Day 55 - The final practice performance and thoughts for the future

Just one day to go and so my practice this morning was focussed on last minute preparation practising the pieces in order, playing through scales, orchestra pieces and then just keeping the fingers moving by going through lots of other tunes. These 25 minutes are dedicated to Cathy, a cellist and colleague at the county music service. Cathy is a great player and last year we worked together for a week in a group performing Carnival of the Animals for schools in the Cambridge area. Cathy and I are working on a similar project this year, along with Margaret, Jess and Janine (see blogs ad passim) and as well as some great ensemble playing we will also have a lot of fun and plenty of laughs. Preparation for that will be one of the things my attentions will be turned to once my grade 1 and 'Clueless in Concert' are over.

Following my 15 seconds of fame yesterday I have gone up in the world as the harp and I now have a chauffeur! The last warm-up gig before the exam and concert tomorrow was at Chris's parents, Judith and Martin, and I was able to rely on Chris to take us both there and back. Chris opened the door for the harp which slid easily along the luxurious back seats of the Lexus (much more stylish than my little Yaris!). However I then had to open my own door so will need to have words with the chauffeur at some point. After a lovely meal and profiteroles made by Judith I performed my exam pieces in order although starting with Rondo after having a glass of wine was probably not the best move. After one restart all went well and I did an encore of Merry-Go-Round and Lullaby both of which I now have from memory and just need the music as a guide. Since I have started learning the harp Judith has been inspired to get her guitar out and has started playing some familiar tunes again. She said she can relate to some of the points I have made about frustration when it doesn't go well and how performances always include at least one error, no matter how minor! She also realises that you really do need to play every day to keep the fingers used to plucking the strings.

The rest of the day passed without any additional sponsors but I managed another 10 minutes in the evening. I have really enjoyed keeping the diary of all my harping activities and have decided that the blog will continue along with my interest but not on a daily basis as that has been as exhausting as the playing! I might aim to write something weekly, or whenever anything interesting happens. The justgiving site will be open for another month or so and if anyone wants to sponsor me after the exam I can dedicate any future practice sessions to anyone who wishes to donate. After all, I might need the motivation! I am hoping to go to a concert next weekend to see a harpist called Lucy Bunce who will be performing with Trevor Barlow (see blogs ad passim again) and I will be keeping my eyes open for other players as well. Six degrees of separation becomes just two when you only consider the music world and a friend gave me a tip-off that I actually know the partner of Claire Jones, the harpist to the Prince of Wales (as mentioned fleetingly on Day 53). I have ordered Claire's CD and will keep my eyes open in case she happens to be appearing in this area. I am looking forward to getting some new pieces and progressing through the grades with Rohan's expert guidance. I also hope to arrange pieces to play with my flautist friends. Dave, our neighbour, has said that the local youth theatre group may be interested in a performance. Dave's wife and Eleanor's mum Debbie was working yesterday and was extremely disappointed to miss the children's concert so I'll invite them over soon. In the meantime I am excited and ever-so-slightly nervous about tomorrow. In some ways I'll be glad when it's over but will no doubt miss the excitement and build up of the last two months.