Playing for an audience intensifies everyone's listening, especially the performer's. It can be unnerving to realize, even while playing, that one is hearing things with new intensity. That accounts for much of what we call stage fright.

How refreshing, in contrast, to hear young people perform whose training is based on the immediacy of their ear. The attentiveness of the audience seems to reinforce confidence in their hearing so that nothing rattles them.

My class of young students had a playing party this afternoon in which that was once again demonstrated.

Bravo to their parents for taking the long view of what music means.