Musicianing.

I had an orchestra concert today. We've been calling it our "spring" concert, but let's face it. It's summer. It was grand though. I took the above photograph while waiting before the show. The lighting was too strong from the window so the brightness was ridiculous, which explains such a strong filter.

The orchestra played the second half, after the intermission, so I got to sit and enjoy the first half. The classical guitar ensemble played, and a string quartet. Then two of the students played one of my favourite Beethoven pieces, the "Eyeglass Duet". The last piece of the first half was a Haydn trio, which was also fantastic. I really enjoy listening to Haydn's music, although I find playing it (on the piano anyway) rather irritating.

When it was our turn, I was far less nervous than I had expected. I have discovered since I began to play with the orchestra that I much prefer playing with other people. I do love the spotlight, if I'm being honest, but I like to have other people in it with me. 

We did three pieces: L'estro Harmonico Op. 3 No. 8 by Haydn, a "Pirates of the Caribbean" medley, and "When I'm Sixty-four" because that's how old our conductor is this year.

Mainly it was a lot of fun just to be there playing, but it was also nice to do well. I did better than any of my practices, except for the one section that I always did perfectly. That's the part I messed up. There's some kind of irony there that I find amusing.

When we stood at the end to take our bow, my bow (not the action, the violin bow) slipped forward and knocked into the head of the person in front of me. Oops. Occupational hazards: we do have them. I was nearly stabbed in the eye with someone's bow once. (And there was the time several years ago when my mother switched my piano bench around without my knowing, so when I went to open it I just flipped it over onto my foot.)

 So yes, musicianing can be dangerous. And I've had people in grocery stores make jokes about my having a machine gun in my violin case. But it's alright, we can take it. We're tough.

And yes, it's true, we're also a bit crazy.

Sherlock's glamour shot.

Belated retrospect on a musical weekend

It really began before the weekend, but late in the week, when a package arrived by mail from the lovely Madame Stephanie of millefeuilles. The contents were a giveaway prize of a lovely classical harp cd in equally lovely wrapping. (See the ribbon? It's still in my hair.) Now, the point of this is to be thankful, not to brag, just so you all know. But I can't help being excited, as I've only won a prize once before. It was a very large adult sized bicycle that I won at age six and had to give away.

Thursday evening I played background music on the piano for a home school group end-of-year banquet; Friday I went to a friend's house where she made me play the violin in front of people, which was not as bad as it could have been; Sunday was the orchestra recital. I do not have any photographs because I was in the recital and could not take them myself, and also because I couldn't ask anyone to take some for me since I'd forgotten my camera.

I think it was the most enjoyable recital I have ever done. I loved playing with the orchestra, and as a pianist sometimes I get lonely.

So, since I have no pictures of that, how about a few of the rose bush looking gorgeous? As you can see, it turned out to be red.

Don't go tripping over a stool that's not in your way.

 

 Last Sunday I went early to the First Communion party of two little girls I know.  My job?  Decorating the cakes.  'Twas a lot of fun, though it took at least two hours from start to finish.  Mix the icing, pick the colours, cake number one, cake number two.  Did you see the little dots in the middle of that sunflower?  My wrist still remembers those.  Anyhow, I felt quite accomplished when I was done, despite the wobbling hands. 

Speaking of hands, guess who is playing the piano part of the medley from the Hobbit film with a student orchestra?  The advanced student orchestra at the music school where I take violin lessons is performing a Hobbit medley piece in their spring concert in eight days precisely.  And I, dear reader, am very excited to be playing it with them.  My part is simple (the teacher joked that I could play it upside down, probably to distract me from having only three weeks of rehearsal), and echoes the cello part some of the time.  Sadly, the piano in the larger practice room is electric.  I look forward to performing it with everyone on a real piano.

By the way, if you have been trying to figure out what the title, the cakes, and the music have in common, you can relax now.  The answer is nothing in particular, just things that have happened to me recently.  As far as tripping over the stool is concerned... no comment, except that I'm really not clumsy at all.  Honest.

Where all is sweetness and delicacy and harmony

May I now introduce the newest addition to my musical menagerie: Sherlock the violin. After years of sitting at the top of someone's dusty shelf (or the back of their closet, I don't know for sure), he has come to live with Brontë the piano, Morrigan the organ, and Nienor the clarinet (that I can't actually play yet), and me.

Isn't it lovely?

After a grand total of two lessons, I can now play the theme from Dvorak's "New World" Symphony. Which honestly is not as difficult as it sounds, but I'm still proud of myself.

(You may recognize the title phrase from Sherlock Holmes' description of "Violin-land" in "The Red-Headed League".)