Hello internets, we're coming at you live from some cute composer's living room, as my first week of auditions comes to a close. As much as I tried to avoid it, I did end up getting sick after the Shostakovitch concert, and was feeling like absolute crap all of Monday. Tuesday, I still had a bit of a head cold, but wasn't feeling too bad. My playing, on the other hand, was suffering. Tremendously. I just couldn't get the air into my lungs, and it felt like when I exhaled, it was all gone in a fraction of a second. I had an audition that day, the panel was the professor who did the masterclass back in November, and a horn professor, who is head of brass at that school. It was pretty embarrassing, as I knew she knew I'm better than that, and he started quizzing me on the physical way I'm supposed to produce pitch, which made me start to doubt myself, and wonder if I was playing all wrong and could just mask it pretty well except for when I'm sick. Unrealistic, I know, but I get silly and paranoid when I'm not feeling great.
Fortunately, I mentioned that I had an audition DVD that I made up for some other schools, and they offered me the deal of using that instead, if I brought one in (which I promptly did the next day). So, hopefully that audition counted for nothing, and they'll think the DVD is awesome or something. Which, I thought it was kinda average, but I've already heard back from one school saying it was a strong audition, so I'd be thrilled if other schools followed suit.
Also, I had an epic post-audition pick-me-up in the form of milkshakes and fries with that one person that I generally can't get enough of, though that I also haven't seen since like August, so that made me happy. ^-^
The second audition, which was this afternoon, was very strong. Both of us trumpet grads were auditioning here, his was just before mine. And, though there was one or two people who sounded much stronger than us, there was also quite a few who sounded weaker than us, so it looks like we've got a pretty good shot at this school.
People are asking me these days, what is my number one choice? Well... to be blatantly honest... I have no idea. I have different reasons for all the schools I've applied for, and some of them have more reasons than others, but all of them would be fantastic in their own right. And... I'm kind of banking on the schools making drastically different funding offers, so I don't have to think so hard, but if it comes down to it, I have no idea what I'm going to take.
I do have one more audition, this one in the U S of A, that's next Saturday. It's not a long one, but I was slightly suicidal and put Magnificat in my excerpts... I might try and change that out for something less... face-rending. I can get through it... once... sometimes. Someone who shall remain nameless (and who has to stop being so awesome) brought up the point that the fact that I can get through it at all means I have the ability to topple the beast, but it's just not worth the risk. Maybe I'll put some Handel on there instead.
And that's my rant, next time will probably be after that audition sometime, then we can get back to random things! Because obviously that's what people want to hear (read) is stuff that has stuff to do with stuff that isn't stuff that is relevant stuff! That was a coherent sentence! Stuff!
Saturday, February 25, 2012
Sunday, February 19, 2012
BAWSStakovich
We just had our combined Pro Orch/Youth Orch concert tonight. And WOW. Another great show, guys. Today was very bipolar for me, so I find it appropriate that we like to joke about the "ironic D major" that ends Shostakovich's fifth symphony. There were lots of ups, and unfortunately more than a comfortable amount of downs, but it was worth it, and I wouldn't take it back for the world.
So, Big Boss Guy was sick for the dress rehearsal, meaning poor li'l old Assistant Principal (i.e. me) from the Youth Orchestra had to fill in. Thankfully, we had a pro ringer helping one of the students on the third part, so he came up to first for the dress. Which was fantastic, because *I* was starting to get sick, too. I'm feeling a little better now, but I really need to get to bed and rest to nip this in the bud, I can't have it in the way of my audition on Tuesday. But obviously this is more important! XD
I guess a lot of why I was in a sour mood before the concert had to do with how my before-Mahler had gone, for the synonymous show last season. I had THAT DAY won an audition to play Principal in an American youth orchestra (I had to decline due to financial reasons, and the tour was later cancelled due to low attendance anyways), I had an absolute hottie I was expecting to land (that didn't work out because reasons, but she's thankfully one of my better friends still, so I'm glad I have her in that respect), and my playing just felt on top of the world. It was back in my too-full-of-myself-for-my-own-good phase, which this year has helped remedy, as I had been developing an unmerited cockiness in regards to my skills. But still, I felt AWESOME.
This year, before the concert wasn't quite as awesome. There was the dress rehearsal, which was meh. I had no female companion to lean on/brag to, depending on mood. And the whole cold that may or may not be hitting me as I type, and has been looming all day. Due to that cold, my finesse and endurance were both shot, but I survived the concert.
In the positives, I got to see Sol today, for probably the last time til Christmas, and I do miss her, so that was great. The coolest thing, though, had to be the way me and the Big Boss interacted while playing. We were both under the weather, but it seemed that we were communicating really well. We realized we had to lean on each other to make it through this piece, and there were times when I had to take charge, something that had me terrified (this is the big leagues after all), but when it did show up, I kept cool and blew. And it's Russian music, so that is the way to do it: keep your head on straight and pump it full of air. And he was absolutely fantastic. Such a professional. Such a beast. So much... ANGST. So much VOLUME.
(As a side note, someone came to the concert that I was really hoping to see today. I know it's a terrible idea to get attached to someone at this point, especially since I don't know where I'll be living come September, but it likely won't be in the same place she will be. Still... if she were into me, I'd be more than okay with that... >.>)
Y'know what? Today ended up being pretty damn good. Sinuses be damned, I had fun. It was amazing. Awe-inspiring. Heart-wrenching. Stalin can go cry in a corner.
Next time: Auditions! Live!
So, Big Boss Guy was sick for the dress rehearsal, meaning poor li'l old Assistant Principal (i.e. me) from the Youth Orchestra had to fill in. Thankfully, we had a pro ringer helping one of the students on the third part, so he came up to first for the dress. Which was fantastic, because *I* was starting to get sick, too. I'm feeling a little better now, but I really need to get to bed and rest to nip this in the bud, I can't have it in the way of my audition on Tuesday. But obviously this is more important! XD
I guess a lot of why I was in a sour mood before the concert had to do with how my before-Mahler had gone, for the synonymous show last season. I had THAT DAY won an audition to play Principal in an American youth orchestra (I had to decline due to financial reasons, and the tour was later cancelled due to low attendance anyways), I had an absolute hottie I was expecting to land (that didn't work out because reasons, but she's thankfully one of my better friends still, so I'm glad I have her in that respect), and my playing just felt on top of the world. It was back in my too-full-of-myself-for-my-own-good phase, which this year has helped remedy, as I had been developing an unmerited cockiness in regards to my skills. But still, I felt AWESOME.
This year, before the concert wasn't quite as awesome. There was the dress rehearsal, which was meh. I had no female companion to lean on/brag to, depending on mood. And the whole cold that may or may not be hitting me as I type, and has been looming all day. Due to that cold, my finesse and endurance were both shot, but I survived the concert.
In the positives, I got to see Sol today, for probably the last time til Christmas, and I do miss her, so that was great. The coolest thing, though, had to be the way me and the Big Boss interacted while playing. We were both under the weather, but it seemed that we were communicating really well. We realized we had to lean on each other to make it through this piece, and there were times when I had to take charge, something that had me terrified (this is the big leagues after all), but when it did show up, I kept cool and blew. And it's Russian music, so that is the way to do it: keep your head on straight and pump it full of air. And he was absolutely fantastic. Such a professional. Such a beast. So much... ANGST. So much VOLUME.
(As a side note, someone came to the concert that I was really hoping to see today. I know it's a terrible idea to get attached to someone at this point, especially since I don't know where I'll be living come September, but it likely won't be in the same place she will be. Still... if she were into me, I'd be more than okay with that... >.>)
Y'know what? Today ended up being pretty damn good. Sinuses be damned, I had fun. It was amazing. Awe-inspiring. Heart-wrenching. Stalin can go cry in a corner.
Next time: Auditions! Live!
Tuesday, February 14, 2012
Happy International Hector Berlioz Awareness Day, everybody!
Hey everyone! In my need to take my mind off of the Inferior Holiday, I decided I would compile a big ol' list... top Hector Berlioz facts of the day! Also, the bottom facts, as they're the only ones you're getting (Unless I come up with more before the end of the day)! Hoping to make this a tradition, ideally with new facts every year.
Mankind discovered fire when Hector Berlioz first picked up the guitar.
Hector Berlioz wrote a Christmas carol. There were no survivors.
Hector Berlioz' parents didn't want him to be a musician, so he took up the orchestra.
French maids dress up as Hector Berlioz for Hallowe'en.
Leopold Mozart could never be completely proud of his son because he kept comparing him to Hector Berlioz.
Franz Schubert didn't die young, he was merely elevated to a higher plane of being after hearing Symphonie Fantastique.
Chuck Norris reads hectorberliozfacts.com
Richard Wagner had to invent new instruments because Hector Berlioz had exhausted the orchestrational potential of all existing ones.
The urtext of Symphonie Fantastique is seven years long and visible from outer space.
Hector Berlioz released a recording of 4'33" so expressive, it brought Claude Debussy to tears.
Hector Berlioz doesn't need piano skills, piano skills need Hector Berlioz.
Ludwig van Beethoven became deaf after hearing Symphonie Fantastique and realizing nothing would ever compare.
You can play on the string, and you can play off the string; Hector Berlioz plays inside the string.
Robert Schumann's syphilitic hallucinations were merely the result of a performance of Symphonie Fantastique somewhere in the same country as him.
Hector Berlioz is responsible for the untimely deaths of over twenty E-flat clarinet players a year.
Hector Berlioz can stop-mute a trumpet.
The doors at the French Academy in Rome don't keep strangers out, they keep Hector Berlioz in.
Symphonie Fantastique is so beautiful, it makes onions cry.
Hector Berlioz' tears are the active ingredient in both rosin and valve oil.
The second coming has not yet happened because Hector Berlioz is holding out for a better price for the rights to Lélio.
Niccolo Paganini refused to perform Harold in Italy because nobody would return to see future shows in which the music was inferior.
The Bible is merely the rough draft for Treatise on Instrumentation.
In Soviet Russia, Berlioz Hector's YOU!
Numerological studies of Symphonie Fantastique have discovered predictions on ever event that has ever transpired, including you reading this fact.
Hector Belioz' orchestration puts the synth in absynthe.
Hector Berlioz can play Paganini's first violin concerto on a vuvuzela.
Symphonie Fantastique was actually the divine music heralding Hector Berlioz' birth; he was just the only one man enough to write it down.
Franz Liszt's active sex life is a direct result of his being a springboard to get to Hector Berlioz.
Hector Berlioz can timbrally emulate his entire works on the guitar, flawlessly.
Hector Berlioz invented phasing as a response to his own experiences with opium.
Hector Berlioz fell in love once. The earth's axis has been crooked ever since.
Mankind discovered fire when Hector Berlioz first picked up the guitar.
Hector Berlioz wrote a Christmas carol. There were no survivors.
Hector Berlioz' parents didn't want him to be a musician, so he took up the orchestra.
French maids dress up as Hector Berlioz for Hallowe'en.
Leopold Mozart could never be completely proud of his son because he kept comparing him to Hector Berlioz.
Franz Schubert didn't die young, he was merely elevated to a higher plane of being after hearing Symphonie Fantastique.
Chuck Norris reads hectorberliozfacts.com
Richard Wagner had to invent new instruments because Hector Berlioz had exhausted the orchestrational potential of all existing ones.
The urtext of Symphonie Fantastique is seven years long and visible from outer space.
Hector Berlioz released a recording of 4'33" so expressive, it brought Claude Debussy to tears.
Hector Berlioz doesn't need piano skills, piano skills need Hector Berlioz.
Ludwig van Beethoven became deaf after hearing Symphonie Fantastique and realizing nothing would ever compare.
You can play on the string, and you can play off the string; Hector Berlioz plays inside the string.
Robert Schumann's syphilitic hallucinations were merely the result of a performance of Symphonie Fantastique somewhere in the same country as him.
Hector Berlioz is responsible for the untimely deaths of over twenty E-flat clarinet players a year.
Hector Berlioz can stop-mute a trumpet.
The doors at the French Academy in Rome don't keep strangers out, they keep Hector Berlioz in.
Symphonie Fantastique is so beautiful, it makes onions cry.
Hector Berlioz' tears are the active ingredient in both rosin and valve oil.
The second coming has not yet happened because Hector Berlioz is holding out for a better price for the rights to Lélio.
Niccolo Paganini refused to perform Harold in Italy because nobody would return to see future shows in which the music was inferior.
The Bible is merely the rough draft for Treatise on Instrumentation.
In Soviet Russia, Berlioz Hector's YOU!
Numerological studies of Symphonie Fantastique have discovered predictions on ever event that has ever transpired, including you reading this fact.
Hector Belioz' orchestration puts the synth in absynthe.
Hector Berlioz can play Paganini's first violin concerto on a vuvuzela.
Symphonie Fantastique was actually the divine music heralding Hector Berlioz' birth; he was just the only one man enough to write it down.
Franz Liszt's active sex life is a direct result of his being a springboard to get to Hector Berlioz.
Hector Berlioz can timbrally emulate his entire works on the guitar, flawlessly.
Hector Berlioz invented phasing as a response to his own experiences with opium.
Hector Berlioz fell in love once. The earth's axis has been crooked ever since.
Sunday, February 12, 2012
Do We Say That? A Retrospective
I was just going to hold off posting until Hector Berlioz Day, but I feel like this should get a special mention. I found this video today, following a certain trend on YouTube and the like, and am not entirely sure how good of a light it sheds on the trumpet. Let's break it down and analyse this, shall we?
My chops just feel weird today - Ooooh, we all know that excuse. XD I keep trying to tell myself, "it's all about air, chops don't really do much," but there are still days when muscles that NEED to do SOMETHING just... don't. And we like to whine, so it works.
It went pretty well, I hit the high D at the end - Heh, I wonder if he's referring to the Stevens sonata. Yeah, I hate to say it, but I've been known to judge the success/failure of concerts on a single high note. I'm getting better at not doing that; but then again, I'm also getting better at high notes, so there's a balance there.
That rehearsal today just killed my face - I know that feel, bro. Also getting better at this one. For a purely classical player, my one awesome face-killer warstory is playing lead for a salsa concert that was 3.5 hours of rehearsal, 30 mins dinner break, 3 hour concert, and then popping as many licks as were tasteful in the last tune up the octave, just to go out with a (slightly douchey) bang.
What kind of mouthpiece / how high...? - These aren't things I personally ask another player. I almost feel like asking how high you play would be akin to asking... idk... what kind of magic you excel at, or how good you are at romancing. I know that makes no sense, but my brain works in weird ways. XD
X person sucks - Ho boy. I used to joke about a hypothetical "Shit Trumpet Players Say" video that was just this with random names inserted the whole time. I really hate this stereotype, but all stereotypes have to have come from SOMEWHERE. >.<
Do you have any valve oil? - WELCOME TO MY LIIIIIFE XD
I got up to a double G-sharp today - Oh, good to know. I pulled off a Baton Pass chain into a Hoppip sweep. (I'm not ALWAYS that salty over my rather low high range, but I can be at times)
I can play my part, why can't the strings? - Well, have you ever seen the average trumpet part? My god, we're such jerks. XD
Have you seen Mark Gould's Petrouchka video? - If you haven't, watch it. Now.
Dude, you just gotta blow - Yeah, we like to make things sound easy to others. Part of the stereotypical showoffey mood, I think.
You want me to play jazz? Soooo... bad articulation and really out of tune? - HAH. I didn't think they'd throw a classical/orchestral elitism joke in there. That just made me happy. Bonus points, video.
Hey, we should play the Vivaldi sometime - Yep. This. Lots and lots of this.
Hey, can you come listen to my Petrouchka? - Oh my holy Arceus I hate that excerpt. And it sounds so... "cutesy." I swear it's harder than Mahler 5, Parsifal, and Magnificat combined. Well... maybe not Magnificat.
The performance was absolutely terribly because I cracked the high C - Sigh, yet again, judging a performance by what the trumpet has to hit. Hmm, wonder what the odds are he's referring to Honegger... probably not great, but I like arbitrarily assigning pieces to these comments.
The conductor wanted us to play softer today, so we played louder, and it was awesome - This is the exact moment I started feeling distaste towards these guys. This immature high-school mindset that I've been trying for FIVE YEARS to get even my best friends to not assign to me, often to no avail.
Do you have the Dokschitzer recording of that? - If you mean the Arutunian, than yes, I do. And so should you. Here's the first half:
"p" is for powerful. "pp" is for pretty powerful - Okay, that made me chuckle a little bit.
Dude, my double-tonguing is starting to sound really even - OHMYGOD my Arutunian was starting to sound SOOO PRO in the practice room yesterday. Wasn't quite as good today, but I didn't play a lot today, so I'll keep going with it and see what happens.
Have you heard the Mahler 5 recording with Bud Herseth? - I think you get shot if you haven't... >.>
This new Yamaha I got is so free-blowing - *pretentious snicker*
Dude, my Charlier sound really good after I've practiced for like four hours - Yeah, it's taken me anywhere between one hour and... millenia... to get some of those. Four hours is plausible for the first 10-15 or so, definitely not for the last 5-10. Or maybe I just suck. You make the call. Jerk.
I only played seven notes in rehearsal today - And on the Third Day, the string sectional came to a halt, and the Trumpet player arose to perform His Holy Simphonae for the world. Yeah, we know that feel, eh Ramona, Thalberg, et al?
I'm working on the Tomasi right now - Damn, I keep forgetting to buy that! Next time I purchase a bundle of music (can't remember if I've done that rant yet), I'll have to try and remember it.
...Louder?
I think that last one speaks for itself. Final verdict... lots of good moments, but also lots of moments that reinforce stereotypical trumpet arrogance and egocentricity. There are definitely things to take to heart, but remember, this is what ALL trumpet players say. The good ones... and the bad ones. They didn't discriminate, which is good for the sake of accuracy, but bad for the ones who try to distance themselves from that bad rap.
Ah well, next time... a little treat. :P See you Tuesday!
My chops just feel weird today - Ooooh, we all know that excuse. XD I keep trying to tell myself, "it's all about air, chops don't really do much," but there are still days when muscles that NEED to do SOMETHING just... don't. And we like to whine, so it works.
It went pretty well, I hit the high D at the end - Heh, I wonder if he's referring to the Stevens sonata. Yeah, I hate to say it, but I've been known to judge the success/failure of concerts on a single high note. I'm getting better at not doing that; but then again, I'm also getting better at high notes, so there's a balance there.
That rehearsal today just killed my face - I know that feel, bro. Also getting better at this one. For a purely classical player, my one awesome face-killer warstory is playing lead for a salsa concert that was 3.5 hours of rehearsal, 30 mins dinner break, 3 hour concert, and then popping as many licks as were tasteful in the last tune up the octave, just to go out with a (slightly douchey) bang.
What kind of mouthpiece / how high...? - These aren't things I personally ask another player. I almost feel like asking how high you play would be akin to asking... idk... what kind of magic you excel at, or how good you are at romancing. I know that makes no sense, but my brain works in weird ways. XD
X person sucks - Ho boy. I used to joke about a hypothetical "Shit Trumpet Players Say" video that was just this with random names inserted the whole time. I really hate this stereotype, but all stereotypes have to have come from SOMEWHERE. >.<
Do you have any valve oil? - WELCOME TO MY LIIIIIFE XD
I got up to a double G-sharp today - Oh, good to know. I pulled off a Baton Pass chain into a Hoppip sweep. (I'm not ALWAYS that salty over my rather low high range, but I can be at times)
I can play my part, why can't the strings? - Well, have you ever seen the average trumpet part? My god, we're such jerks. XD
Have you seen Mark Gould's Petrouchka video? - If you haven't, watch it. Now.
Dude, you just gotta blow - Yeah, we like to make things sound easy to others. Part of the stereotypical showoffey mood, I think.
You want me to play jazz? Soooo... bad articulation and really out of tune? - HAH. I didn't think they'd throw a classical/orchestral elitism joke in there. That just made me happy. Bonus points, video.
Hey, we should play the Vivaldi sometime - Yep. This. Lots and lots of this.
Hey, can you come listen to my Petrouchka? - Oh my holy Arceus I hate that excerpt. And it sounds so... "cutesy." I swear it's harder than Mahler 5, Parsifal, and Magnificat combined. Well... maybe not Magnificat.
The performance was absolutely terribly because I cracked the high C - Sigh, yet again, judging a performance by what the trumpet has to hit. Hmm, wonder what the odds are he's referring to Honegger... probably not great, but I like arbitrarily assigning pieces to these comments.
The conductor wanted us to play softer today, so we played louder, and it was awesome - This is the exact moment I started feeling distaste towards these guys. This immature high-school mindset that I've been trying for FIVE YEARS to get even my best friends to not assign to me, often to no avail.
Do you have the Dokschitzer recording of that? - If you mean the Arutunian, than yes, I do. And so should you. Here's the first half:
"p" is for powerful. "pp" is for pretty powerful - Okay, that made me chuckle a little bit.
Dude, my double-tonguing is starting to sound really even - OHMYGOD my Arutunian was starting to sound SOOO PRO in the practice room yesterday. Wasn't quite as good today, but I didn't play a lot today, so I'll keep going with it and see what happens.
Have you heard the Mahler 5 recording with Bud Herseth? - I think you get shot if you haven't... >.>
This new Yamaha I got is so free-blowing - *pretentious snicker*
Dude, my Charlier sound really good after I've practiced for like four hours - Yeah, it's taken me anywhere between one hour and... millenia... to get some of those. Four hours is plausible for the first 10-15 or so, definitely not for the last 5-10. Or maybe I just suck. You make the call. Jerk.
I only played seven notes in rehearsal today - And on the Third Day, the string sectional came to a halt, and the Trumpet player arose to perform His Holy Simphonae for the world. Yeah, we know that feel, eh Ramona, Thalberg, et al?
I'm working on the Tomasi right now - Damn, I keep forgetting to buy that! Next time I purchase a bundle of music (can't remember if I've done that rant yet), I'll have to try and remember it.
...Louder?
I think that last one speaks for itself. Final verdict... lots of good moments, but also lots of moments that reinforce stereotypical trumpet arrogance and egocentricity. There are definitely things to take to heart, but remember, this is what ALL trumpet players say. The good ones... and the bad ones. They didn't discriminate, which is good for the sake of accuracy, but bad for the ones who try to distance themselves from that bad rap.
Ah well, next time... a little treat. :P See you Tuesday!
Saturday, February 04, 2012
Musics and stuffs and things and the likes!
Hello fellow people of teh interwebs!
So, I did my recordings for a few auditions a couple weeks ago, and... enh, I'm never satisfied with myself. I just... I don't really like what I sound like played back. I wonder sometimes if your sound is like your voice, in that what you hear isn't what the audience hears. I know that it IS true for certain aspects of sound (length and attack, for example, change drastically in different halls), but I don't know if the TONE itself is different for the performer and the audience member. And, y'know, it's kind of impossible to know unless we're able to extract the data straight from the performer's brain, and cross-reference it with data from the listener's brain. Which, for now, doesn't seem like a practical use of scientific funding.
I guess the one thing that really killed me was my picc excerpt... I should have done it first, before any of the rep, even if it risked me being a little tired for the rep. I did all the rep (an HOUR'S WORTH, just about) in one go, then took a break, then did the excerpts after that. Picc suffered because of it, but I did surprise myself in one respect: I made it through the damn thing. I survived a three-hour session that I REALLY didn't know I could do. And sure, I might've been audibly wearing down by the end, but when I think back to the solo recital I did two years ago, I could barely last a half-hour. That's like a 600% increase in endurance, right there. That's not too shabby.
So yeah, I'll go back through the recordings, and maybe put a sample up for you guys. Nothing with piano, for Union reasons, but maybe something of just myself doing an excerpt or two. Could be cool, for anyone who hasn't heard me ever or in a while.
I've also got my plan set for three live auditions I'm doing. First one, I'll be travelling to the city Dad lives in, and staying with him for a few days. I also get to see Lucca again, one of my best friends ever, so that's exciting. And even getting to see that trumpet prof again (the one I mentioned did the masterclass back in November) is going to be awesome.
Random thought: listening to Shostakovich 5 (Bernstein @ New York), which the youth orchestra's working on. WOW, this thing needs piano. We've been rehearsing without, and it's SOOOO MUCH BETTER with. Luckily, next weekend, we'll have both orchestras, and the piano.
Then, I'll be heading straight to another city in the same region for a second audition, and staying with Gisèle, a comp student that graduated last year, and the most cheerfully positive person you'll ever meet. She actually wrote a piece for me and Ryu (an amazingly charming and kick-ass piano student) last year. She's starting work on a brass quintet, so I'll see if the guys want to try it out back at home. Funny thing, Thalberg and I have our auditions right after each other, so that's kind of amusing. XD
Then, come March, I get to go down one country and audition at a big city there, which is basically Brasstown. No one to stay with there, so I'll be hotelling it up, but I'm pretty stoked for this to go down. I haven't been down south in several years, so had to go get my passport done up.
Hopefully, y'know, ONE of these will work out. I'm getting really restless with this year, I need new horizons, new opportunities... I just need SOMETHING to make it seem like all this work is going to pay off. The Phalanx all have legit jobs in the field, and though I'm not interested in army work, I'm a bit envious of that, just, SOMETHING that they have. That security of "all my hardships, learning, growth, etc has a purpouse."
Well, we'll see what happens. I'm sure I can rise to the challenge, even when the opposition steps up its game to degrees unheard of in a small city with a starving music programme. Grad school, here I come. Get ready for this trumpet player to unlock his inner Super Saiyan... I swear, it's going to happen. I'm going to do this. Motivation, let's GO! >:D
So, I did my recordings for a few auditions a couple weeks ago, and... enh, I'm never satisfied with myself. I just... I don't really like what I sound like played back. I wonder sometimes if your sound is like your voice, in that what you hear isn't what the audience hears. I know that it IS true for certain aspects of sound (length and attack, for example, change drastically in different halls), but I don't know if the TONE itself is different for the performer and the audience member. And, y'know, it's kind of impossible to know unless we're able to extract the data straight from the performer's brain, and cross-reference it with data from the listener's brain. Which, for now, doesn't seem like a practical use of scientific funding.
I guess the one thing that really killed me was my picc excerpt... I should have done it first, before any of the rep, even if it risked me being a little tired for the rep. I did all the rep (an HOUR'S WORTH, just about) in one go, then took a break, then did the excerpts after that. Picc suffered because of it, but I did surprise myself in one respect: I made it through the damn thing. I survived a three-hour session that I REALLY didn't know I could do. And sure, I might've been audibly wearing down by the end, but when I think back to the solo recital I did two years ago, I could barely last a half-hour. That's like a 600% increase in endurance, right there. That's not too shabby.
So yeah, I'll go back through the recordings, and maybe put a sample up for you guys. Nothing with piano, for Union reasons, but maybe something of just myself doing an excerpt or two. Could be cool, for anyone who hasn't heard me ever or in a while.
I've also got my plan set for three live auditions I'm doing. First one, I'll be travelling to the city Dad lives in, and staying with him for a few days. I also get to see Lucca again, one of my best friends ever, so that's exciting. And even getting to see that trumpet prof again (the one I mentioned did the masterclass back in November) is going to be awesome.
Random thought: listening to Shostakovich 5 (Bernstein @ New York), which the youth orchestra's working on. WOW, this thing needs piano. We've been rehearsing without, and it's SOOOO MUCH BETTER with. Luckily, next weekend, we'll have both orchestras, and the piano.
Then, I'll be heading straight to another city in the same region for a second audition, and staying with Gisèle, a comp student that graduated last year, and the most cheerfully positive person you'll ever meet. She actually wrote a piece for me and Ryu (an amazingly charming and kick-ass piano student) last year. She's starting work on a brass quintet, so I'll see if the guys want to try it out back at home. Funny thing, Thalberg and I have our auditions right after each other, so that's kind of amusing. XD
Then, come March, I get to go down one country and audition at a big city there, which is basically Brasstown. No one to stay with there, so I'll be hotelling it up, but I'm pretty stoked for this to go down. I haven't been down south in several years, so had to go get my passport done up.
Hopefully, y'know, ONE of these will work out. I'm getting really restless with this year, I need new horizons, new opportunities... I just need SOMETHING to make it seem like all this work is going to pay off. The Phalanx all have legit jobs in the field, and though I'm not interested in army work, I'm a bit envious of that, just, SOMETHING that they have. That security of "all my hardships, learning, growth, etc has a purpouse."
Well, we'll see what happens. I'm sure I can rise to the challenge, even when the opposition steps up its game to degrees unheard of in a small city with a starving music programme. Grad school, here I come. Get ready for this trumpet player to unlock his inner Super Saiyan... I swear, it's going to happen. I'm going to do this. Motivation, let's GO! >:D
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