Imagine you’re a high school student again, standing on a stage, looking out into the thousands of chairs. You’re getting ready to perform a concert you have been working on for a month. Now try to visualize all this but inside the Kauffman Center in Kansas City, Missouri. I can hardly believe it and I actually did this!

It was Sunday, March 10th, 2013 and my parents were dropping me off in the back of the Kauffman Center. As I walked through the doors and down the empty hallway, my heart started racing and my hands started to shake. At that moment, it finally hit me that I was going to perform in a place where so many professionals would play later on. Continuing through the hallway, I see the sign on the door that had the name Bobby Watson, a famous jazz musician, on it. When I entered the women’s dressing room, I looked in the mirror and couldn’t believe that the person in the mirror was going to perform in a famous music hall.

Dr. Posey, the conductor, called everybody to the stage so we could start our rehearsal before Bobby Watson started his jazz class. Just standing on the stage made me extremely nervous, and nobody was even in the crowd yet! As the band tuned, just the sound of their playing made goose bumps appear on my arms because it sounded so heavenly. Now I was even more nervous because I felt like if I made one little mistake, everybody would hear it. However, my rehearsal went perfect and I was ready to start the concert!

After our rehearsal, Bobby started his master class while everybody else went back to the dressing rooms and waited for the concert to begin. The other percussionist and I go back to a lounge area and talk about other places the symphony could go in later years. Now not everything was about band while we waited, we also had to entertain ourselves by playing several rounds of UNO. About an hour later, it was finally time to perform. We walked on the stage and while the others were making sure everything was set up right, I looked into the crowd like a child would in New York City. My eyes wandered through the hall, my mouth gaped open. There were people all around, surrounding us from high above. Before I could even process what was going on, Dr. Posey called the band to attention.

He stared at all of us, making sure we were ready, and then gave a huge down beat to begin our first song. My heart was nearly beating out of my chest a couple measures before I played my first notes. “Here it is! Here it comes! Don’t mess up! It’s almost here!” I kept telling myself, anxiously waiting for my cue. Dr. Posey pointed at me and I nailed my entrance. With that being done, I knew I could play the rest of the concert with no problem. Sure enough, I managed to finish my last song and never miss a beat. I felt so relieved to finish the concert and to hit every note I had to play.

My heart still racing, I went to find the rest of my family. We all met up top in front of the glass wall where I was greeted with hugs from relatives. I was so happy I couldn’t help but smiling. Not a normal smile though, it was one of those smiles where it’s so big people look at you and think you are crazy! After a quick photo session with my family, we finally left the building and headed for the car.

When we left the parking lot, I couldn’t believe what just happened. Knowing that I just performed in a huge music hall with a professional band and a professional jazz player made me feel like it was a dream! Even now, I wish I could go back because that day seemed so unreal. It was such an honor to play there as a sophomore in high school knowing that only the best of the best get in there. Band is such a huge part of my life and now I can cross playing at a famous music hall off my bucket list.