As a performer, I totally agree that be able to perform in public is something to be learned. Play at a festival is a good opportunity to challenge yourself and see how well you can handle the unexpected circumstances. It is required to concentrate and pay attention just in your music no matter what. I remember one time I was playing at a univeristy club house where dinner was served right after my performance. The staff were busy setting up the food so the utensils were clinging and the phone was ringing. It was kind of noisy and that shouldn’t have happened during a performace. So I totally ignored the noise by keeping my concentrate only in my music. Everyone were amazed by my performance and suprised by how well I know my piece.
Another tip for performing is be able to play through mistake(s) as if there’s no mistake at all. This is the only way to minimize the “demage” of a music and this is also the only way to cover up your mistake. Stop and play from the beginning is FATAL. Fixing your mistake(s) at the middle of your performance does not make your playing easier but it worsen the whole process by telling the audience that you are lack of concentration, control and knowledge of your piece. Play a note wrong is already one mistake. If you repeat your mistake, you’re rhythmically wrong too. So you created 2 mistakes by fixing a wrong note. Therefore I always emphasize my students to be able to play from anywhere in your piece by memory. Be able to move forward instead of going back. Another good strategy is knowing the ending very well. In worse case scenario, if you lost your memory in the middle of the piece and can’t continue anymore, jump right to the last 4 bars and finish the piece so that you can walk away from the piano with an ending.
