A week ago, The Larksong Trio officially released our first CD, Homeward Bound, at a CD release concert. We had a glorious
The Larksong Trio yucking it up – Calvin Herst, Jennifer Yeaton-Parris et moi!
time playing to a sold-out house of friends and supporters. The main requirement for adding a song to our repertoire is that it be beautiful – a beautiful melody or beautiful arrangement, beautiful upbeat or slow, or the opportunity for one of us – flute, piano or voice – to play a beautiful part. The result of all this beauty is a slow expansion of the heart and a melting into the present moment. It was heaven. The audience came with us.
Despite the positive atmosphere, I found myself feeling more nervous than I expected. I was prepared. The audience was supportive. We played beautifully, Calvin on piano, Jennifer on flute and I singing my heart out. I was reminded that performance anxiety can creep in even in the best of performance situations. In fact, it would have been easier if I hadn’t known half the audience. My mind is very creative in finding a story to tell myself about present circumstances in order to put me on edge. Aware of this tendency, I breathed into the anxiety, knowing breath would expand the fear into the excitement it really was. I breathed over and over, song after song, breathing, coming back into my body, dropping into the beauty and flow of each song.
Fritz Perls, the founder of Gestalt therapy, said, “Fear is excitement without the breath.” Fear and excitement are the flip sides of the same energy. I use this turn around for my advantage. If we take the labels off what feels like uncontrollable energy and breathe into that energy, we find what is actually present – excitement. That excitement feeds the performance, making it real. Breathe. Feel. Excitement. Present. Onstage we go, to share and revel in the vibration of beauty.
To get copies of our new CD, go to www.larksongtrio.com or write me directly and I will send them to you.
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