A DAY I CAN NEVER FORGET - HOW OUR MUSIC PERFORMANCE SAVED THE DAY

Do you have any memorable music performance/experience ?, are there musical experiences that you can't forget in a hurry ?, why are those moments memorable ?, was the experience good or bad ?. While I let you think about that, let me tell you a little about my most memorable music experience, an experience I won't forget in a hurry, an experience I wish I would have over and again, I hope just hope it reminds you of yours too.

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It was our town's annual youth concert, infact one of the biggest concerts in the state. That year's was peculiar because it had our senator and a lot of other dignitaries in attendance.

That was actually the first time the Senator would be attending the concert and so the organisers wanted to leave an amazing first impression.
They made sure everything was perfect ; the stage decorations, lightings , the sound systems etc, virtually everything was perfect. They did thorough checkups to make sure of it.

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They hired the best hands they could find to manage every department and station, they left no room for mistakes or flops.
Top ranking musicians, choirs and bands in the state were also invited to perform.

Everyone had to do their best, not just because they were paid handsomely for it or because the senator was coming, but also because the concert was going to make news, awards would be given and most importantly, it was a huge platform to showcase one's prowess.

I was lucky to be selected to play the drums for one of the choirs. Like every other choir and band, we practiced so hard, we rehearsed over and again, day and night, just to make sure we perfected all our pieces. Some persons were screened out of the choir while some others who couldn't cope with the strenuous rehearsals had to quit.

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I also did some personal drum practices too. Although it was something I did not normally to develop myself, this time it had to be even more serious and intense. I practiced the drum beats of our songs everyday and like I would always do to make my rehearsals less boring, I would also practice something different, something more exciting and self gratifying, I would practice how to do a drum solo. Although drummers rarely did drum solos in my region, I just liked it because it was artistic and didn't conform to particular pattern, It was just a way to display one's skills and express oneself through the drums.

Before the concert day, we were all fully prepared. The organisers came and vetted each group and performer before they approved each presentation.

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Like expected, the concert was top-notch. The stage was beautiful, everything was just perfect. The sounds were mild and sweet, different choirs appeared in amazing costumes and attires, everywhere, everyone and everything was glowing. The theater had this glorious ambience, it was just overwhelming.

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I got a bit nervous, I hadn't played in such a place before. I wasn't used to such sophistications plus the audience was many times bigger than what I was used to and was also made up of the bigwigs of the society.
I also was playing alongside bigger and better instrumentalists. Even the states best drummers would be performing, people far better than I was.

All these things made me queasy. As if they knew that we would be nervous, they had brought a psychologist to talk to us briefly and after the talks, those ill feelings left me. I was relieved and just wanted to have fun and enjoy myself.

Everyone was enjoying themselves and everything went on well until mid way into our performance, we suddenly experienced an electric failure. It was so devastating and embarrassing. The hall lights became very dim, the stage lights completely went off and no one could see anything on stage anymore, the microphones were no longer working and my choir had to stop singing , but it was quite surprising how my drum mics were still working perfectly and my drumming could still be heard loud and clear.

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I learnt the chief organiser was frustrated and had began panicking. It was so embarrassing that such a thing would happen the day that the senator and all other dignitaries were in attendance. she was already in tears because she feared she would lose her job afterwards. The engineers were alerted and they went to work immediately.

Although my choir stopped singing as no one could hear them anymore, I didn't stop playing. I was now the spotlight as all they could hear was my drumming. Since it was dark, it seemed like I was alone, I felt at ease, same way I always felt whenever I was at home doing my personal drum practices .

While the audience were still perplexed and hadn't realized it was an electrical issue,
I succumbed to the urge to fill the gap, to do a drum solo and show off my drum skills. I creatively combined different drum patterns and sequence into a wonderful rythm and it appealed greatly to the audience. It was so amazing that the crowd started yelling and applauding, they felt it was part of the plan.

Just as I was doing a drum roll to round-off my 90 seconds drum-solo, just at the bridge of the song , the power was miraculously restored and the choir joined-in skillfully at the beginning of the next music section. It was just perfect and indeed seemed like a premeditated action. It made our performance even more interesting than it would have been.

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The audience was amazed , so much that they saluted the choir with a standing ovation and a resounding round of applause, they thought it was all scripted.
The chief organiser was overwhelmed, her tears had now become tears of joy.
Up till date, only the organizers and performers know what had happened that night, others still think it was part of the plan.

After the concert, the chief organiser came and hugged me very tightly, "Thank you so much,you guys saved the day" she said, still struggling to hold back the tears that filled her eyes.
Although I was not given any special recognition or even invited by any big band. I was still happy I contributed to saving the day and making the concert a successful one. That day was a memorable one , it's a day I can't forget.
What are your memorable musical experiences ?, I would love to know too .

Thanks for stopping by, I hope you enjoyed reading this.

I want to specially thank this community @q-inspired. I want to also thank @mipiano for always reading and commenting on my posts, I want to also thank all the lovely hivers of this Community. It's really nice to be here . God bless you all and I love you.