Masterclass: Completed

Because I have received several comments begging me to do a follow-up on my last post, I will oblige.

How did my masterclass go with one of the best French hornists in the world go? Surprisingly, it wasn't as bad as I had imagined. Why? Let's make a list (by now, this seems to be another theme for this blog. Nice, orderly lists to organize my thoughts):

1. The man had social skills. I didn't know what to expect. He could have been the "hehvy ahkcent zat nobotee culd understahnd" guy, or the look-at-floor-or-wall-or-boobs-or-anywhere-but-making-actual-eye-contact guy, or the music-first-hygiene-second guy. So many things could have gone wrong. But when he entered (who we will now refer to as Mr. William Caballero), he spoke clear, American English, knew how to work a crowd, and was well-groomed. Bravo!
2. I heard a familiar tune. From the time the class started, the color was draining from my face and my breakfast wanted to take an emergency exit. By the time the girl before me went on stage (yes, a stage) to play for Caballero, I wasn't sure I would be able to stand up without passing out. While I was having a mini-meltdown, the girl began playing; I listened. I had played the song she was performing a few years ago! It was nice to go after someone more on my level, unlike some of the prodigies attending the class.
3. My fingernail polish looked like Texas. When I was onstage, playing and getting my own set of advice, it wasn't going too well. As I mentioned in my last post, I was playing standing up, making things difficult. As I ran through my piece for him, the crowd was whispering. About what, I'm not sure. "Did they pull her out of a dumpster?" "Her fly's undone." "Let's pray for Caballero; this one's going to take a miracle." "Let's TP her horn case." "She sounds like dissonance in a major fourth. Haw haw haw." It was probably something like that, but who really knows? After I had finished playing and he had begun to give me exercises and pointers, he stopped and stared at my fingers. "I just have to let you know, your nail polish on that finger [he pointed] looks just like Texas." I looked and it was true! The crowd laughed (not at, but with me) and it helped ease the tension of my slightly-bad performance. I was finally able to relax and ended up learning a thing or two.
   

So overall? I had an ok time. I survived (which you all must be thrilled to hear) and didn't make a complete fool out of myself; although I did say that I didn't know who Franz Strauss was, which was received by the thirty-some people there with disbelief. I met a world-class musician who turned out to be a fairly normal guy. And now, instead of seeing nails in need of a paint-job, I will look for the other forty-nine states......maybe.