert...my bad!)