Luna Sato
On the 2nd of March 2019, alongside sixteen other Saint Maur dedicated music students, I travelled to ASIJ for the Solo & Ensemble Festival. As a first-time participant, I was a bit nervous at the beginning of the day, but as I saw many of my friends perform, the nerves eased off a little bit, and I think I did well for my performance.
When it was time for me to perform, I calmly stepped into the room and started to play. Although I made a few errors, the few minutes of my piece flashed by and I was done in no time. The flautist who gave me feedback was very kind, and advised me in some great ways. From improvement of posture to dynamic contrast, she made me realize how much of my playing there is to improve.
After receiving my results and comments, I am overall very satisfied with how well I did. I had not expected a result as high as I had received, and this will surely motivate me to improve upon the points that I missed.
For those musicians who are wavering whether or not to take part in this event in the coming years, I would definitely recommend this. It is an amazing way to not only show off your talents to the audience, but also to ask for criticism and methods to improve upon. I believe that the Solo & Ensemble Festival has taught me many valuable lessons, and it will surely do the same for you.