The last several months have been intense, with familial events involving my daughters.  Preparations for the university entrance examination for my younger daughter, preparations for a competition with her clarinet quartet, and my older daughter’s diploma examination. One exiting and the other coming in, this is how it has always worked out with my daughters' educational journey.

As the church bells of the parish church chimed in Raach am Hochgebirge on Sunday, May 24th, the tones of our viols echoed through the windows of the community center playing music of Giovanni Gabrieli. Our two groups, intermediate and advanced, working all weekend separately, came together as two choirs for the culmination of this intense workshop in consort playing. The course began on Friday, May 22nd, and ended after lunch on Monday, May 25th. Our instructor, Michael Brüssing, organized and conducted the entire program.

The view from my windows of the sun shining in the garden and the surrounding fields is uplifting to the spirits as I begin my morning routine.

As usual, I have been busy rehearsing and performing this past weekend. I acquired some new insights through my activities and want to share them with you.

It has already been a couple of weeks since the Lower Austria Youth Symphony Orchestra performed Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov’s Scheherazade. My daughter played the first clarinet part. The performance was a beautiful, charming rendition of this fine work, played by young musicians. Every time my daughter completed her solos during the concert, my older daughter and I delivered secret and silent claps as we gave each other knowing looks.

The forsythias in our region have officially announced the arrival of spring, having already bloomed, signaling warmer days ahead. I have a sense of relief each year when their yellow flowers first appear.

Performing on stage for a musician is a vulnerable place to be. I always thought of it as communication with the audience. The performer places a great deal of themselves out there. And the first time I had to record my pieces for a competition application, I felt a barrier. For me, the barrier was the lack of an audience. It seemed that there was no feedback. Playing for an audience seems to me similar to the direct experience in personal relationships. Should there be real communication in human relationships where friendships are formed,  issues are resolved, or understanding is achieved between two parties, then the direct approach would be the best path to take. And the latter is my preferred method.

Preparing for a concert usually involves physical preparation, such as practicing for hours on end and attending rehearsals and coaching sessions. However, apart from practicing and playing in the privacy of your home or practice room, how else can you prepare for a concert?

Today, I am grateful to finally be over a terrible flu, an illness I battled over the past couple of weeks. During that time, I somehow managed to keep up with my cello playing for an important assignment coming up, but did not have enough strength left for the viola da gamba. So I did not practice the viol for about a week. And tonight, I picked up my bass viol and hoped for the best. The fact that I had kept up with my cello playing paid off, and it felt like I had never really stopped playing the viol either.

Too many times, I have heard music enthusiasts express their dismay at their own progress after two years of piano lessons, as their hopes of making a career in music dwindle to nothing. Then they contemplate quitting altogether.

One of the topics I have discussed in previous posts is the significance of family members supporting young musicians as they take their first steps in the world of music. Last week, specifically on January 27th, was the remembrance day for my mother’s passing.  Coincidentally, the prominent composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was born on that date in 1756. I want to reflect on my life and my mother today, and honor her memory, as she played a significant role in my musical journey as I grew up.

I have been thinking recently about the word 'courage' and how it applies to music-making, and in which context the theme of bravery has appeared, perhaps in different pieces or compositions.