Performance Anxiety

I’ve been taking Suzuki Method cello lessons for about three years now, first in the US and now in Japan. Every Wednesday I drag my cello onto the subway and head to the Suzuki studio in Ochanomizu (10 stops, 1 transfer).

My instructor here is Yoshihiko Terada (He’s the guy with the cello. On the left), an instructor of some note, apparently. He speaks English comfortably and, having flown around the world teaching, has an easy command of both pedagogical and musical jargon. My jokes tend to be lost on him, but I have the same problem with native speakers of English, so it’s probably me.

At our last lesson, Terada-sensei informed me that “they” (whoever that might be) were really looking forward to my performance of the piece we were working on. This was the first time I had heard anything about a performance. When pressed for minor details like, oh, when this might take place, he became vague.

I’m going to push for more information at my next lesson, but he has inspired a major case of performance anxiety. The closest I’ve come to any sort of public performance in the past decade have been sales calls and project kickoff/closing meetings!