You can only imagine the excitement I felt when David Nevue, the founder of Whisperings invited me to play at the broadcast's Discovery Concert in Seattle. The Whisperings radio broadcast (America’s most popular radio station airing New Age Piano music!) was holding its annual performances and this was the first year where two official Whisperings-hosted concerts would be taking place. A second concert had been added, called a ‘Discovery Concert’, which was really a novel concept. The first half of the performances at the Discovery Concert would consist of newer artists like myself, while the latter half featured performances from the ‘Classics’. Names like Christine Brown, Rachel Currea, Joseph Akins among several others. With pianists like them on board, the show was quickly sold out!

It was the first time in a long time that I would be performing again, and admittedly I was very nervous. My heart started pounding even at the thought of performing at a sold out show. And yet, it was something I really wanted to be a part of. I was eager to start performing, to play my compositions in front of New Age piano fans. 

I decided to play ‘Dionysius’, a composition with a slightly dramatic flair. After all, this composition had inspired me to work on my debut album ‘Reminiscent’ in the first place. (See ‘The Inspiration and Making of Songs of the Soul’ for more on that!) Besides being the inspiration for my debut album, this song had an interesting story to it that I felt inclined to share, lending the piece the magical quality that Kathy Parsons described in her music review:

‘Dionysius’ has a passionate, magical quality that I really like. Slightly mysterious, it goes through several really interesting thematic changes, painting a colorful music portrait.’

The inspiration behind ‘Dionysius’ was my (now) husband Dennis’s baptism into the Greek Orthodox Church. Dionysius is the Greek name for Dennis and the composition earned its title after my husband made the decision to convert into Greek Orthodox Christianity and to take on his Greek name. There was something so magical about that baptismal service - the church was nested up in the mountains of upstate New York, overseeing the Hudson River from a high point, with sights that were breathtaking. And coincidentally enough, the church had a memorial commemorating Saint Dionysius just before its entrance. There was something beautiful and mysterious about the liturgy as well – I knew something powerful was happening, without being able to describe it. This is the feeling that I portrayed in the composition, and that Kathy Parsons so accurately described in her own review of the piece.

When nervous, however, the story doesn’t sound as powerful as it really is. When speaking through a microphone to an audience, my voice became shaky and I spoke too fast, leaving out some important details, like the name of the composition 😊. The performance itself was shaky as well, as I made a few obvious mistakes. It’s baffling to me how I can play the composition with my eyes closed, barely ever missing a note, and then as soon as I play in front of an audience laughable mistakes manage to slip in. It’s typical from a novice who is not used to performing regularly. Unfortunately nerves just kick in and take over.

Regardless, this performance has gotten me eager and excited to perform again. I cherished the opportunity to perform as part of the Whisperings Solo Piano Radio broadcast show, and am longing for the chance to share my music in more concerts, so that playing in front of a crowd will come more naturally. To any readers based in Europe, if you are interested in featuring me in a performance or show of any sort (piano lounge, cocktail party,  house concert, etc.), please leave me a message!

Here is the live performance, raw, unedited, with mistakes and all... Next performance will be better, promise! 😊