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a few weeks ago I was approached by an EC player to assist with music they were given by their church choir director for an April performance. She wanted to add some double stops and simple chording in areas and asked me to help her with 16 measures where she had a solo. Practicing a piece of music for a performance is different from practicing to learn a tune for a session or working on techniques to improve fingering and bellow control. Once you know the proper notation of your music, one needs to practice the phrasing and dynamics that a musical performance require. If playing with others, you also have to be aware when and how to blend and when to stand out, as in a solo. Depending on the music and one's level of experience, practicing for a performance offers a chance to work and rework a specific piece of music with a directed subtlety. You need to work and rework specific notation, fingering, and phrasing so you are confident of your playing when the day of your performance comes. Practice so that when you perform the audience hears what you hear. Your EC voice.

I want to take a moment and give a very loud shout out to 4 of my EC students who performed at this year's Northeast Squeeze-In. Performing onstage in front of an audience is stressful. All the more so when it's in front of well over 100 musicians, even if they are your friends. But the NESI audience is always supportive and enthusiastic. While the videos of the concert are not yet available, the photos are. I am extremely proud of their performances and especially that they added their own additions to my arrangements. Their were just fantastic.