Accept All Invitations

A fellow musician texted me yesterday about a jam session at a café in San Francisco last night and invited me to come and sit in. I was all set for a relaxed, cozy night at home and it would have been easy to decline. But why not check it out? It was a short drive from my house and it would be good for me to throw myself into the jazz jam ring, especially after having had three really inspiring days playing my piano alone in my house. 

 

So I went. And there were two students from Brazil who are about to be in my Level III Orff training class in company with a Level III graduate from last year. A delightful surprise! I joined them at the table, listened to some high quality music in this most pleasant café, got up onto stage when my friend invited me and made it through Bye Bye Blackbird without too much embarrassment (nor too much inspiration, that I blamed on the electronic keyboard that wasn’t giving me the sound back that I like). But nobody got hurt and it was fun to get to know my soon-to-be students a bit more. 

 

Had I stayed home, none of that would have happened and that also would have been fine. But I’m glad I did it and was proud that at an age when I could be sheltering down and doing what’s comfortable and easy, I still have the energy and gumption to get out and try new things. It’s the same attitude I have about invitations to teach Orff courses and workshops— accept them all while they come. Well, some discrimination is in order, following the Golden Rule of “the work, the people/place, the money”— you need two out of three to make it worth your while. But so far I’ve never wished I had stayed home. 

 

What’s going on tonight?