Stage Fright and Jammin'

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I’m a little behind on blog entries. So, this entry is not about last weekend, but the weekend before. That weekend was my junior high school’s bunkasai (school festival). We’ve been preparing for it for over a month now. Sometime in September, one of my students asked me if I would play my violin with her piano accompaniment for the festival. At the time, I didn’t realize what this was all about, so I agreed. Soon she showed me two pieces she wanted me to play, and we started practicing every Friday after school (for a long time she and my speech competitions student would have to share me on Fridays).

I guess because all my students enjoy singing traditional songs with my fiddle during classes, this student assumed I would be good at classical music too. I pretended not to be intimidated, but the truth is that I haven’t played a solo classical piece with a piano accompaniment for a really long time (on purpose!). I also decided not to say anything about my stage fright problem, hoping that the problem would just go away if I didn’t think about it. However, when I learned that I would have to perform on stage in front of about 150 people, I didn’t have to tell my student about my stage fright because she could see it on my face. But, this student is so sweet and is so happy to play with me that I could never say “no” to her. So, as the Japanese would say, “ganbarimashita” or “I hung in there.”

At the same time I have been rehearsing a couple pieces with the music class on the tone chimes (similar to hand bells) for the festival. That has been really fun because I’m not all by myself and each one of us holds two chimes (two notes) to make the whole song come together.

So, when the day actually came and I was waiting back stage with a bunch of giggly junior high girls, I started to feel just like I did back in the day of Christmas violin recitals. I just had to keep reminding myself that it was just a silly junior high school festival (even though the mayor, my boss, and the newspaper photographers were there).

The performance turned out to be no better and no worse than expected (which is a good thing). I didn’t make any mistakes, but at the same time I was shaking so much on stage that none of my notes came out very clearly. I got many compliments after it was over though. Unfortunately I have no pictures of it because I was on stage and too worried to ask anyone else to take the pictures for me.

After the festival was over, I had to hurry and catch the ferry to Uoshima (the really small island with only 280 people) where Ethan was having an “island fever” party. I was asked to bring my fiddle, so I did even though it was beginning to get rather stormy outside. Ethan invited a lot of English teachers from all over Ehime prefecture and other prefectures too. Everyone showed up, and it was the most foreigners I had seen in a long time. It was so nice to talk with people who understood all of your references to things American. Some Uoshima locals showed up too with lots of alcohol (apparently the only thing they do on Uoshima).

I was finally forced to get out the ole’ fiddle when it was getting late. Nobody knew any of the songs I’m used to playing, so I made up on the spot American favorites such as, “Amazing Grace,” “Country Roads,” and “Danny Boy.” The party suddenly livened up, and surprisingly, everyone sang along enthusiastically (well, I guess it’s not so surprising since a big part of all of our jobs is to do sing-alongs). The Japanese guests looked amazed that we all knew these songs so well, and they tried to sing some too. It was really nice to play in such a relaxing setting after suffering from the stage phobia earlier the same day.

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Photos

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My entire junior high school student body. Here they are singing at the bunkasai.

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Some of the guests of the "island fever" party on Uoshima.

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some "creative" photography...hehe

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I'm not sure what these big concrete structures are used for on Uoshima, but they make for a great hide-and-go-seek game or a spooky setting for a horror movie.