Personal Narrative: Simply Successful Piano Player By Barbara Sinatra

I was a modestly successful piano player by age eleven, having performed for the memorial service for Barbara Sinatra (widow of the late Frank Sinatra), being featured at the local news for this, and having won a local award, with a full scholarship to boot at the famed Idyllwild Arts Academy for the summer. I was proud of my achievements in this realm, and was not shy about performing for anyone, anywhere. By the time I was a freshman at high school, I was the piano accompanist for my school’s orchestra and had readily won another full scholarship for the summer at the Idyllwild Arts. However, for my 2nd time at this prestigious academy, I was in for a rude awakening. Your see, this time around, since I am now a teen at age thirteen, I was grouped into the thirteen and

Barely two days into my two week intensive piano performance workshop, each student was asked to perform, impromptu, a new complicated piano piece, through sightreading. As each of the older teens took center stage and performed, flawlessly, a different kind of fear, one that I have never felt before, took a hold of my body. By the time it was my turn, my heart was pounding so hard I was practically hyperventilating. In my state of panic, I could barely get through the first line before I froze and could no longer proceed. What followed was almost a blur, as one of the piano coaches kept prodding me to play. However, as much as I tried, my fingers could not seem to coordinate with what I was sight reading, and my piece turned into a disaster. The piano coach at that point became very angry and questioned my very presence in this program (given that this is a full scholarship for everyone). I was totally humiliated and outclassed by everyone in that class, and all I wanted to do was disappear and give up piano. Later that night, as I retired to the dorm room, I spent a good hour talking to my