Band

I'm back in Ca for band.  It is my guilty little pleasure.  Once a month I abandon my kids for about 24 hours and drive back here to sing with the college band.  It used to be the Jazz band which I was totally addicted to.  We had a love hate relationship.  I hated the drive and often had anxiety attacks over leaving the kids for soo loong, but it was so much fun and the rush from singing with a full band was so wonderful that I couldn't not come no matter how stressed the coming made me.
This semester I switched from Jazz Band to Concert Band, and last night was my first practice.  I hadn't really been able to fully process my feelings on it when my husband asked how it went right after, but I think I've got it now, here it goes dear.  I was way nervous, partly because concert (more classical/ musical theater) and jazz are to completely different styles, and the pieces I'm singing are well known and have a high standard attached.  I haven't really sung the more classical music in a few years.  It takes different vocal placing, resonance, breath control, tonal quality and basically different skills than I have practiced in a long time, making me out of shape vocally.  It is kind of like running a race when you've only trained by walking a couple of laps around a track.  You know you are not going to finish first, but that you'll just have to do you're best, and keep practicing.
Next, the songs are supper well known; I Dreamed a Dream, and Someone to Watch Over Me.  Because of the new Le Mis movie everyone will have armchair quarterback opinions of I Dreamed a Dream no mater how good or bad I do.  Let's face it, I am not Anne Hathaway.  She is awesome, professional, thin, and willing to shave her head for her work. (A huge salary might have helped to convinced her to do the last one.)  I can only be my best, which will probably not be as good.  I have purposely not seen the movie so I don't psych myself out anymore.  Someone to Watch Over Me is also well known with many famous professionals adding it to their resumes, but I thought that because I sung a different arrangement of it in Jazz band it would be easier and less imposing.  I bet on the wrong horse.  In practice Dream was definitely better (not super wonderful, but better), and Someone to Watch was embarrassingly awful.  The worst was I forgot to bring my mini recorder so I could make a practice recording.  Oh, and I was on a mic, so everyone could really hear how bad it was.  Live, embarrass yourself and then learn I guess.
What have I learned?  I'm going to have to suck it up and ask someone back home to help me make a practice recording for Someone to Watch.  I can't rely on my jazz experience with that one because this is a marathon, not a mommy walk.  If I keep up the hard work with Dream I might be presentable.  My goal for next time, surprise them with my improvement.  That shouldn't be to hard.