What some might do before leaving for a performance at an international conference is practice like mad and fret about choosing The Perfect Reed.

Me? Today, I spent a few hours cleaning the wheel wells of my car. (About a month ago, I drove through a construction area where a road was being resurfaced. They had spread the preparatory material, and I went through it. I didn’t realize what it had done to the underbody of my car until I put it in my garage and noticed tar drips. Because of the heat in Columbia, the tar has never hardened. It just keeps on slowly dripping.)

I have often told me students: keep the days leading up to a recital as normal as possible. Make sure you are getting rest, eating well and exercising while doing basic warmups and playing passages of recital pieces slowly. No need to practice – the work has been done. As long as your preparation is good, there is no need to stress. 

Today (and this whole week, really), I have followed that routine. My days have been ‘normal’, I’ve eaten well and exercised. I am practicing, but I am mainly focusing on pieces for future performances. The two pieces I am playing Friday are ready to go. As far as that Perfect Reed? The climate will be really different when I get to Knoxville. I have a few selected to test and will perhaps go with a completely different one. 

All that being said, time to wash the tar off my hands and to practice. 

(Written last week)