After a month of practicing, rehearsing, and preparing as best we could, we played our concert at Jimmy Mak's last night to a packed house. Judging by the proceeds from the $3 cover, about 115 people came. A lot of my classmates, people from P Crest, teachers, my family and the families of other band members, coworkers and friends of my parents, our neighbors, and other miscellaneous friends and musicians  - they all showed up. I was honored to see so many people there. They made the night.

Before we started, I felt very nervous. I especially thought I might screw up on the Chopin, have some terrible memory slip and lose it completely. I didn't, though, and I was glad I chose to play the Ballade. It added a lot of variety to the evening, and it's such a beautiful piece, and a chance to showcase my classical chops.  Everything else came out, most of it even better than I hoped. "One for Mark" was a big hit; so were the original compositions. My favorite moments of the evening were some of the interactions among the band members; for example, on "Freda," when we got to the bridge of the head out, we played very softly with I think one of the best rhythmic pockets I've ever been a part of. It was also nice to have the chance to thank my parents and teachers in front of the crowd.

It's a little tough for the concert to be over. For one, it was a privelege to spend this month preparing and to know that all of the work would pay off in front of most everyone I know. Most of the time, you know practice will pay off, but it's much more abstract - you never know where and when. It's also sad to no longer have a reason to rehearse with the guys once a week, because that was a blast. (We'll still play together, but that was a very formal and frequent sort of rehearsing that we probably won't keep up.) Mostly, I'm kind of bummed that the big night is done - it's like the feeling right after closing night of a production, or the day after a holiday. I don't really know what to do with myself. Today is also my last day of P Crest rehearsal, and to be honest, I'm very sad. I feel a definite sense of accomplishment to be graduating, and to finish my high school musical career in a such a satisfying way. But I'm also going to miss this project, and I'll miss P Crest a lot. At the same time, it's just now beginning to sink in that I'm leaving Catlin, because I'm about to go through what will truly be my last few days of school.

Thank you, readers, for reading my blog. Also, thank you, all of you who came to my concert. My dad took video and pretty soon we'll be putting it on YouTube - I'll try to remember to edit this post and add in the links. This project turned out just the way I hoped, and I'm glad of the privelege to go to a school where it counted for school credit.

Fare thee well,

Ted