This weekend the Florida Guitar Foundation is hosting an open mic night at the Miami Conservatory of Music. I have signed up to perform “Classical Gas” by Mason Williams. I am a little nervous because I really never perform classical style pieces for a crowd. I have been running the piece a lot in rehearsal so I think it will go well. I hope I can pull it off when the time comes.
You don’t have to be a member of the foundation to perform. The performance is open to all classical style guitarists in the Miami area. But I think they want you to RSVP with your name and the piece you’d like to play. If you want in you can email them at: info@floridaguitarfoundation.org.
Incidentally, if you play classical guitar or even just really enjoy listening to it, you should join the Florida Guitar Foundation. You get a basic membership if you donate $40.00 (even less for students). Of course you could always donate more too. Give a little support for the arts! Membership gets you discounts in their classical concert series and some other perks. For all the details, CLICK HERE to check out the foundation’s website.
Paola has also recently written a small feature article on the Guitar Foundation on her blog which you can check out over at Coral Gables Love.
I am not THAT involved with the group. I have seen some of their AMAZING concerts and I’m looking forward to join the guitar ensemble when they reconvene in the Fall. And then of course there is this open mic thing. Right now it seems like they do this open mic every few months, but I think the Guitar Foundation has plans to start do it regularly once every month. I hope that is true because I really like the opportunity to test out the classical music that I have been rehearsing on actual audiences as much as possible.
There is no telling whether an audience of mostly guitar players will be more or less nerve racking than and audience of average music lovers. I mean the Florida Guitar Foundation has faculty from the University of Miami and the Miami Conservatory of Music. These are some of the best classical guitarists in the country! So I am hoping they won’t judge my performance too harshly. I’m just kidding. I have met a bunch of these guys and they really couldn’t be nicer and more welcoming.
So if you can make it out this Friday, be sure to say hi. No telling when I’ll be playing, but I am really looking forward to seeing everybody else play. Maybe I’ll post a video of my performance on this blog… of course that is IF the performance goes well!
Either way, when it comes to performing, I like to think that you really can’t lose. Performance failures are all valuable (and usually necessary) learning opportunities. And successful performances, well… that is really what this is all about, isn’t it?
The Miami Conservatory of Music is located at 2911 Grand Ave, Suite 400A, Miami, FL 33133.
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