My friend who has just recently joined my Monday night orchestra has discovered the pre-concert practice effect, sometimes known as ‘Oh-my-god-I’m-playing-this-in-front-of-people’ effect. It was the last rehearsal before our concert this Saturday and suddenly all the bits fell into place – stretches where counting was wobbly, runs were off-kilter and entries were hesitant – all of it was suddenly fixed. Not like our concerts are intense, hushed affairs or anything to get really stressed about. There’s something about strangers coming though, that makes it nerve-wracking.
If you’re in London, come along to St Leonard’s Shoreditch and listen for free. As part of the 25th anniversary, the East London Late Starters Orchestra is bringing back the ‘have-a-go’ session at the end, where you can jump up, grab a cello, and play a piece with us. It sounds like a terrifying concept, but it isn’t really, I promise.
(above: not quite St Leonards)
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