You Are THAT Important.

This symphony needs your particular instrument. It needs you to show up for practice, be willing to play off-key and know you are more adept than some and less adept than others of your fellow musicians. It needs you to forget the notes and then remember them; it also needs you to forget your sheet music at home and trudge back in the rain to get it and bear the scrutiny of the other players as you arrive late, wet and angry. It needs you to miss a performance entirely because the world got hold of you and know that someone else is in your seat, performing your music, potentially better than you. This symphony needs you to play brilliantly on some opening nights but to also fail miserably on others and let yourself be supported by the players who are having a better night. It needs you to be humble enough to accept the magnitude of your gifts and confident enough to know you are a beginner, always. It needs you to be praised one moment and panned the next, yet never miss one authentic note. It needs you to free yourself from illusions of perfection and accept your limits with kindness and humor. It needs you to perform with the same grace and skill when the conductor seems kind and supportive, as you do when she seems cruel and antagonistic. It needs you to doubt yourself every step of the way, and still pick up your instrument and play. This symphony needs you.