Lessons From a Violinist

Tuesday, January 24, 2012

My hat is off to Slovakian violinist Lukas Kmit for being mega cool under pressure. See the clip below.

As a speaker and teacher who occasionally does public creative readings and who suffers from stage fright and finds the entire experience draining at best, I can relate to the frustration and even anger associated with having my train of thought derailed.

Not that I mind questions. I tend to prefer questions happening while I’m on the topic.

I’m talking more about creative interruptions. When an artist of any kind is performing, a piece of their soul is unshielded and being shared with the audience. Enter an idiot who doesn’t know how to mute their phone. (Actually, let’s be honest, the vibrate feature makes a heck of a lot of noise too. Just turn it all off. It’s only a couple of hours.) That moment of connection between the artist and the audience is shattered and the artist is often jarred completely out of the emotional state necessary for the piece.

That’s why Kmit’s ability to accept the interruption and make light of it is such a wonderful lesson. With the world spiraling out of control and people becoming more and more self-centered, it’s important for those of us who are trying to uplift to keep our cool and turn moments around to a positive outcome.

Happy National Compliment Day!