Sunday, March 15, 2009

Birthday awesomeness!

Wow, I'm actually less motivated then I thought I would be to write in this. Still, it's fun and less obsessive than trying to write Supernatural fanfiction or something...
I'm officially 19, as of Friday! I had a really great weekend, not too much homework so I was generally free to do whatever I wanted. I had a dance competition Friday night, which was great - my partner Joel and I were awarded third place in Latin (which was cha-cha and jive). I think we get a lot of extra points for musicality as most people in newcomer level have a hard time staying on the beat. It's actually really funny how much musical influence I have; Joel stays on the beat perfectly without me counting in his ear, and he finds it hard to watch the waltzing couples who are rushing so much the beat is hardly recognizable. I am very proud of his journey.
Saturday was a little crazy, won't go into too many details just in case certain people read this, but there was definitely a few margaritas and some chair dancing involved. And an octopus tentacle at the sushi restaurant, which I didn't enjoy because it was very rubbery. Last time I give into that kind of pressure, I hope.
Today I slept in for obvious reasons, did some shopping, and went out for dinner with my grandpa, his friend, and her grandson. I got a trombone for my birthday! I'm extremely excited as it has an attachment that means I won't have to use seventh position anymore. I can't wait to try it out in band tomorrow, hopefully it won't be too heavy or anything. It's actually a used trombone, but anything seems new compared to what I have, which is an instrument (in excellent condition) that is almost twenty years older than me.
On the music front, I have a busy week ahead of me. My chamber music project is due tomorrow, which is a performance of a violin sonata; I have learned the first movement of Beethoven's "Spring" Sonata, which is fairly pleasant but also somewhat challenging with only about a week to truly prepare it. It's interesting to play with string players, which I have had the least experience with, so it's a good opportunity for me besides being worth a fair bit of my grade. I am accompanying a couple friends of mine, a violin player and a bass player, in their juries so it's best to be prepared.
Another exciting development is that I finally get to play a piece with an orchestra! It's the third thing I've checked off my list of life goals this month, the other two being a position in the pit band of a musical and playing a song cycle. It's basically a percussion part, but it's kind of a riot because it has a lot of showy figures such as full keyboard glissandos and low tremolos. The piece is the Red Cape Tango from Dougherty's Metropolis Symphony (based on Superman - my favourite superhero! Of all the luck), it's mostly based on Dies irae, which seems to be a theme on the program of the concert. Totentanz is also being played, and Beethoven's seventh symphony, which I believe is not based on Dies irae but I am not certain.
The final exciting thing for this week is the first movement of the Poulenc sextet, which I am playing in a recital on Friday with a group of my peers/friends. It's an incredible piece, playful but at the same time with a lot of depth and emotional scope. We'll be playing the entire thing in a recital in April; the final movement is actually my favourite, as it is utterly insane as well as expressive. It also makes use of the C Major seventh chord in the most effective way I have ever heard...definitely a piece worth looking up!
Ah, well, off to bed. Life returns to normal tomorrow, lots of practising to do. Thanks for reading!

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

just don't mention that you're playing with an oboist. nope. not at all.