Day 54 - A children's concert and a television broadcast

I crawled out of bed and put the telly on just in time to see myself plucking away on the screen. The broadcast that I caught just at the end of breakfast news was very brief so I had to wait until the lunchtime news to see the whole lot. The messages that poured in (both of them) suggested that I featured prominently so it was a nervous wait. However I had something else to take my mind off of things. These days most orchestras and professional ensembles have to do more than just perform to paying audiences in order to survive and many of them have entire departments devoted to educational projects. Aware that my exam preparation had not yet included a younger audience I invited a couple of the neighbours and their children round for a recital and hands-on experience with the harp. I was aware that this might be my toughest crowd yet so I armed myself with a carefully thought-out programme and some home-made biscuits. Just after 11 Tilly and Evie arrived with mum Jo, followed by Dave with daughter Eleanor and friend Paris. After providing drinks and biscuits I began with Lavender's Blue as this one is well known. I then did The Ball and finished with Azaleas in Houston. The girls and parents were very well behaved and all sat listening without making a sound (although this may have been because their mouths were full of biscuits) and applauded when I finished. I asked if they'd like to have a go on the harp but they all shook their heads. Jo decided she'd like a go and I showed her how to pluck the strings. She enjoyed the sound and feel but even this wasn't enough to persuade the girls to give it a go. Dave also played for a bit and found the notes for Ode to Joy. One by one the four girls decided they did want to try it. They were all tentative at first but soon got into it. I started teaching the notes for Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star and Tilly was soon able to play it without needing me to point to the strings. As they gained in confidence it was difficult to get them off and we ended up with a queue. As one girl finished she would jump off of the chair and go round to the back of the queue while the next one jumped onto the chair! They might still be there now if the parents hadn't dragged them away to get lunch ready or go roller blading!

The harp and I settled down in front of the telly after lunch to watch the news and there we both were!

Me and the harp watch ourselves on the box. Mum's other half Paul said the 'behind bars' look suits me!

We were indeed the opening shot and typically the short snippet I was playing was the hardest bit in the whole of that piece! After moving around the orchestra we then saw Guy talking about the event followed by Elizabeth. This is what Guy looks like when he is on the telly.

Guy and his guitar

Just 1 minute 30 seconds but a good bit of publicity and maybe it will bring a few more people to the concert on Sunday. For those of you not lucky enough to live in the Anglia region the clip can be seen here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-cambridgeshire-12581343

Onto my next practise session and this one is dedicated to Ian, a guitarist and teacher who was a fellow peri teacher at a high school in Bishop's Stortford. Many a chat was conducted in the practice room corridor while we waited for students to turn up. Around the time I was doing my dissertation Ian was also working towards an MA and chose to look at the 'Plight of the Peri'. As peripatetic music teachers we are a very strange breed and not fully understood by other members of the education profession and Ian's short film aimed to answer some of the questions surrounding our occupation. Ian's practice session was another lengthy one, lasting around 40 minutes, and featured everything again. Scales and exam pieces were fine, GOAT Music feels much better now that I have heard it with some of the other players, and other newer pieces felt much better. I have another queue of sponsors now so practised again this evening. I had another anonymous sponsor so perhaps this is my Russian patron (rather than a small clerical error like the one made by Emma on Day 37). I did another twenty minutes for my mysterious guest and finished with a little practise on La fôret mysterieuse.