so, I love the accompanist world at the festival, here's why:

The background: I had to play for a test piece class: this is where 20 singers all get up and sing the same song. Usually there are about 4 or 5 accompanists that get up and play the piece a couple times each, cause all the kids are hiring the same people... anyway... like the singers I was nervous because I knew I would be compared to all the other professional accompanists who are much more experienced. Add to this the fact that I was feeling underprepared which was weighing especially heavy on me because I knew everyone else was going to be playing it perfectly.

The Scenario: I sat at the back with 2 of the other accompanists one of which had the music in front of her at all times, the other looked at it a few times.

Action: The two of them were discussing the other accompanist/singer's tempo choices.... and other aspects of their playing. I said to them "I knew I shouldn't have sat here, now I know that you're gonna be watching for all the wrong notes I'm going to play". They tried to reassure me by saying something like "it is an awkward piece to play" and the sorts.. but that's not what made me feel better....
At one point, it all became so trivial that I just wasn't worried any more. That point was when the one leaned over to the other and pointed to a specific bar, and asked if she had been playing that E-flat... because she didn't think she had noticed it before.... then they started with the tally of..."well neither did she... oh, but I think Ross did... well he probably would".
I realised that they weren't judging the others, rather just doing something to pass the time. If you have to sit through the same song for an hour and a half, you easily get picky...especially if you know the song to begin with.
I played and it wasn't perfect, I won't lie. But, I gave good support and rhythm. The singer most likely didn't notice anything wrong because I provided everything she needed to sing to the best of her ability at the time. When I came back, they both reassured me that it went well and one said "who cares if it wasn't exactly what was on the page, it sounded good!"
Nevertheless, I think I've come closer to learning my lesson about preparation. The one's I need to work on for the rest of festival, I am putting in good efficient work and it is showing... I know those classes are going to go well.

Recital is coming along... I worked on some of the issues today that were pointed out in my lesson and I played throught he program again tonight. It went much better than in lesson.. probably because it was less stressful. I really got in the right mindset so that helped.
It was a toss up, most of the things I worked on were better... some I need to readdress or try something different... some new mistakes popped up... I need a recording device so I can listen to it and learn from that. I think I'll buy a digital recorder tomorrow... a good investment i think. It could also help with improvising.
anyway, enough blogging. theres composing to do and sleeping and reading and whatnot