A Crowded Place

Chapter 19: In the spotlight

I felt a bead of sweat roll down my neck, as I waited backstage for the current performance to finish. Then it would be my turn. My accompanist, Mrs Hillman, stood beside me. I ran a hand quickly across my neck. Whew. This was a combination of nerves and excitement. My heart thumped against my chest, but I knew that in a moment, when I stepped onto that stage and prepared to play, my nerves would settle and everything would fall silent except for my music.

Applause accompanied the drummer as he left the stage. He was beaming, and I flashed him a smile.
'That was awesome!' I whisper-shouted.
'Thanks; you're going to do amazing, Liv! Everyone's excited for your performance,' he said.
No pressure, I thought to myself. Apparently word about my violin playing had spread fast around here. It was probably because of my friends. I could picture them going around the auditorium, loudly boasting about their 'musical prodigy friend'.

I smiled; the thought of Alana, Sophie and Henry always cheered me up.

'Please welcome onto the stage: Liv Garner!' The MC announced. I readied a dazzling smile as I began walking onto the stage, followed by Mrs Hillman.

It was just as I had imagined. The lights were glaring onto the stage, and the audience pit was pitch-black. I imagined my friends sitting out there, barely suppressing their cheers. And maybe Jacob was there too - waiting, watching my every move.

As I positioned myself next to the piano, a realization struck me: this was just like the first day I ever came into the music center, playing Bach and meeting Jacob. How much everything has changed since then!

As I tuned my violin, my thoughts faded away and I was purely focused on my violin, the piano, and the music we made together.

——

My first notes rang out loud and crystal-clear. The Polonaise Brillante was an energetic, dance-like showpiece. It only lasted about six minutes, but buried throughout the piece were incredibly hard passages: tenths, fast runs, big shifts and chords. But I was confident in my skill - I had been able to perfect every hard passage through slow and methodical practice over weeks and weeks.

But this time, my mind wasn't on technique or hard passages - I was completely and fully immersed in the music. I imagined myself prancing along to the fast-paced dance in the Polish countryside, and my mind was cast with vivid imagery as I approached different moods throughout the piece.

I felt my spirit soar. I forgot about the auditorium, I forgot about the audience - I was focused on nurturing every note, and allowing them to fly out of my instrument as if they were florets of a dandelion, freed by a puff of breath.

Muscle memory did the work for me. In those precious moments of absolute joy and confidence, I realised that this was where I felt most comfortable - in front of an audience, relishing in my music. I thrived in the flourishing melodies and notes. In those moments, I felt like a true performer, a world-class musician.

After what felt like no time but also an eternity, I found myself approaching the most challenging run of tenths at the end of the piece. Then, just as abruptly as I had begun, the piece was finished! I drew back my bow, finishing heroically as if I was the commander of a victorious army in a medieval battle.

My ears tuned in to the thunderous applause which now filled the auditorium. The audience gave me a standing ovation, and I heard whoops and whistles and cheers, and someone was even shrieking 'Brava! Brava!'.