Sometimes I have to step back and really appreciate my job. Just this past weekend I found myself performing in the Kasteel De Hooge Vuursche – a gorgeous castle just half an hour out of Utrecht. The castle was built in 1912, so it has the rich, worn feeling of an old building, but it’s been beautifully renovated so that it’s now a luxurious venue for events. We had beautiful weather that day, and a gentle breeze waft through the building. When the doors were all open, you could see all the way from the concert hall, through the reception area to the magnificent fountain in the gardens out front. At moments like these, the practice hours are all worth it.