recitals

I was going through some old photo albums and I came across the ones I had during my early childhood. Aside from the usual birthdays, reunions, family, school and milestone pictures, one thing constant every year was a set of pictures from my annual piano recital.

This was my first recital when I was just 6 years old...

the year after that...

a couple of years later...

and even later on...

There were still a whole lot of recital pictures (about 20 years worth!) and looking through them made me miss my 'music' life. Back then, playing the piano was my passion. Even when I was young, Bach, Beethoven, Mozart and the like were household names. I played the piano everyday, practicing for at least an hour each day. I've joined several competitions and piano festivals, even playing several times at CCP, and I just get a certain high once I'm up the stage. Looking back, I can't imagine how I was able to memorize pieces that were 10-20 pages long!

Up until college, music has been a big part of my life. I was the pianist of the De La Salle University Chamber Ensemble all throughout college, where we had numerous campus performances, concerts, weddings and even mall tours. I even learned the violin on my last year and was able to play Violin 3 during my last concert with the orchestra.

I also joined our local choir in our village where I was first a piano accompanist but eventually moved up with the singers and sang Alto. Those days were also fun.

But I had to give all that up when I started working. With my crazy work schedule, I didn't have time anymore for rehearsals, or even to practice on my own time. It has been ages since I last seriously played the piano. It would take quite some time for my fingers to expertly hit the ivories like they used to, and that's something I want to get back. It would take lots of practice, but it's time to bring music back to my life... ;)