Long time, No Write! Making Music in Oakland

Whoa, long time, no blog update!  I am correcting that now.

I was privileged to play my violin at Mills Grove Christian Church, and it was my first time to worship with them though I've been at retreats and in classes with many of the women for several years.  This is sweet, delightful and energetic congregation---I thoroughly enjoyed my worship there.  To the right, you will see the wonderful Rochon, who is a supreme pianist and musician.  She can sightread anything and add dimensions to accompaniment that I would never imagine.  What a wonderful gift to play together!  So wonderful in fact......that she helped me fix a big, big mistake---the kind I haven't made since I was about 11 years old.  Right in the middle of "Jesu, Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring" (which I've played about 1,000 times), I looked up at the congregation, looked back at my  music, and could not find where I was.  I mean, I was LOST.  Then Rochon was lost.  Then we were both lost.  So, I did something that I have never done before.  I stopped playing, laughed and just said "This is TERRIBLE!  I've lost my place!"  Rochon and I picked up and kept going til the end.  The most wonderful part, in my experience, was the warmth and joy of the congregation---everyone just rolled with the punches.  It turned out that a few of the people really loved the piece (even with the error), so everything ended well and on a high note.  The amazing Rev. Clarence Thomas even managed to incorporate the "wrong note" images into his sermon, so we all made lemonade out of lemons.

I can't wait to give my "thank you" to the congregation for their donation after I get back from Turkey.  It will be great to worship with y'all again!