We came up with a plan that she would accompany me and with that the song began to sing once again from my violin. One week prior to the concert and my last lesson with Megumi before the recital, it was as if the violin was a foreign object in my hand, the bow couldn’t find the strings, the song was lost in nerves. Weeks prior to the recital I could play the song without looking at the music, with barely warming up, and without missing a note. I had chosen one of my favorite Irish folk songs, Carrickfergus, based on the Northern Island town. But as we got closer to the date, it began to matter. How bad could that be? Even if I messed up, it wouldn’t really matter. I joked that my saving grace was the fact the recital was out of state, far enough away that no one would know who I was. And so it went that the other adult students agreed to participate and then one by one they all dropped out. Megumi was enthusiastic and explained to me that with me agreeing to participate her other adults students would likely follow.

Learning to play a musical instrument as an adult is not easy and apparently I chose a difficult one, the violin.

Why would I not? It would be a new experience for me and an opportunity to support my instructor who had been so good at supporting me. When my instructor asked if I would be interested in participating in an upcoming recital of her students, it never occurred to me not to do it.

I wish i was in carrickfergus