A very busy two days. A nice day in the Macc Art Lounge on Thursday, got to chat with photographer Meirion Watkin, a new exhibitor.
Then, yesterday wrapped some emergency presents in the morning, this always takes so long, and a quick rehearsal of Sky Robes of Celeste, before dressing up and loading for the performance itself. The weight and awkwardness of this piano is so problematical. The slightly heavier SY-85 is more preferable because it somehow feels lighter, being smaller.
I now play standing up. This is not ideal from a playing point of view, as using a pedal means effectively standing on one leg, but it looks better for the audience. A new colour changing light bulb arrived in the morning so I decided to fix this to the piano to give me more atmosphere, from the perspective of the audience, though the white light and cabl is not ideal. Perhaps I need black.
I decided to use two stands, as X-stands get thinner as they get higher and my full width piano becomes something like a see-saw with just one stand. I also covered these with a cloth which looks a little better. With each performance, there are still things to learn and refine.
The event was rather short, about 40 minutes; a school choir, a few gentle readings with feeling, ourselves, and a rendition silent night which began with a screamy-gospel backing track which was thankfully muted after about 10 seconds. The reflective mood was generally maintained except for the Butlins-eqse mix of jolly Christmas music on loop, before and after the event, and the somewhat out-of-place call by the mayor for the audience to countdown the switching on of the tree of lights.
As a performer, apart from the physical carrying work (the stage was rather a long distance from our parking) the hardest part was the coldness and darkness. I lost a glove in the dark and had to find a light to locate it. It was about 5 degrees celcius, and wearing my metal crown instantly made my head freeze, so I restricted this to just before and during the performance and remained swaddled in hat and scart at other times, but this made engagement with the people there and/or photo opportunites difficult. The stage staff were excellently professional, almost too much, as they began deconstructing and packing the minute the event ended, making it a bit of a rush for me, but I'm usually the same.
So very achey this morning after a super-busy few days. My ear is better after 4 days of ache but I am at my physical nadir. I need to work out and plan the bigger show for Monday, this is one of our most raw performances and all of the work is new, but I really must rest today. I will spend it with essential computer-admin work.
