That's one of the reasons why I haven't been posting much recently. To say that I'm out of my comfort-zone would be a serious understatement. The standard is very high, there are some professional musicians, some music teachers, some people who've played for 20, 30 years, and then there's me...took up my French Horn 6 years ago, practice as much as I get time to , and LOVE it.
The moment I had been dreading came tonight. The other 3 French Horns were absent.
Nobody to lean on, or hide behind!The moment I had been dreading came tonight. The other 3 French Horns were absent. 
So, I was all alone. And if that wasn't bad enough, tonight's conductor is a French Horn player. I just knew that every time I'd play a wrong note, he must hear it, above any other instrument in the band.
Kept my nerve until the interval, and kept thinking "I'll go home at the interval if they haven't thrown me out before then".Got chatting to the player next to me during the interval, and he encouraged me to just play what I can, "you're doing great".
After the interval, one of the other French Horns arrived, and the relief on my face must have been obvious to all!
At the end, the conductor came over and asked me how I was getting on. I told him how nervous I felt, how exposed, how out-of-my-comfort-zone.
And guess what?
He was lovely! Said "we've all been there, just relax and play what you can" .
Thank you, thank you, thank you!
(note to self: you never know how valuable a few kind, reassuring words can be to someone).
The recommended repair guy guided me through the steps that he needs to take... before beginning to solder it back together, he has to wrap the entire instrument in wet rags, to absorb the heat of the solder and not damage the instrument. The entire procedure will take 3 days, and right now, there are not 3 consecutive days when this instrument is not needed! On Tuesday, it will go to FH casualty. Wonderful, but in the meantime, we're relying on the "power of the blue"!
