Have you ever performed on stage or given a speech?

Here’s another WordPress prompt answer post – a little bonus to share some thoughts on this topic of performing in public!

I actually have quite a lot of experience with this topic, split into two categories: music and public speaking.

Music

I was lucky to grow up in a very musical family. Because we’re quite a large family (four children) and we all played musical instruments, people used to jokingly compare us to the Von Trapps. Thankfully, we didn’t ever form a family band, but we used to joke that we could easily make a chamber orchestra. I have however played in a lot of orchestras and wind bands over the years. This has varied from long-running stints in orchestras, to music festival week-only orchestras. The majority of my experience has been playing the bassoon. This is an underrated but truly lovely instrument. It’s quite goofy (it has a tendency to sound a bit flatulent if not played well!), but I love the sound it makes when played really well, and the repertoire is surprisingly good for what could be seen as a minor instrument in the orchestra. I like to think that Mozart was a fan of the bassoon, as he wrote a beautiful concerto for it, and there are many lovely solos for it across his works. My highlights were probably playing The Grandfather in several performances of Peter and The Wolf by Prokofiev, a piece where instruments in the orchestra take on characters. One of the performances was just for children, and it was so sweet getting to be a part of introducing kids to classical music. And it’s probably fair to say that I identify with the grumpy (but justifiably so!) grandfather character!

One of the things I miss about music now I’ve switched mostly to the piano is getting to perform with groups. It’s just such a special thing to be with so many likeminded people creating beautiful music – it really feeds the soul. Perhaps I’ll have to bring my bassoon over from the UK and get going again? One advantage of playing a slightly niche instrument like the bassoon is that they are almost always in short supply, and thus high demand!

Public speaking

My first proper public speaking experience was probably when I took part in the Articulate competition during Sixth Form. My art history teacher put me up for this event where school children compete with speeches about pieces of art. My essay was chosen and I got to compete, although was ultimately pipped to the post by a posh boy from nearby Winchester College (a famous/an infamous private school near us). It was a great experience though, and was part of what got me started with my art history blog Personal Interpretations. It was great to have a chance to write about art with a bit more freedom, and it’s something I still really enjoy when I have the time.

Since those early days, I’ve done quite a lot of ‘public speaking’ of various kinds, from during my uni days to for work. I’ve hosted events, given speeches, presented at conferences, and given numerous work presentations. I know public speaking can be quite nerve-wracking for a lot of people, but I’ve never found it too stressful. Yes, there are always some healthy nerves, but I find these help me ensure I’m really confident about what I actually want to say. I like the opportunity to talk to people about things I’m working on, or just care about, and it’s always great to hear people’s responses. It’s a lovely feeling when people have good things to say, and thankfully they mostly keep the bad things to themselves! I think my university experience at Oxford and Cambridge definitely helped prepare me for this – it’s an environment that leans quite heavily still on verbal communication, and you’re constantly being asked to justify your ideas in person, not just on paper. This doesn’t suite everyone, but I think it appeals to my naturally quite argumentative nature. I’m lucky to enjoy public speaking, and hope that for the most part people enjoy listening to me too!

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I’d really love to hear about your own experiences with performance and public speaking. Have you been in an orchestra, acted in a play, or maybe been part of a debating team? Please do share your experiences in a comment! If I wanted to get a little bit meta I could say that we’re basically all performing everyday – our public identities are public performances (and of course to paraphrase Judith Butler, gender itself is a performance!), so I suppose we all have a lot of experience even if we don’t realise it!