Adele, Barbara Streisand, Lady Gaga, Elvis Presley, Bob Dylan, Britney Spears . . . what do all these musicians have in common?

According to Arlin Cuncic, all these people consider themselves shy and introverted. Adele, a Grammy-winning British pop singer whose music is topping the charts, puts it this way: “I’m scared of audiences,” she confessed. “One show in Amsterdam I was so nervous I escaped out the fire exit. I’ve thrown up a couple of times. Once in Brussels I projectile vomited on someone. I just gotta bear it. But I don’t like touring. I have anxiety attacks a lot.”

Even Elvis Presley said, ““I took the guitar, and I watched people, and I learned to play a little bit. But I would never sing in public. I was very shy about it.”

According to Cuncic, “Although being a musician is a very public career, surprisingly many musicians are shy. Often the most outlandish or those with the most bizarre stage personas are actually the most shy; they find it easier to transform themselves into someone other than themselves.”

So many of you might be surprised that I’m an introvert, too. In fact, I was named the “Most Shy” girl in my high school class. When I am asked to write something (like this blog), the words flow out of my fingers “like verbal diarrhea,” as my late husband used to call it, as I can think while I type.

But when I am asked to speak in public, I ALWAYS have my remarks written down, lest I become tongue-tied.

Know the great advantage of playing the organ? Either being hidden altogether or having my back to the audience, most of the time!

So it is with some trepidation that I answered “yes” to an email from Hawaii Public Radio asking me to come to the station and spend a couple of hours pitching for the semi-annual pledge drive. If they had asked me to play the organ, I would have felt SO much more comfortable than I would talking on the radio!

Oh, for many years, Carl Crosier and I appeared “on air” during these fund drives, but he would mostly do all the talking. I was content to be in the background, as I am during many musical events, typing the program, sending out news releases, etc. But did you know that at heart, Carl was a shy person, too? He did not like talking to strangers, and always asked ME to do it!

But now there will be no one to hide behind. However I’m grateful that I’ll be appearing with Ian Capps, president of Early Music Hawaii and host of The Early Muse. I will let him ask the questions, and hopefully, I will be able to answer.

Tune in on Thursday, 4/7  or Sunday, 4/10, both days at 9:00 am to hear my pitch for public radio. It’s all for a good cause — HPR is a “member-supported” radio station, meaning the majority of funding comes from donations from listeners.

Or, donate online by clicking here.

Not long ago Facebook reminded me of my memory on April 3rd, 2015 where I wrote that Hawaii Public Radio gave me a gift by playing part of Bach’s Mass in B Minor: Maundy Thursday gift.

Sigh.