Since there were 5 days of summer camp, it is going to be a long story if I explain every single event in detail. That is why I’m only going to write about the fourth day (August 27th) of camp.
Every year on the fourth day of summer camp, the members of the wind orchestra club have to play an ensemble piece with someone from your instrument part in front of the rest of the orchestra. It is kind of like the most important day during summer camp. This year I played a piece called Scarborough Fair with three other clarinet players. We really don’t have much time to practice for these pieces every year because there are other pieces that we have to practice for the school festival. The first time we four played the ensemble piece together was the first day of summer camp, which was really a crisis. Although in the end we somehow managed to finish the piece on time and the day of the ensemble recital arrived.
Since ensemble pieces are written for a small number of players, it is pretty much like a solo throughout the whole piece, which was why I was so nervous before the recital. If you make a mistake it would be heard clearly by the audience. I have always been troubled by a case of extreme stage fright, and my hands were drenched with sweat as our group walked inside the recital room. My mind went blank as I saw the other members of the club and teachers looking up at us, but then regained composure as I remembered that I was not the only one who was nervous. In my ensemble group there was a first grader, and she was going to play a solo at the beginning of the piece. I thought of how she felt and realized that I had to behave and act like an upper grader to give her comfort and reassurance. I looked at the other three to see if they were ready and nodded. The first grader started playing her solo and, hands quivering, I started playing after it ended. I made a few mistakes while playing but we received an applause anyways in the end. I almost cried as I left the room but I did my best to hold those emotions down. My friends and seniors told me afterwards that it was a very good performance and I was overjoyed, but I couldn’t play perfectly and felt regretful.
Still, it was a very nice experience and I think my case of stage fright got slightly lighter which is one thing I have to thank the recital for. I hope by next year my skills would progress and that I will be able to preform better than this year. I’m already looking forward to next year’s summer camp as I write this essay.
