Las Vegas, NV

My first thoughts Saturday morning were of the show which awaited Saturday evening. I believe strongly in 'living in the now', not anticipating what might happen, or dwelling on what has happened, enjoying each moment of life as it unfolds. But to tell you I was not anxious Saturday morning would be untrue.

We've been rehearsing this show since the beginning of January. There've been many days where every waking hour was spent trying to get a grasp on how I fit in the music, memorizing parts, working out unusual hammer patterns that arise from playing in key signatures which are difficult on the hammer dulcimer, and of course learning some of them in Yanni's special brand of 7/8.

I think my anticipation was reasonable. How would the audience react? Would I come down with a severe case of stage fright? I've heard stories of performers freezing before stepping onto the stage. I was fully aware that this was the largest audience before which I had ever played, and that Yanni's fans are passionate about his music.

The hours leading up to our Five O'clock sound check flowed like molasses. In talking with other musicians just before rehearsal I played it cool. No nerves here, (could they tell?) It was a relief to here some of the others, even some of the veterans, talking about similar preshow jitters. OK, I'm not alone. It was an even bigger relief to play through a few songs in the rehearsal. They sounded great! We know the music. We are ready. I'm back to living in the now.

There was about an hour to kill before getting dressed and tuned so I went back to my room and watched dusk settle in over the desert from the spectacular view granted on the 22nd floor of the Mandaly Bay Hotel. I listened to a little music (the soundtrack from Oh Brother Where Art Thou), drank some water, stared out the window, and breathed.

"Musicians on stage in five minutes!" The call came. It seemed like only a few seconds later I was standing sweaty palmed in front of my Dusty Strings hammered dulcimer basked in blue light. Applause breaks out as the familiar faces of Pedro, Karen, and Charlie make their way onto the stage. The string section does a quick tuning check and its showtime.

I don't want to reveal too much about the show, but I will say that I set the rhythm for the very first song on the hammer dulcimer and also have a solo in that song. I started, we all settled into the groove, Yanni ran onto the stage and the audience erupted. It was as if they were spilling adrenaline. It felt great!

After the show I didn't know what to do. Forgive me - I'm new at this. I wasn't sure if I should go out front and talk to people or just lay low. I chose the latter, going to my room and packing for the next morning's flight to Dallas. ¶ 5:15 PM