Evening of Music

I decided to organize another music event this year where I invite friends to come together to participate in and listen to performances.  I love doing this to give me something to work towards on the piano and violin as well as get a chance to hear everyone's selections.

I try to keep things simple, but no matter what, there always seems to be a scramble at the very end to help make it all come together.  And as I'm scrambling, friends and family always come to the rescue.  I feel bad asking for help for something I'm choosing to do--but I was so overwhelmed with how willingly everyone helped.  This couldn't have come together without my friends and especially without Geoff.  He helped set up, tend to the kiddos while I practiced and prepared, and was a sounding board for all my silly ideas.  And the night of the event, he was busy juggling the three girls (plus a few extra kids) while trying to film and keep the kids somewhat quiet!  No easy task at all!

As busy as it gets the day of, I cherish this event and hope to hold it for years and years to come.

In preparation, I made little goody bags for all those who participated and even painted my first watercolor pieces to add a little color to the room.

But the biggest prep of all was the practicing!  I decided to work on "Adoration" by Felix Borowski on the violin and Katie Schmidt agreed to play "Fiddle Faddle" by Leroy Anderson on the piano with me.  We had a fun time bantering each other as we practiced this fun and intricate piece, ha!

The Updegraff siblings performing together.  They are extremely talented!

The performances were so wonderful.  Amazing vocalists belted out Broadway tunes and gorgeous contemporary selections, we had beautiful piano solos, string pieces, and vocal ensembles. Everything was delightful!

Here are a few clips from the evening--I hope to put complete clips on YouTube soon!

I felt so bad that I had the biggest blooper of the night when accompanying my friend, Debra:

And a clip from the violin piece I prepared, accompanied by Mary Ann Rackley:

Yes, my performance was far from perfect, but I actually felt good about how it went--especially since I felt absolutely terrified to play in front of an audience.

Hylie, Eliana, and Lillian are so supportive of my musical pursuits as well.  They NEVER complain when I'm practicing.  In fact, sometimes Eliana will go over and pat my violin case asking me to get it out, or Hylie will ask me to sing some songs while playing the piano.  I love the music in my life and I hope that our girls will enjoy making it a part of their lives as well!

ADORATION - FULL VIDEO