I hope everyone to whom it applies had a lovely and not-too-stressful holiday! (And to everyone else, I hope you had a lovely and not-too-stressful couple of days.)
I don't suppose anyone comes to the blog not knowing any thing about the oboe and these crazy reeds we have to deal with, but I thought that this was the best and easiest to follow description I've seen of what making a reed is like.
The Poulenc opera (Les Mamelles de Tiresias) went off very well. I was a little nervous going into the performances, because we did not have very many rehearsals for the orchestra, and we didn't even have a real hell week (just normal orchestra rehearsals). However, our conductor was really fantastic, really impressive considering he's a grad student rather than a professor, and we pulled it together well in the end. I was really pleased with how it all went. Though to be fair, the vast majority of credit goes to the singers. The opera and musical theater programs are the best we have here, and I'm consistently blown away by how talented our singers are.
I absolutely love playing in opera pits, and this show was short and sweet, surreal and comical but with really great music, a few nice small oboe solos, and the staging and costumes were fantastic. Very French Cabaret, in fact. It was done with the orchestra onstage and with minimal staging for the singers, and the costumes were all berets and scarves and stripes and tulle, with everyone (both male and female) wearing heavy eyeliner and red lips. The orchestra was promised berets, but sadly the budget didn't allow for it. I hope that there's some way for me to get an audio or video recording of the show. I'd love to see it.
I also had an orchestra concert - my schedule was pretty hectic for a while, as I was in effect playing in two rotations while doing the opera- which went pretty well. We did Sibelius 2, which I unfortunately did not get to play in, and Bartok's Two Pictures, for which I played English horn. I always love playing English horn, but that piece really has a beautiful part. There's a duet in the second movement for EH/clarinet which is low and hollow and so very eerily icy. You can listen to both movements here: one, two.
So now I'm done for the quarter, except for the family holiday concerts. I really don't mind playing those, though I think I'm the only person in the whole school. :-)
In lessons I've mostly been working on Ferlings. I thought that after doing the Gillet etudes for the past two years that Ferling would be much easier. And, to be honest, the slow ones are pretty easy for me. I'm glad, because this means that I can really concentrate on being expressive in them, and I'm pretty happy with how I've been doing. But the fast ones are hard! I've actually been having quite a bit of trouble with some of them (for instance, #12), though of course some of them fall much more easily (for instance, #10). Still, I'm glad that I've decided to systematically go through the whole thing. It's far too easy to decide, as I have in the past, to "just skip that one..."
I've also planned my second degree recital, which will be at the end of February. Well, mostly planned it. I'll do a Sonata in c minor by Johann Jacob Bach, the Kalliwoda Concertino, Daelli's Fantasia on Rigoletto, and Dring's Trio for oboe/bassoon/piano. There's a chance that I will play Lovreglio's Fantasia on Un ballo in maschera instead of the Daelli, which I heard a recording of and fell in love with, but I've discovered that it's actually a clarinet piece, so it will depend whether it's worth the trouble to transpose the whole piece or not. I also have fallen in love with Bissoli's Sonata in g minor, another baroque piece, but it's rather long, and I think the Bach is a better fit for my recital in terms of how much music I have and the endurance needed. Bissoli was an oboist, though, so the piece falls very well, and it's really gorgeous.
I wish that I could link to recordings of these pieces, but they're all pretty scarce. None have a decent recording on youtube, and I can't even find a recording of the Bissoli on Amazon. Perhaps some day I will put up some clips for you to hear.
I've been listening to a lot of opera music lately, mostly Baroque opera, and it's really inspired me musically in terms of my oboe playing. Particularly as I'm working on both Baroque and opera music right now. I wrote a paper on trouser roles (women playing men in opera), which led me to youtube, and, well, I sort of got stuck. Of course there are a ton of fantastic singers out there, but I thought I'd share some of my favorite discoveries. I was really (pleasantly) surprised at how well acted a lot of operas are now, and the musicality of all of these singers is just impeccable. I'm particularly impressed by Ernman, Mijanovic, and Galou. I listen and just think, "That is what I want to be able to evoke with my oboe. What must I do to get that depth of emotion and ease of expression?" It's really frustrating to me at times, but it's really inspiring me to push myself to get the results I want rather than only the results I think I can get.
But rather than me going on and on (which, believe me, I have been to anyone who will listen), I'll just post some links to youtube.
Natalie Dessay, "Air des clochettes," Lakme (Delibes).
Joyce DiDonato, "Crude furie degli orridi abissi", Serse (Handel).
Frederica Von Stade, Moon Song from Rusalka, Dvorak
La mort d'Ophélie (Berlioz), Anne Sofie von Otter
Bach, Erbarme dich, mein Gott (Matthäuspassion), Delphine Galou.
Vivaldi, "Svena, uccidi, abbatti, atterra" from Bajazet, Marijana Mijanovic
Handel, "Ah ! Stigie larve" from Orlando, Marijana Mijanovic (There are several more clips of this opera on youtube, and they're all amazing.)
Handel, "Come Nube" from Agrippina, Malena Ernman
Strauss, "Chacun a son gout" from Die Fledermaus, Malena Ernman
In other music news, I have submitted my first PhD application, and will soon submit several more! Now for the waiting...and quickly deciding if I want to apply to more places- it's a tough market out there!
Saturday, November 28, 2009
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
The longer I go without posting...
...the longer I think it will take me to catch up here, and thus the longer I put it off. Many apologies, my quarter this fall has been truly crazy, and will most likely continue to be.
I'm in orchestra, of course, and also playing in an opera (technically the opera is from another rotation, but that orchestra has so many concerts this term that they ran out of oboists!), plus I'm playing both the Poulenc trio and sextet for someone's recital. Oh, yes, the opera is also Poulenc (Les Mamelles de Tiresias)- luckily he's one of my favorite composers! I really do love playing operas, and I can't wait until next week when we begin to rehearse with singers.
In my free time I've been doing things like playing in all-day conducting workshops, and filling out applications for musicology PhD programs. For the workshop, I had to learn Daphnis and Chloe on English horn, and the principal oboe part to Bizet's Symphony in C. Luckily I'd learned parts of both before, but I had to relearn the third movement of Bizet with B naturals instead of B flats, which was pretty hard! Muscle memory is a chore to unlearn.
Oboe-wise, the quarter has been going really well. I bought a new knife and a sharpening stick about a month ago, and they have completely revolutionized the way I make reeds. I've always been fairly happy with my rather idiosyncratic reed-making style, but I had no idea that a large part of my style was drawn from limitations imposed by my truly awful knife. I have so much more control now, and I find that I'm actually able to make reeds similar to my teacher's. The amount of precision and definition that I can get from my knife is shocking to me. I'm still working on changing my style, and getting used to having a knife that's actually sharp the way that it should be, but I'm really excited about the progress I'm making. (My teacher told me the other day, "You sound like a grown-up now!" which was pretty fabulous to hear.)
I bought both from Roger Miller, his sharpening steel and own brand knife, which looks very strange, with a very tall blade, but is actually very easy to sharpen and not too hard, though fairly different, to scrape with.
My teacher heard me play both Poulenc chamber pieces this week, and was very happy with how I sounded, which is really gratifying to hear. I do feel in general that I'm a better player this year. Some of this, of course, is run of the mill improvement- theoretically each year you should be a better player than the last- and my summer at EMF helped too. However, as I mentioned, I'm applying to musicology programs for next year, and I feel that that has also been beneficial for my playing. I feel like a weight has been lifted from me. Last year I was so very stressed, as I was trying plan a career in performance, and although applying to another round of grad school is stressful in its own way, I feel that the lifting of the "oboe performance" weight has opened me up to enjoying the oboe more and thus playing better. I feel more like I did in undergrad, when more of my energy was put towards musicality and playing the oboe rather than stressing about my career options.
Obviously I am still invested in the degree I'm currently seeking, and I under no circumstances mean to give up the oboe. But I feel this path is better for my continued mental health. :-)
Speaking of this degree, I'm trying to plan my repertoire for my second recital, which will be in February. I will hopefully be playing either the Poulenc trio or another oboe/bassoon/piano trio (perhaps the Dring?), but I'm having a lot of trouble coming up with the rest of my program. I'm looking for melodramatic, dark pieces. and also contemplating playing a Pasculli. We shall see.
Obviously a lot has gone on that I have not mentioned in this post, like my fall audition for orchestra rotations and the first orchestra concert of the year, for which I played principal on Bolero and Berlioz's Overture to Benvenuto Cellini, but this is at least some of what I've been up to lately.
I'm in orchestra, of course, and also playing in an opera (technically the opera is from another rotation, but that orchestra has so many concerts this term that they ran out of oboists!), plus I'm playing both the Poulenc trio and sextet for someone's recital. Oh, yes, the opera is also Poulenc (Les Mamelles de Tiresias)- luckily he's one of my favorite composers! I really do love playing operas, and I can't wait until next week when we begin to rehearse with singers.
In my free time I've been doing things like playing in all-day conducting workshops, and filling out applications for musicology PhD programs. For the workshop, I had to learn Daphnis and Chloe on English horn, and the principal oboe part to Bizet's Symphony in C. Luckily I'd learned parts of both before, but I had to relearn the third movement of Bizet with B naturals instead of B flats, which was pretty hard! Muscle memory is a chore to unlearn.
Oboe-wise, the quarter has been going really well. I bought a new knife and a sharpening stick about a month ago, and they have completely revolutionized the way I make reeds. I've always been fairly happy with my rather idiosyncratic reed-making style, but I had no idea that a large part of my style was drawn from limitations imposed by my truly awful knife. I have so much more control now, and I find that I'm actually able to make reeds similar to my teacher's. The amount of precision and definition that I can get from my knife is shocking to me. I'm still working on changing my style, and getting used to having a knife that's actually sharp the way that it should be, but I'm really excited about the progress I'm making. (My teacher told me the other day, "You sound like a grown-up now!" which was pretty fabulous to hear.)
I bought both from Roger Miller, his sharpening steel and own brand knife, which looks very strange, with a very tall blade, but is actually very easy to sharpen and not too hard, though fairly different, to scrape with.
My teacher heard me play both Poulenc chamber pieces this week, and was very happy with how I sounded, which is really gratifying to hear. I do feel in general that I'm a better player this year. Some of this, of course, is run of the mill improvement- theoretically each year you should be a better player than the last- and my summer at EMF helped too. However, as I mentioned, I'm applying to musicology programs for next year, and I feel that that has also been beneficial for my playing. I feel like a weight has been lifted from me. Last year I was so very stressed, as I was trying plan a career in performance, and although applying to another round of grad school is stressful in its own way, I feel that the lifting of the "oboe performance" weight has opened me up to enjoying the oboe more and thus playing better. I feel more like I did in undergrad, when more of my energy was put towards musicality and playing the oboe rather than stressing about my career options.
Obviously I am still invested in the degree I'm currently seeking, and I under no circumstances mean to give up the oboe. But I feel this path is better for my continued mental health. :-)
Speaking of this degree, I'm trying to plan my repertoire for my second recital, which will be in February. I will hopefully be playing either the Poulenc trio or another oboe/bassoon/piano trio (perhaps the Dring?), but I'm having a lot of trouble coming up with the rest of my program. I'm looking for melodramatic, dark pieces. and also contemplating playing a Pasculli. We shall see.
Obviously a lot has gone on that I have not mentioned in this post, like my fall audition for orchestra rotations and the first orchestra concert of the year, for which I played principal on Bolero and Berlioz's Overture to Benvenuto Cellini, but this is at least some of what I've been up to lately.
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
At first, the time between the end of EMF and the start of school seemed endless; a month and a half of boredom and inevitably bad practice habits. A month and a half later, with school beginning in a week and auditions in only 3 days, I almost wish I had more time.
The EMF ended as powerfully as it began, though the program for the last week left a little to be desired. But then, I had my big moments in the first half of camp, and the student soloists were truly amazing. I'm so incredibly glad that I had a chance to attend EMF, and I only wish I could go back next year. The conductors I worked under were inspired and inspiring, and I met a lot of fantastic students. I'm sure some of us will run into each other eventually, and I'll be glad when we do!
The auditions at the beginning of the year here determine our rotation: who we will play with all year, and in which order we'll go through the ensembles. And it's also technically a board (also known as a jury). On the one hand, you really get to know the people you're playing with, and all of the wind sections rotate together. On the other hand, you unfortunately only get to play with 1/3 of the wind players. I'm not sure which rotation I hope to get into this year, because while all three are more or less equal, one rotation gets to play in the pit of both operas. However, that rotation also would screw up the schedule I've planned for the quarter. But we shall see.
We have a LOT of audition music. 10 pages, to be precise, with music from Brahms 1, Bizet's Symphony in C, Mendelssohn 4, Debussy's Afternoon of the Faun and Fetes, Ravel's Daphnis and Chloe, Sibelius 2, and Shostakovich 1. French Impressionism is...shall we say, very challenging. In undergrad we played one of the Daphnis and Chloe suites, and I believe it's still the hardest piece I have ever played in orchestra. At some point we'll be told which excerpts will be the ones actually used in the audition, but that point may be Saturday afternoon. Hopefully it'll be sooner. I'm obviously preparing all of them, but it would be nice to have a day to narrow it down.
Hopefully I'll also have some reeds for the audition. My cane lately has been exceedingly mushy, and I'm getting frustrated. I had such good luck for most of EMF, and I was really enjoying feeling comfortable and self-sufficient in terms of reeds. I'm nearly always completely self-sufficient, if only because I'm very used to my very idiosyncratic reeds, but at EMF I didn't do any work on reeds with my teachers until the last week, and I was really happy with my results the whole time. The climate, of course, was a big help- my reeds aren't quite as fond of Cincinnati. But I was similarly sufficient for much of last year at school, and I'll get there again eventually.
I also have...well, not big news, but news that could some day become big news. I'm applying to PhD programs in music history for next year, with the intent of studying 19th or 20th century opera of some sort. I've done a lot of thinking about this over the past year, and it's something I really want to do. I know by now that I'm not good enough to make it as a professional oboist. If I had a different temperament, and could make myself practice 6 hours a day every day, I think I have the raw ability. But that's not me, and it would make me miserable. I don't intend to ever give up playing the oboe, and I hope that I will be able to take lessons and play lots of gigs in the future, but I'm much happier when my stress level is a little bit lower. (And frankly it's easier to be a musicologist who plays the oboe than an oboist who writes articles on the side.) Besides, my classes here have really brought to my attention the difference a really good professor can make on your learning experience. I want to be one of those professors who help their students enjoy and be inspired by the material they teach.
So I've written another personal statement, and I'm figuring out what research papers I'll submit and bracing myself for another round of grad school applications. I'm taking Research and Writing this quarter, a required class for my Masters degree, and I'm planning to write a paper on the narratives created in Pasculli's opera fantasias. There's basically no existing scholarship on the subject, and I'm pretty excited. (I do look forward to the fact that come December the hard part will be over, not just beginning. Thank goodness for no auditions.)
I wanted to make a note of something. At EMF, one or some of the teachers found my blog, and asked my teacher to Speak To Me about it. I don't know who found it, or if they had any specific objections to it. My teacher was certainly nice about the whole thing, and said that she didn't want me to someday lose a job over something I'd written here, but I got quite a lecture and the intention seemed to me to be to convince me to stop blogging. It really freaked me out at the time, because I try very hard to be polite and professional on this blog, but I was caught too off guard to ask if there was anything specific on here that they objected to. I thought about the matter, and I'm definitely not going to stop blogging because of it or delete things that I've written in the past. While I do want to be professional here, and I am careful about what I write and try not to badmouth anyone, the intent of my blog is to give people an idea of the reality of being a musician and an oboist. Specifically, my reality and my experiences. I name names on purpose, I write about specifics on purpose, I hope that this blog comes up when people google pieces I've written about, or teachers I've studied with. I know that people can have very different experiences in similar situations, and I just want to provide yet another perspective. I'm not famous, and I'm not the best oboe player you'll meet, but I love what I do, I involve myself in it fully, and I have opinions that I want to share. I want to be informative. I'm not going to write horrible things about people or groups or what have you, but I'm also not going to never give specifics. I want people to have specifics.
That said, if I ever link to you or mention your name on here and you wish me to remove it, please contact me and I will do so immediately.
The EMF ended as powerfully as it began, though the program for the last week left a little to be desired. But then, I had my big moments in the first half of camp, and the student soloists were truly amazing. I'm so incredibly glad that I had a chance to attend EMF, and I only wish I could go back next year. The conductors I worked under were inspired and inspiring, and I met a lot of fantastic students. I'm sure some of us will run into each other eventually, and I'll be glad when we do!
The auditions at the beginning of the year here determine our rotation: who we will play with all year, and in which order we'll go through the ensembles. And it's also technically a board (also known as a jury). On the one hand, you really get to know the people you're playing with, and all of the wind sections rotate together. On the other hand, you unfortunately only get to play with 1/3 of the wind players. I'm not sure which rotation I hope to get into this year, because while all three are more or less equal, one rotation gets to play in the pit of both operas. However, that rotation also would screw up the schedule I've planned for the quarter. But we shall see.
We have a LOT of audition music. 10 pages, to be precise, with music from Brahms 1, Bizet's Symphony in C, Mendelssohn 4, Debussy's Afternoon of the Faun and Fetes, Ravel's Daphnis and Chloe, Sibelius 2, and Shostakovich 1. French Impressionism is...shall we say, very challenging. In undergrad we played one of the Daphnis and Chloe suites, and I believe it's still the hardest piece I have ever played in orchestra. At some point we'll be told which excerpts will be the ones actually used in the audition, but that point may be Saturday afternoon. Hopefully it'll be sooner. I'm obviously preparing all of them, but it would be nice to have a day to narrow it down.
Hopefully I'll also have some reeds for the audition. My cane lately has been exceedingly mushy, and I'm getting frustrated. I had such good luck for most of EMF, and I was really enjoying feeling comfortable and self-sufficient in terms of reeds. I'm nearly always completely self-sufficient, if only because I'm very used to my very idiosyncratic reeds, but at EMF I didn't do any work on reeds with my teachers until the last week, and I was really happy with my results the whole time. The climate, of course, was a big help- my reeds aren't quite as fond of Cincinnati. But I was similarly sufficient for much of last year at school, and I'll get there again eventually.
I also have...well, not big news, but news that could some day become big news. I'm applying to PhD programs in music history for next year, with the intent of studying 19th or 20th century opera of some sort. I've done a lot of thinking about this over the past year, and it's something I really want to do. I know by now that I'm not good enough to make it as a professional oboist. If I had a different temperament, and could make myself practice 6 hours a day every day, I think I have the raw ability. But that's not me, and it would make me miserable. I don't intend to ever give up playing the oboe, and I hope that I will be able to take lessons and play lots of gigs in the future, but I'm much happier when my stress level is a little bit lower. (And frankly it's easier to be a musicologist who plays the oboe than an oboist who writes articles on the side.) Besides, my classes here have really brought to my attention the difference a really good professor can make on your learning experience. I want to be one of those professors who help their students enjoy and be inspired by the material they teach.
So I've written another personal statement, and I'm figuring out what research papers I'll submit and bracing myself for another round of grad school applications. I'm taking Research and Writing this quarter, a required class for my Masters degree, and I'm planning to write a paper on the narratives created in Pasculli's opera fantasias. There's basically no existing scholarship on the subject, and I'm pretty excited. (I do look forward to the fact that come December the hard part will be over, not just beginning. Thank goodness for no auditions.)
I wanted to make a note of something. At EMF, one or some of the teachers found my blog, and asked my teacher to Speak To Me about it. I don't know who found it, or if they had any specific objections to it. My teacher was certainly nice about the whole thing, and said that she didn't want me to someday lose a job over something I'd written here, but I got quite a lecture and the intention seemed to me to be to convince me to stop blogging. It really freaked me out at the time, because I try very hard to be polite and professional on this blog, but I was caught too off guard to ask if there was anything specific on here that they objected to. I thought about the matter, and I'm definitely not going to stop blogging because of it or delete things that I've written in the past. While I do want to be professional here, and I am careful about what I write and try not to badmouth anyone, the intent of my blog is to give people an idea of the reality of being a musician and an oboist. Specifically, my reality and my experiences. I name names on purpose, I write about specifics on purpose, I hope that this blog comes up when people google pieces I've written about, or teachers I've studied with. I know that people can have very different experiences in similar situations, and I just want to provide yet another perspective. I'm not famous, and I'm not the best oboe player you'll meet, but I love what I do, I involve myself in it fully, and I have opinions that I want to share. I want to be informative. I'm not going to write horrible things about people or groups or what have you, but I'm also not going to never give specifics. I want people to have specifics.
That said, if I ever link to you or mention your name on here and you wish me to remove it, please contact me and I will do so immediately.
Thursday, July 30, 2009
"Up is up and down is down" - Caldwell
My least favorite place to get water? Probably the G key (or the A key, if you name that way). The one that allows you to play a tuning A for the orchestra. In rehearsal the other day, I went to tune, and instead played "ffffgurglethp AAAA gurglesdffffffff AA ffthss". I actually had to have the second oboe tune for me.
The Shostakovich 5 concert, was pretty amazing. There was a full, enthusiastic house (so much stomping on stage, and shouting in the audience), and we played really well. We did have some tuning issues, but the performance turned out to be so emotional and forceful and musical that it hardly mattered. I was really happy with my performance. I hadn't played badly in rehearsals, but I'd never really been happy with my solos. I had a hard time getting the glassy, smooth sound needed for the first and third movements, as well as finding the proper depth of emotion. At the concert, though, I absolutely could not have played them better. I was really satisfied with my performance, and I got reassuring feedback from my teachers and fellow orchestra people. It's certainly among the best concerts I've had, or maybe even the best performance; it's rare that everything goes the way you want it to. I had one person tell me that my solo in the fhird movement made her tear up, which is an incredible compliment, and very unexpected. (The oboe does not fare well in Shosty 5: after getting "punched in the face" in the second movement, in the third movement I was to play as if I'd been stranded in Siberia and was contemplating committing suicide before I froze to death. I spent all afternoon trying to figure out how to play the solo so it sounded like I wanted to die. But it seemed to work.) It's amazing how powerful music can be.
Last week I played second in a Mozart double piano concerto and in Rachmaninoff's Symphonic Dances. And let me tell you, I got some payback for being so pleased with myself about Shostakovich. The Rachmaninoff is probably the hardest piece I've played in orchestra, aside from Daphnis et Chloe. I spent most of my practice time last week making pained and frustrating noises. That said, I loved the piece, particularly the second movement, which is a Tim Burton-esque waltz. The Mozart was obviously much simpler, but we had a lot of tuning troubles which only ended up half resolved. Or, rather, they were resolved until my reed cracked on stage immediately before the concert and I got water in all my keys. I feel that the Rachmaninoff was a poor choice for this situation, but while the concert was certainly not the best we've played, it was still fairly hypnotizing. I only wish we'd done the piece justice.
Mr. Ellis left camp early to perform in the Mostly Mozart festival, so Katie Young is replacing him these last two weeks. I had a funny moment in last week's lesson where she complimented my sound by telling me "you don't sound like you play a Howarth!" I was a bit non-plussed. I was hoping to work on reeds with her, but unfortunately didn't have a chance. I enjoyed my lessons with her; she was very nitpicky, but in a nice way. She was complimentary of my tone, but told me to work on being more expressive, particularly in Bach. I have a problem finding the middle ground in Bach. I tend to either switch off and play far too squarely and pedantically, or to go to an extreme. And while I'm perfectly comfortable with being dramatic in, for example, the unaccompanied Bach piece I played on my recital, I'm much less able to interpret cantatas correctly. I also discovered that my interpretation of one of the phrases in the Vaughan Williams concerto is something that only I do. I'm not sure how I feel about that.
I'm taking a class here called "The Business of Music," taught by Karen Birch Blundell, the EH faculty. The class is really fantastic. We've covered resumes and publicity materials, community outreach, freelancing, orchestral auditions, and keeping your orchestral job once you've won it. On one hand, I can practically hear people's bubbles bursting, but on the other hand, I find the number of jobs, the number of quality gigs, the fact that so many people are able to play music in a way that makes them happy all very reassuring.
Last night we had an oboe studio dinner, which was pretty awesome. So much insanity in so small a space. If you have never tried playing excerpts (for example, Haydn Variations, Concerto for Orchestra, Don Juan) on only your reed, you are missing out. Plus, Susan Eischeid, the 2nd oboe faculty, made us all personalized oboe reed cupcakes.
Lastly, if you have not listened to the Curtis commencement speech by Robert Levin, you should as soon as possible. "The real question is, “what do you have to say?” [...] Your job is to keep people up at night."
The Shostakovich 5 concert, was pretty amazing. There was a full, enthusiastic house (so much stomping on stage, and shouting in the audience), and we played really well. We did have some tuning issues, but the performance turned out to be so emotional and forceful and musical that it hardly mattered. I was really happy with my performance. I hadn't played badly in rehearsals, but I'd never really been happy with my solos. I had a hard time getting the glassy, smooth sound needed for the first and third movements, as well as finding the proper depth of emotion. At the concert, though, I absolutely could not have played them better. I was really satisfied with my performance, and I got reassuring feedback from my teachers and fellow orchestra people. It's certainly among the best concerts I've had, or maybe even the best performance; it's rare that everything goes the way you want it to. I had one person tell me that my solo in the fhird movement made her tear up, which is an incredible compliment, and very unexpected. (The oboe does not fare well in Shosty 5: after getting "punched in the face" in the second movement, in the third movement I was to play as if I'd been stranded in Siberia and was contemplating committing suicide before I froze to death. I spent all afternoon trying to figure out how to play the solo so it sounded like I wanted to die. But it seemed to work.) It's amazing how powerful music can be.
Last week I played second in a Mozart double piano concerto and in Rachmaninoff's Symphonic Dances. And let me tell you, I got some payback for being so pleased with myself about Shostakovich. The Rachmaninoff is probably the hardest piece I've played in orchestra, aside from Daphnis et Chloe. I spent most of my practice time last week making pained and frustrating noises. That said, I loved the piece, particularly the second movement, which is a Tim Burton-esque waltz. The Mozart was obviously much simpler, but we had a lot of tuning troubles which only ended up half resolved. Or, rather, they were resolved until my reed cracked on stage immediately before the concert and I got water in all my keys. I feel that the Rachmaninoff was a poor choice for this situation, but while the concert was certainly not the best we've played, it was still fairly hypnotizing. I only wish we'd done the piece justice.
Mr. Ellis left camp early to perform in the Mostly Mozart festival, so Katie Young is replacing him these last two weeks. I had a funny moment in last week's lesson where she complimented my sound by telling me "you don't sound like you play a Howarth!" I was a bit non-plussed. I was hoping to work on reeds with her, but unfortunately didn't have a chance. I enjoyed my lessons with her; she was very nitpicky, but in a nice way. She was complimentary of my tone, but told me to work on being more expressive, particularly in Bach. I have a problem finding the middle ground in Bach. I tend to either switch off and play far too squarely and pedantically, or to go to an extreme. And while I'm perfectly comfortable with being dramatic in, for example, the unaccompanied Bach piece I played on my recital, I'm much less able to interpret cantatas correctly. I also discovered that my interpretation of one of the phrases in the Vaughan Williams concerto is something that only I do. I'm not sure how I feel about that.
I'm taking a class here called "The Business of Music," taught by Karen Birch Blundell, the EH faculty. The class is really fantastic. We've covered resumes and publicity materials, community outreach, freelancing, orchestral auditions, and keeping your orchestral job once you've won it. On one hand, I can practically hear people's bubbles bursting, but on the other hand, I find the number of jobs, the number of quality gigs, the fact that so many people are able to play music in a way that makes them happy all very reassuring.
Last night we had an oboe studio dinner, which was pretty awesome. So much insanity in so small a space. If you have never tried playing excerpts (for example, Haydn Variations, Concerto for Orchestra, Don Juan) on only your reed, you are missing out. Plus, Susan Eischeid, the 2nd oboe faculty, made us all personalized oboe reed cupcakes.
Lastly, if you have not listened to the Curtis commencement speech by Robert Levin, you should as soon as possible. "The real question is, “what do you have to say?” [...] Your job is to keep people up at night."
Friday, July 17, 2009
"Do not give my secrets away to conductors! ... [diabolical laughter]" -Tabuteau
Last week I played 3rd oboe/EH in the first movement of Mahler 2 (the other half of the concert was Beethoven 5, which I was a little sad to miss out on, though I have played it once before), again under Mr. Schwarz. I was really happy to play the EH again, and Mahler (unlike some composers such as, say, Dvorak) seems perfectly capable of writing a good doubling part. Although there is a lot of very rapid switching, I'd rather that than two measures of EH somewhere in the middle. And while it's nice to play with new people and under new conductors, it was nice to have two weeks in the same orchestra. I've gotten to really like Mr. Schwarz. He's picky without being mean, offers specific compliments and suggestions, and is a fabulous rehearser. We didn't ever run out of things to work on (certainly not in a week!), but I didn't ever feel like we'd run out of time either. He also seems to work very well with students; he managed to drop a lot of information, both about the pieces and about the workings of orchestras, into rehearsals.
Our concert went well, and I got some very nice compliments on my EH playing. I feel like I'm playing much better here than at school, on both oboe and EH, and my reeds are turning out surprisingly well also. (Knock on wood!) I don't know what, if anything, I'm doing differently, or even if the difference is only in my head. I think the change in location and humidity has given my reeds a boost, though. Regardless, I'm enjoying it. I love being able to play in orchestra every day; if I could do that forever, I would. I also like the fast turnaround of new music. I'm going to be very sad to leave and have a month and a half until my next orchestra rehearsal.
This week I'm in the other orchestra, working with Jose-Luis Novo. He's a very good conductor as well, and I must say a lot easier to follow, particularly immediately, than Mr. Schwarz is. I do feel like we're a little more rushed in trying to get everything done this week, but some of that is due to having a pops concert in the middle rather than to Mr. Novo's rehearsing skills. My favorite thing about working with him is that he's incredibly evocative, both in his analogies and in his conducting. He's very dramatic and emotional, and it works for him. The fantastic thing about orchestra this week is that we're playing Shostakovich 5, and I'm playing principal. The piece is gorgeous and sarcastic and so, so sad. Plus, it has some great solos, and is a lot of fun to play. I think my favorite movement is the second, a twisted Viennese waltz.
I will say that I have never played so many tuning As in my life. I give 5 every rehearsal (winds, brass, basses, low strings, violins), which I feel is a bit much...but I bow to the will of the conductor! We had an interesting discussion in masterclass one day about giving the A; Mr. Ellis feels that it's fine to have a little bit of vibrato in your A, as long as it is still clear and on pitch. I STRONGLY disagree. I find it incredibly distracting, and also much harder to tune to. I'm curious what other people's opinions are, though.
Last week in masterclass we did excerpts; we were given several to work on, and then each were assigned one to play in class. I ended up playing Tombeau (first mvt only), and it went better than I think I've EVER played it. I wasn't expecting to bomb it, but I was surprised by the fact that it went so well. I got all of the tonguing in, all the low notes spoke properly, and I even managed to add in some phrasing and musicality! It made up for the fact that in my lesson on Tuesday, Randall handed me the principal part on Shosty 5, after which I proceeded to become completely incompetent.
This week we had a brief history of the oboe and the Tabuteau lineage, and we got to try several shawms and similar instruments, including one with a quadruple reed. It was fascinating, and a lot of fun. We got very, very silly, though. :-) The most interesting part for me, though, was getting to try a French scrape reed. It was actually very easy to play nicely, much easier than the German reed I tried. That reed had a gorgeous crow, but I had a lot of trouble controlling it and having any sort of tone. On the French reed, though, I could get a sound very similar to my own using my normal embouchure.
Our concert went well, and I got some very nice compliments on my EH playing. I feel like I'm playing much better here than at school, on both oboe and EH, and my reeds are turning out surprisingly well also. (Knock on wood!) I don't know what, if anything, I'm doing differently, or even if the difference is only in my head. I think the change in location and humidity has given my reeds a boost, though. Regardless, I'm enjoying it. I love being able to play in orchestra every day; if I could do that forever, I would. I also like the fast turnaround of new music. I'm going to be very sad to leave and have a month and a half until my next orchestra rehearsal.
This week I'm in the other orchestra, working with Jose-Luis Novo. He's a very good conductor as well, and I must say a lot easier to follow, particularly immediately, than Mr. Schwarz is. I do feel like we're a little more rushed in trying to get everything done this week, but some of that is due to having a pops concert in the middle rather than to Mr. Novo's rehearsing skills. My favorite thing about working with him is that he's incredibly evocative, both in his analogies and in his conducting. He's very dramatic and emotional, and it works for him. The fantastic thing about orchestra this week is that we're playing Shostakovich 5, and I'm playing principal. The piece is gorgeous and sarcastic and so, so sad. Plus, it has some great solos, and is a lot of fun to play. I think my favorite movement is the second, a twisted Viennese waltz.
I will say that I have never played so many tuning As in my life. I give 5 every rehearsal (winds, brass, basses, low strings, violins), which I feel is a bit much...but I bow to the will of the conductor! We had an interesting discussion in masterclass one day about giving the A; Mr. Ellis feels that it's fine to have a little bit of vibrato in your A, as long as it is still clear and on pitch. I STRONGLY disagree. I find it incredibly distracting, and also much harder to tune to. I'm curious what other people's opinions are, though.
Last week in masterclass we did excerpts; we were given several to work on, and then each were assigned one to play in class. I ended up playing Tombeau (first mvt only), and it went better than I think I've EVER played it. I wasn't expecting to bomb it, but I was surprised by the fact that it went so well. I got all of the tonguing in, all the low notes spoke properly, and I even managed to add in some phrasing and musicality! It made up for the fact that in my lesson on Tuesday, Randall handed me the principal part on Shosty 5, after which I proceeded to become completely incompetent.
This week we had a brief history of the oboe and the Tabuteau lineage, and we got to try several shawms and similar instruments, including one with a quadruple reed. It was fascinating, and a lot of fun. We got very, very silly, though. :-) The most interesting part for me, though, was getting to try a French scrape reed. It was actually very easy to play nicely, much easier than the German reed I tried. That reed had a gorgeous crow, but I had a lot of trouble controlling it and having any sort of tone. On the French reed, though, I could get a sound very similar to my own using my normal embouchure.
Sunday, July 5, 2009
"The [tuning] A should be the Voice Of God" : John Mack
We had our first concert of the festival on Friday, a joint concert between the two orchestras. (There are two student orchestras, and one faculty orchestra. We rotate between the two student orchestras, and fill in the faculty orchestra if necessary. The nice thing about this is that it means there's no "top" orchestra, and we get to play with more of the studio. Plus, it gives the teachers more power to assign us to specific pieces. Normally one orchestra plays on Thursday and one on Friday, but since this week was abbreviated, we shared.) This concert was Roman Carnival and Foote's Symphonic Prelude to Francesca Rimini by the ESO, and Copland's El Salon Mexico and Ginastera's Four Dances by the GSO.
As I mentioned, I played EH in the Berlioz. I felt really solid about my solo all week, a few cracks here and there, mostly on the first G, but my reeds were behaving and I tried to follow every nuance of Mr. Schwarz's interpretation. The rest of the piece I was a little shakier on; tonguing is not my strong point, and that piece is nearly made up of only tonguing. But I did my best. Plus, the orchestra was having a lot of trouble staying with Mr. Schwarz. I know that many of the winds were playing by ear to find the tempo and the beats, rather than going off of the baton. I watched really closely one rehearsal, trying to figure out why we were having such difficulty, and I have to say, I'm not sure. Taken out of context, Mr. Schwarz's beat pattern is clear and precise, and the problem is certainly not a lack of personal force. But for whatever the reason, every time the tempo picked up, we became uncertain and confused. This isn't to say that we were falling apart every rehearsal. We certainly weren't. But there was an uncomfortable undercurrent in every run-through.
The concert went well, though. We rushed a bit in places, and ended up rather dragging the slow section, something which may have been my fault, but we sounded flashy and brilliant and completely in style for Berlioz. All in all, a very good performance. I was pretty happy with my solo; I didn't crack the opening G, and the acoustics in the hall are brilliant, but I got a little cocky and cracked that first slur to the F#. Still, I think I sounded pretty nice, and had I not cracked that note, it would have been my best performance. I know that Mr. Schwarz was very happy with my playing in general, at least. (And I got some great applause, particularly from the orchestra, which really made me feel good about it. Of course I want the audience to like my playing, but getting recognition from my peers means so much.) I've gotten out of the habit of thinking of myself as a good EH player; there are so many people in my studio who are better than I am, or who I at least percieve as being much better, but I really enjoy playing EH, and I think that I'm playing it better here than I ever have.
Speaking of orchestra, I have never played somewhere where they were so considerate of our ears! Every wind player sitting on the stage left end of the row has a sound shield, as do the back row of violas, protecting us from the brass. He also had the brass move from two rows to one for rehearsals so that it wasn't as loud for them, and he told the percussion to move over so they weren't playing directly at the horns. I still wish our strings sat 1st/2nd/vla/cello, rather than 1st/cello/vla/2nd, but at least I won't go deaf! :-)
Each student here plays in a chamber group, and I'm doing the Neilsen quintet. I'm a little disappointed to be playing the Neilsen, because I played it in spring quarter with my quintet at school, but it is a great piece. The first rehearsal was a little bit awkward, since it was coached and we hadn't received the music beforehand. I think it would have been much more productive to either have time to look at the parts before having a rehearsal or to have a coach the second rather than first rehearsal. However, our second rehearsal was much improved, and my quintet is pretty great. The flutist in particular is a really good player and a fantastic rehearser and leader. This piece does make me miss my quintet, though! Two of them graduated and are moving away.
I got to have a short EH lesson with Karen Birch Blundell before the concert. She looked over my reeds and fixed one up a bit (though I didn't end up using that one for the concert).I played the solo for her also, and while she didn't really give me any musical/interpretive advice for the solo, that was all right. I wasn't really interpreting it myself anyways, just following the heck out of Schwarz. But she gave me a few tips for making notes speak more easily, and double checked my adjustment. She suggested that we have an EH reed making lesson after the concert when it'll be okay if I completely screw up a reed. I'm looking forward to it, because my EH reed advice has pretty much been "It's easy! Go do it!", and her reeds are fantastic. Very unique also, with a very long tip, much longer than I've ever seen on an EH reed. I'm interested to try making one.
We have masterclass once a week also. We didn't play in class this week, but we've been given several excerpts to learn for next time. He's going to draw excerpts out of a hat and have us each play one. I found out also that Mr. Ellis has subbed a bunch in Wicked on Broadway, and that the Wicked book is oboe/EH/bass oboe. Now I really want to play that show! You know how much I love playing in pit orchestras. :-)
My work study here is ushering, which I actually enjoy. All of the patrons are so excited to see us, and it's of course nice to have such an enthusiastic audience. Plus, by ushering I automatically get to see any faculty performance for which I'm working. So far I've worked a piano concert and last night's faculty concert, and attended a chamber concert. I'm trying to go to as many as I can, though sometimes I just have to take a night off and make reeds.
As I mentioned, I played EH in the Berlioz. I felt really solid about my solo all week, a few cracks here and there, mostly on the first G, but my reeds were behaving and I tried to follow every nuance of Mr. Schwarz's interpretation. The rest of the piece I was a little shakier on; tonguing is not my strong point, and that piece is nearly made up of only tonguing. But I did my best. Plus, the orchestra was having a lot of trouble staying with Mr. Schwarz. I know that many of the winds were playing by ear to find the tempo and the beats, rather than going off of the baton. I watched really closely one rehearsal, trying to figure out why we were having such difficulty, and I have to say, I'm not sure. Taken out of context, Mr. Schwarz's beat pattern is clear and precise, and the problem is certainly not a lack of personal force. But for whatever the reason, every time the tempo picked up, we became uncertain and confused. This isn't to say that we were falling apart every rehearsal. We certainly weren't. But there was an uncomfortable undercurrent in every run-through.
The concert went well, though. We rushed a bit in places, and ended up rather dragging the slow section, something which may have been my fault, but we sounded flashy and brilliant and completely in style for Berlioz. All in all, a very good performance. I was pretty happy with my solo; I didn't crack the opening G, and the acoustics in the hall are brilliant, but I got a little cocky and cracked that first slur to the F#. Still, I think I sounded pretty nice, and had I not cracked that note, it would have been my best performance. I know that Mr. Schwarz was very happy with my playing in general, at least. (And I got some great applause, particularly from the orchestra, which really made me feel good about it. Of course I want the audience to like my playing, but getting recognition from my peers means so much.) I've gotten out of the habit of thinking of myself as a good EH player; there are so many people in my studio who are better than I am, or who I at least percieve as being much better, but I really enjoy playing EH, and I think that I'm playing it better here than I ever have.
Speaking of orchestra, I have never played somewhere where they were so considerate of our ears! Every wind player sitting on the stage left end of the row has a sound shield, as do the back row of violas, protecting us from the brass. He also had the brass move from two rows to one for rehearsals so that it wasn't as loud for them, and he told the percussion to move over so they weren't playing directly at the horns. I still wish our strings sat 1st/2nd/vla/cello, rather than 1st/cello/vla/2nd, but at least I won't go deaf! :-)
Each student here plays in a chamber group, and I'm doing the Neilsen quintet. I'm a little disappointed to be playing the Neilsen, because I played it in spring quarter with my quintet at school, but it is a great piece. The first rehearsal was a little bit awkward, since it was coached and we hadn't received the music beforehand. I think it would have been much more productive to either have time to look at the parts before having a rehearsal or to have a coach the second rather than first rehearsal. However, our second rehearsal was much improved, and my quintet is pretty great. The flutist in particular is a really good player and a fantastic rehearser and leader. This piece does make me miss my quintet, though! Two of them graduated and are moving away.
I got to have a short EH lesson with Karen Birch Blundell before the concert. She looked over my reeds and fixed one up a bit (though I didn't end up using that one for the concert).I played the solo for her also, and while she didn't really give me any musical/interpretive advice for the solo, that was all right. I wasn't really interpreting it myself anyways, just following the heck out of Schwarz. But she gave me a few tips for making notes speak more easily, and double checked my adjustment. She suggested that we have an EH reed making lesson after the concert when it'll be okay if I completely screw up a reed. I'm looking forward to it, because my EH reed advice has pretty much been "It's easy! Go do it!", and her reeds are fantastic. Very unique also, with a very long tip, much longer than I've ever seen on an EH reed. I'm interested to try making one.
We have masterclass once a week also. We didn't play in class this week, but we've been given several excerpts to learn for next time. He's going to draw excerpts out of a hat and have us each play one. I found out also that Mr. Ellis has subbed a bunch in Wicked on Broadway, and that the Wicked book is oboe/EH/bass oboe. Now I really want to play that show! You know how much I love playing in pit orchestras. :-)
My work study here is ushering, which I actually enjoy. All of the patrons are so excited to see us, and it's of course nice to have such an enthusiastic audience. Plus, by ushering I automatically get to see any faculty performance for which I'm working. So far I've worked a piano concert and last night's faculty concert, and attended a chamber concert. I'm trying to go to as many as I can, though sometimes I just have to take a night off and make reeds.
Monday, June 29, 2009
Hello from Eastern Music Festival
These last couple weeks have been filled with exams, and then a couple family emergencies, a lot of stress, and little oboe playing.
I have no such excuse for the last couple weeks of the quarter. Very shortly after my recital I had excerpt boards (Mozart concerto, Bach, Bartok, Beethoven, Brahms, Ravel, Rossini, Strauss, Tchaik), which we ran like a mock audition. Theoretically. In reality, they turned out to merely be blind boards, with no winner selected or anything like that. I do appreciate that they were done blind, though; I think that I got more blunt and thus more accurate comments than I would have otherwise. I also managed to get a (one-time) paid gig, playing at the high school for the arts downtown. Fun to play, and a good place to get my name out.
I also got to play in two Masters conducting students' independent project of two Bach cantatas done one on a part- 140 (Wachet Auf, aka. The Most Famous Cantata Ever) and 78 (aka. One Of Those Ones No-one Knows). I had a lot of fun, and they came together really well; I really love playing Bach. We played in the atrium, which surprisingly enough provided good acoustics for once. You'd never want to play chamber winds pieces there (though we do, oh we do), but it approximates a large church quite well. I was a little nervous, because the other oboist and I alternated playing first, so I was playing the aria in 140, and in the two rehearsals it had been a little...subpar. But it went really well at the performance: a good reed and good musicality too. :-D
I know my promises are fast becoming worthless, but I'm going to try really hard to get back in the swing of things while here at camp and to post regularly. I've been "finding myself," I suppose, this past year, as well as living a lot farther from my friends, and the result has been, as you are well aware, a lack of regular oboe blogging as I adjust to my new, increasingly adult life.
I promise to try, though, to start back up again. I like having this blog, and I don't want to disappear! The problem right now may in fact be too much to say and too little time (as well as too ineffective internet)!
I arrived at EMF on Saturday evening, and most of Saturday and Sunday were spent roaming around with little to do except go to meetings (welcomes, dorm meetings, work study meetings, orchestra meetings, etc) and take a placement audition. I was pretty happy with how my audition went; I played the second movement of the Bach partita I played on my recital and the EH excerpt from Roman Carnival. I wasn't expecting to win an EH solo, really, since while I love playing EH, I'm not one of the top EH players at my school. But I must have done well, because these first two weeks I'm playing 2nd/EH in Roman Carnival, and 3rd/EH in Mahler Symphony 2 mvt 1. While I'm sad to miss Beethoven 5 and Bartok Concerto for Orchestra (expecially Bartok), I can't really complain about Roman Carnival!
Today we began the festival proper. I had a very good lesson this morning with Randall Ellis, who I have lessons with for the first three weeks of camp. We worked on Roman Carnival and then the first movement of the Vaughan Williams concerto. It's been a while since I've looked at the Vaughan Williams, but due to the placement of my recital as well as things in the rest of my life, I don't really have something new worked up. At the end of the year, I was working on excerpts, etudes, and reeds, mostly. I'm really looking forward to learning the concerto, though. Such a gorgeous piece. We worked on musicality: phrasing, vibrating pick-ups, making sure every note has motion, etc. It was pretty helpful, and I'm glad to see that while Mr. Ellis is very nice (& complimentary), his critiques are apt, and his compliments are very believable. Sometimes you run into teachers who are uncertain enough of your abilities and temperament that they let it get in the way of being helpful. I would rather have a harsh teacher than a overly complimentary or patronizing one.
This afternoon, then, we finally had our first orchestra rehearsal: Roman Carnival. I was a little nervous, as our conductor is Gerald Schwarz and each time I'd seen Mr. Ellis he had warned me to be very meticulous in following Mr. Schwarz's directions. I will say that Mr. Schwarz is a little intimidating, but he was very understanding of our rather messy (sight-reading) rehearsal today, and as I was very careful to follow his directions to the best of my ability he was very complimentary of my solo. I'd forgotten, somehow, just how exposed and important that solo is, but oh, I had such fun. It was a very good first rehearsal, aside from one glaringly obvious wrong note. But I'm pretty sure I made a good first impression, at least. :-D (The issue, I think, will be tuning. We alternate between two rehearsal spaces, and the hall where we were today was exceedingly hot, to the point where I began to get dizzy when repeating sections of my solo over and over. I will be sure to bring water tomorrow.)
I'm really excited to be here. Orchestral playing really is my first and only true love.
(It was also a little bit exciting to finally have a need for my fantastic BAM oboe/EH case. I got it just after my last doubling concert of the year. It's fabulously light, and the backpack straps are really convenient. The only problem is a lack of room for music and reed tools, but the convenience more than makes up for that. Here are a few pictures of my shiny case and of the campus here at EMF.)
I have no such excuse for the last couple weeks of the quarter. Very shortly after my recital I had excerpt boards (Mozart concerto, Bach, Bartok, Beethoven, Brahms, Ravel, Rossini, Strauss, Tchaik), which we ran like a mock audition. Theoretically. In reality, they turned out to merely be blind boards, with no winner selected or anything like that. I do appreciate that they were done blind, though; I think that I got more blunt and thus more accurate comments than I would have otherwise. I also managed to get a (one-time) paid gig, playing at the high school for the arts downtown. Fun to play, and a good place to get my name out.
I also got to play in two Masters conducting students' independent project of two Bach cantatas done one on a part- 140 (Wachet Auf, aka. The Most Famous Cantata Ever) and 78 (aka. One Of Those Ones No-one Knows). I had a lot of fun, and they came together really well; I really love playing Bach. We played in the atrium, which surprisingly enough provided good acoustics for once. You'd never want to play chamber winds pieces there (though we do, oh we do), but it approximates a large church quite well. I was a little nervous, because the other oboist and I alternated playing first, so I was playing the aria in 140, and in the two rehearsals it had been a little...subpar. But it went really well at the performance: a good reed and good musicality too. :-D
I know my promises are fast becoming worthless, but I'm going to try really hard to get back in the swing of things while here at camp and to post regularly. I've been "finding myself," I suppose, this past year, as well as living a lot farther from my friends, and the result has been, as you are well aware, a lack of regular oboe blogging as I adjust to my new, increasingly adult life.
I promise to try, though, to start back up again. I like having this blog, and I don't want to disappear! The problem right now may in fact be too much to say and too little time (as well as too ineffective internet)!
I arrived at EMF on Saturday evening, and most of Saturday and Sunday were spent roaming around with little to do except go to meetings (welcomes, dorm meetings, work study meetings, orchestra meetings, etc) and take a placement audition. I was pretty happy with how my audition went; I played the second movement of the Bach partita I played on my recital and the EH excerpt from Roman Carnival. I wasn't expecting to win an EH solo, really, since while I love playing EH, I'm not one of the top EH players at my school. But I must have done well, because these first two weeks I'm playing 2nd/EH in Roman Carnival, and 3rd/EH in Mahler Symphony 2 mvt 1. While I'm sad to miss Beethoven 5 and Bartok Concerto for Orchestra (expecially Bartok), I can't really complain about Roman Carnival!
Today we began the festival proper. I had a very good lesson this morning with Randall Ellis, who I have lessons with for the first three weeks of camp. We worked on Roman Carnival and then the first movement of the Vaughan Williams concerto. It's been a while since I've looked at the Vaughan Williams, but due to the placement of my recital as well as things in the rest of my life, I don't really have something new worked up. At the end of the year, I was working on excerpts, etudes, and reeds, mostly. I'm really looking forward to learning the concerto, though. Such a gorgeous piece. We worked on musicality: phrasing, vibrating pick-ups, making sure every note has motion, etc. It was pretty helpful, and I'm glad to see that while Mr. Ellis is very nice (& complimentary), his critiques are apt, and his compliments are very believable. Sometimes you run into teachers who are uncertain enough of your abilities and temperament that they let it get in the way of being helpful. I would rather have a harsh teacher than a overly complimentary or patronizing one.
This afternoon, then, we finally had our first orchestra rehearsal: Roman Carnival. I was a little nervous, as our conductor is Gerald Schwarz and each time I'd seen Mr. Ellis he had warned me to be very meticulous in following Mr. Schwarz's directions. I will say that Mr. Schwarz is a little intimidating, but he was very understanding of our rather messy (sight-reading) rehearsal today, and as I was very careful to follow his directions to the best of my ability he was very complimentary of my solo. I'd forgotten, somehow, just how exposed and important that solo is, but oh, I had such fun. It was a very good first rehearsal, aside from one glaringly obvious wrong note. But I'm pretty sure I made a good first impression, at least. :-D (The issue, I think, will be tuning. We alternate between two rehearsal spaces, and the hall where we were today was exceedingly hot, to the point where I began to get dizzy when repeating sections of my solo over and over. I will be sure to bring water tomorrow.)
I'm really excited to be here. Orchestral playing really is my first and only true love.
(It was also a little bit exciting to finally have a need for my fantastic BAM oboe/EH case. I got it just after my last doubling concert of the year. It's fabulously light, and the backpack straps are really convenient. The only problem is a lack of room for music and reed tools, but the convenience more than makes up for that. Here are a few pictures of my shiny case and of the campus here at EMF.)
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