It's a feeling of oneness. As if without any conscious effort suddenly the music, the instrument and myself are in complete harmony and nothing but the present matters. It might be the first time I've had goose bumps and tears while playing. It is the moment that hours and hours of practice in freezing cold winters and blazing hot summers have led to, but in an instant the pain of numb fingers and sweaty hands vanishes from memory. Only one thought remains; "I love what I do!".

Today was the first day that I played the organ where I will be giving a recital in a week. It's an amazing organ and I feel very privileged to be spending time on it. I have had the opportunity to play many wonderful organs this year, but this is the largest. It is in the New Cathedral in Linz, which is the largest cathedral in Austria. The decay is about 8-9 seconds in the room. It's quite a rush to hold a full chord complete with 32' in the pedal and then release and just listen as the sound swells and slowly fades away. I am optimistic that this performance will be a fitting conclusion to this phase of my study here in Austria.