So recently in marimbas, we have been learning a particularly challenging piece – which is obviously related to LO1 and LO2 – but I wanted to talk about my response to this (thus, LO4). I missed a few sessions because of doctor appointments and conferences – and so I was already far behind. My attendance, if I’m honest, wasn’t great. But I remained committed (I would like to think this is a strength of mine) and kept working. As I am writing this, I have just finished performing in the concert Wavelengths (see below). This took a lot of commitment, as it meant a 4-hour rehearsal yesterday on Tuesday 17th and obviously the evening of the concert itself. It was also particularly challenging for me to get the piece in the fast tempo, compounded by my absences previously. This took a lot of perseverance and resilience as I often just thought “why can’t I just go home there are a lot of other performers who play the exact same thing as I do..” which is a very bad attitude (obviously). Despite this, I stuck with it because we all make up the ensemble together, cheesy as it may sound.

I am so glad that I was able to perform though because it’s always a really valuable experience and something to remember in the future. But perhaps more importantly, I also gained some confidence in performing in front of hundreds of people. I did make a mistake at the end but kept going so there is that as well (!!). At the risk of sounding  incredibly  cliched, I will stop this reflection now.

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