You know it’s bad when you lack new posts so often that you get no spam.
I have (meaning will throughout the course of the next few days) constructed several “update” posts for your convenience.
Cause you all love to read about my boring life, right?
I should blog about international issues or something, that would get readers. Except I don’t know that much about international issues.
This is the music update post!
Band is over. Right now, I am thinking band is over forever, because I don’t plan to do it next year! Mainly because I haven’t learned anything from the current teacher. I have promised to come to the concert though. Our band concert was a few weeks ago, and it went fine. My one solo was great, the others were average but also not really important. The giant horn solo Rick did he messed up, so he started saying extremely bad words and I started patting his back, which I am sure will look really professional on the DVD.
We also had to wear formal (meaning dressy) spring outfits, which I owned none of so we had to go dress shopping. I hate clothes shopping. Then I actually wore the dress (which Sophie picked out) and had a lot of compliments…when my friend’s mother mentioned it for the fourth time a week later I realized I probably should dress up more often.
That same week I had orchestra auditions, and I was irrationally nervous (I rarely get nervous) and messed up in the audition…so I got 8th chair. Which isn’t bad by any means, but it was a personal worst. That was the violin audition…even after learning all the music I opted not to try out on viola (after hearing them I feel confident I could have done fine, however) because what was a crush-situation turned into a stalker-situation to the point where I was actually scared. And there is a song blog on youtube about how I am not dating this person. So I’m trying not to engage that mess at all.
Then, I hurt my wrist. Playing baseball.
Fortunately, it was my right wrist. Unfortunately, it got all bruised and swollen and I wasn’t able to lie to my mother about the pain (I tried but I’m a terrible liar) so I had to go to the doctor and get an x-ray. It is not broken. We don’t think. But I got pain meds and I had to wear a brace, which was just really awkward but better than constantly protecting my wrist from people.
So I got hurt on Sunday, went to the doctor on Monday, and had giant multi-hour rehearsals on Tuesday and Wednesday. Getting a bad chair, playing a lot of horn in symphony, and refusing to join chamber orchestra turned out to be a blessing in disguise with my wrist. The concert was Wednesday night…I thought it was only OK but the director is pleased.
I am done with public school music for the year! My last day was yesterday: it was accompanied with a nice certificate and exhortations to practice for districts over the summer.
The districts piece is Mozart: Concerto no. 3. It’s not terribly terribly difficult, but it is very challenging to be a standout player with Mozart, because everyone and their cousin knows how to play it.
I now have two more violin lessons and then the recital in a few weeks. I just practiced at home for the first time since Saturday (such a lack of practice that my violin went out of tune! Which it never does), and that was TERRIBLE. Forget the last two phrases being shaky, the whole thing is shaky now. I am playing this piece called “meditation” from an opera called Thais, by Jules Massenet. It is incredibly slow and finicky and currently sounds like a weasel is caught in a clothes dryer. Ben is playing the piano with me both at the recital and at church, and then we are doing a duet which I hate.
If you want to come let me know, we were supposed to invite people but I never did.
Saturday is the music festival! Which is a big deal in our little town: everyone plus a ton of people from New York and New Jersey shows up. Ben and I are meeting friends, which should be lovely.
Then this summer I am going to practice my violin and my viola and learn the clarinet and oboe and possibly give a last hurrah on the horn.
More on that in the school update post.