Nerves are an unavoidable part of a performer’s life. Every professional has his or her own way of dealing with that butterfly feeling!
The week before--Maximum preparation of your performance pieces. Plan ahead, so your pieces are the best they can be and you are not trying to fix mistakes at the last minute.
Eliminate every stress factor that you can, leading up to your performance on that day—that means during getting ready at home, getting to the venue, and waiting to perform.
Breathing exercises. Slowly breathe in through your nose, hold for 5 seconds and then exhale slowly through your mouth. Do this several times.
Take bottled water with you.
Don’t rush around getting ready, or trying to get to the performance. Allow A LOT of time!
Distract yourself! Do an activity you enjoy. Relax.
Be sure you are rested.
Project confidence. Acting as if you are the best musician around will help you convince yourself that you will achieve your goal.
Have a light meal about three hours before you play. Going in on and empty stomach won’t help.
Think positively. What is the worst that can happen? So . . . it doesn’t go well. OR YOU WERE AWESOME, preparing all you could! Use this experience to anticipate problems you might have the next time.