Mozart Under the Stars

First, some news.

I just cut out ten thousand words.

Like, I needed absolutely none of it.  I can't believe I actually wrote it all in the first place!  Besides making almost no sense at all, it was just plain embarrassing to read.  Sometimes I look at my writing and think to myself, "I actually wrote that!?"

So yeah, I'm feeling a little stunned.  I mean, it's not everyday you find ten thousand useless words.

Anyway, I had an awesome weekend!  We went to this amazing concert where we got to sit outside and have a picnic while we listened to the orchestra play Mozart songs.  It was absolutely beautiful!

Me and my siblings :)  Don't worry we're drinking ginger beer.

Concert playing at night.

The theater

We had a really great time, and it was so cool because when it got dark and we looked up at the sky, we could see all these stars and even caught a glimpse of what we thought was a satellite!

What'd you guys do over the weekend?

Happy Monday!

--Jess

Cheesiness, Nerves and Violins

Deep breath.

Double check strings.

Still in tune.

Another deep breath.

Stay calm.

I press my fingers into the wood, reviewing the notes, waiting for the moment.  The moment the piano will cue me in.

It starts before I'm ready, but then, it always does.  My bow falls lightly to the string.

A soft, milky sound echoes through the cavernous living room, reverberating off the glass chandelier.  Gentle whispers of previous notes fill the pauses.  Like ghosts.

Ahem.  Er, let's just skip the cheesy details and get on with this, shall we?

Anyway, I had an informal violin concert last Friday night at my grandparents house!  I haven't played at a concert for a year or two now, so it really did me good.

I won't deny it.  I was nervous.

Unlike in skating, getting nervous while playing violin has bad effects on me.  Like, my hands shake a little. And a little would normally be okay, but, seeing that my hands need to be precisely on the right note to play it right... well... it doesn't sound as good.

Anyway, enough talk.  My mom videoed the concert and I decided to share it with you.  I play it a little too fast, and I hit some wrong notes, but overall, I think I did pretty well under the circumstances.

(Excuse my grandma for saying "let's do a retake" at the end please...) So here's me playing:

And, I think you guys have the right to hear it the way it's supposed to be played, so in case you have enough time, here's Sarah Chang playing it:

Have a great weekend :)

--Jess