Tonight was my first concert for Wind Symphony. I was pretty excited to play again. I seemed a little rushed for time in the hours leading up to the concert, but as I put on my concert black, I realized it had been over two years since I last wore that dress. I forgot how nice I feel in black. ("Are you wearin' a black bra?" And yes, actually. I was.)
Warm-up went really well, and I appreciate what Dr. Don said when he had us start at a difficult part in the piece to run through it. "For all you music ed majors . ..don't do what I'm doing right now. It'll take all the confidence out of your students. " David gave the prayer, and I was very impressed, especially since he's in the minority here at BYU because he's not LDS. Definitely someone I admire.
And then we were on stage! I feel so bad that Dr. Don gets SOO nervous before each concert. (I've had conversations with his wife about this actually . . .=). I think he was extra nervous this time because he didn't realize how soon the Symphonic Band had finished and that it was already our turn on stage. I forget how much directors sweat on stage. Nerves + hot lights + so much body energy= lots of sweat. And sometimes you see it fling off of his collar or forehead.
That was a random tangent.
I think we played very well! I only remember there being one part where I felt it didn't quite lock in, but overall, I think we performed really well. The two antiphonal trumpets in the Kingfishers piece sounded incredible, and I think the audience liked it a lot. And I personally play the pieces better when I haven't been playing a lot of high, fast and tongued stuff right before. I nailed this one part at the end of Colas that I couldn't quite get in rehearsal today, so I was glad for that.
I realized another performer's advantage as I was sitting on stage. During a concert, the audience has one chance to hear the piece and make an evaluative judgment. Was is a cool piece? Would I want to listen to it again? How unfortunate for the audience that for many of them, the only time they will ever hear this wonderful piece is at our performance. However, from a performer's standpoint, we read the piece, rehearse the piece, take it apart and put it back together, and we are more aware of how all the parts fit in. As such, we love the pieces better. More effort equates more enjoyment. I've experienced many a time where we read a piece and I think it's dumb. But as I learn the piece more and see it as a whole, it turns out to be pretty cool. (Example: Symphony for William that we played on last tour). Our concerts are the one opportunity we have to share that coolness with others, and then they are responsible for their own evaluative judgment. They may like it, or they may not. Whether or not they do, though, does not detract from how much we have come to love it.
There's a human aspect to this as well. Sometimes we only have one time to judge a person. Are they a good person? Would that person make a good friend? But as we take the time to get to know that person and learn his/her weaknesses and strengths, and the parts of the whole, we understand him better. And love him better. There's more to this analogy .. .think it through.
Well, then I played in Symphony Orchestra. I wasn't very familiar with the first two movements of the piece since I don't play for them, but I enjoyed them very much.
My family came to the concert; I should've checked where their tickets before buying them because the seats weren't very good. They couldn't see me at all. And something tells me they didn't enjoy the pieces nearly as much as I did.
I stayed to watch the Philharmonic perform. I was still in my seat with awe. Normally I'm a fidgeter, but when they played, it was just captivating. Live performance of 1812. From the balcony, I had a great view of the performers, and I could see how much they got into their music. It. was. incredible!!!
After the concert, I was glad to see several of my friends there. Marcus (who's teaching in the real world), Lily (who's student teaching), and performers in some of the groups. Of course, my chubbies, Lisa and Noelle. And Julia. Sarah, Abby, Laurisa, Alex . . .just to name a few. And special audience member, my sister-in-law Whitney! From Idaho! She's in town for the weekend with her mom, and her sister Chelsey performs in the Symphonic Band. It was super fun to see them.
Somehow I ended the night on a disconnect. The euphoria of performing and the atmosphere of being with my friends just doesn't seem to fit with my family's sense of togetherness. I don't know if I can really articulate the difference without sounding negative to my family, but .. .there's just something different. I'm glad they came to my concert, and I'm glad they want to support me. And they certainly enjoy music. But part of me feels really odd around them because they don't have the same experience with music that I do. For not knowing our pieces very well, the only feedback I get from them is "You guys sounded great!" I don't blame them, but that seems so trite after all the work we've put into our music. I guess maybe I feel like their level of enjoyment came nothing close to mine. But shouldn't it be the other way around? Anyway, I felt very weird with them tonight. So much so, that instead going out to get ice cream with them like we normally do after concerts, we just left. I was the one that suggested we leave, and I did it pretty rudely. So then we all went home our separate ways. And it made the rest of me feel sad as I went home. Why did I botch such an enjoyable evening? Why can't my music and family life seem to match up? Odd. Well, it may be one of the reasons I'm in favor of marrying a music major. Hmm . .
Guess what I did when I got home so that I wouldn't feel sad. Well, first of all I'm writing this post. And secondly, I started listening to the recordings of Kingfishers again. And believe me, the recording doesn't do any justice to the memories I have of playing that piece tonight on a live stage, seeing Dr. Don put his whole soul into conducting us, and knowing that there were two trumpet players in the back of the hall. There's just something about a live performance.
Remembering it made me feel just a little bit better. =)
Random thought: Without having to play these pieces in a live ensemble, how would I ever know about them? I would probably never ever listen to or experience many of these pieces. So, a big thank you to all my wonderful directors who have allowed me to experience such great literature!
Warm-up went really well, and I appreciate what Dr. Don said when he had us start at a difficult part in the piece to run through it. "For all you music ed majors . ..don't do what I'm doing right now. It'll take all the confidence out of your students. " David gave the prayer, and I was very impressed, especially since he's in the minority here at BYU because he's not LDS. Definitely someone I admire.
And then we were on stage! I feel so bad that Dr. Don gets SOO nervous before each concert. (I've had conversations with his wife about this actually . . .=). I think he was extra nervous this time because he didn't realize how soon the Symphonic Band had finished and that it was already our turn on stage. I forget how much directors sweat on stage. Nerves + hot lights + so much body energy= lots of sweat. And sometimes you see it fling off of his collar or forehead.
That was a random tangent.
I think we played very well! I only remember there being one part where I felt it didn't quite lock in, but overall, I think we performed really well. The two antiphonal trumpets in the Kingfishers piece sounded incredible, and I think the audience liked it a lot. And I personally play the pieces better when I haven't been playing a lot of high, fast and tongued stuff right before. I nailed this one part at the end of Colas that I couldn't quite get in rehearsal today, so I was glad for that.
I realized another performer's advantage as I was sitting on stage. During a concert, the audience has one chance to hear the piece and make an evaluative judgment. Was is a cool piece? Would I want to listen to it again? How unfortunate for the audience that for many of them, the only time they will ever hear this wonderful piece is at our performance. However, from a performer's standpoint, we read the piece, rehearse the piece, take it apart and put it back together, and we are more aware of how all the parts fit in. As such, we love the pieces better. More effort equates more enjoyment. I've experienced many a time where we read a piece and I think it's dumb. But as I learn the piece more and see it as a whole, it turns out to be pretty cool. (Example: Symphony for William that we played on last tour). Our concerts are the one opportunity we have to share that coolness with others, and then they are responsible for their own evaluative judgment. They may like it, or they may not. Whether or not they do, though, does not detract from how much we have come to love it.
There's a human aspect to this as well. Sometimes we only have one time to judge a person. Are they a good person? Would that person make a good friend? But as we take the time to get to know that person and learn his/her weaknesses and strengths, and the parts of the whole, we understand him better. And love him better. There's more to this analogy .. .think it through.
Well, then I played in Symphony Orchestra. I wasn't very familiar with the first two movements of the piece since I don't play for them, but I enjoyed them very much.
My family came to the concert; I should've checked where their tickets before buying them because the seats weren't very good. They couldn't see me at all. And something tells me they didn't enjoy the pieces nearly as much as I did.
I stayed to watch the Philharmonic perform. I was still in my seat with awe. Normally I'm a fidgeter, but when they played, it was just captivating. Live performance of 1812. From the balcony, I had a great view of the performers, and I could see how much they got into their music. It. was. incredible!!!
After the concert, I was glad to see several of my friends there. Marcus (who's teaching in the real world), Lily (who's student teaching), and performers in some of the groups. Of course, my chubbies, Lisa and Noelle. And Julia. Sarah, Abby, Laurisa, Alex . . .just to name a few. And special audience member, my sister-in-law Whitney! From Idaho! She's in town for the weekend with her mom, and her sister Chelsey performs in the Symphonic Band. It was super fun to see them.
Somehow I ended the night on a disconnect. The euphoria of performing and the atmosphere of being with my friends just doesn't seem to fit with my family's sense of togetherness. I don't know if I can really articulate the difference without sounding negative to my family, but .. .there's just something different. I'm glad they came to my concert, and I'm glad they want to support me. And they certainly enjoy music. But part of me feels really odd around them because they don't have the same experience with music that I do. For not knowing our pieces very well, the only feedback I get from them is "You guys sounded great!" I don't blame them, but that seems so trite after all the work we've put into our music. I guess maybe I feel like their level of enjoyment came nothing close to mine. But shouldn't it be the other way around? Anyway, I felt very weird with them tonight. So much so, that instead going out to get ice cream with them like we normally do after concerts, we just left. I was the one that suggested we leave, and I did it pretty rudely. So then we all went home our separate ways. And it made the rest of me feel sad as I went home. Why did I botch such an enjoyable evening? Why can't my music and family life seem to match up? Odd. Well, it may be one of the reasons I'm in favor of marrying a music major. Hmm . .
Guess what I did when I got home so that I wouldn't feel sad. Well, first of all I'm writing this post. And secondly, I started listening to the recordings of Kingfishers again. And believe me, the recording doesn't do any justice to the memories I have of playing that piece tonight on a live stage, seeing Dr. Don put his whole soul into conducting us, and knowing that there were two trumpet players in the back of the hall. There's just something about a live performance.
Remembering it made me feel just a little bit better. =)
Random thought: Without having to play these pieces in a live ensemble, how would I ever know about them? I would probably never ever listen to or experience many of these pieces. So, a big thank you to all my wonderful directors who have allowed me to experience such great literature!
Hey, Rebecca, I loved your music! I think that if we had gone to eat ice cream (which we, the fam, were all willing to do), we could have talked about your concert more than we had chance to do right afterward when you were enjoying being with your music friends. Of course you love your music friends because they have also experienced the joys you have just had in creating the music that you want the audience to experience! However, you didn't give your family enough opportunity to tell you how much we enjoyed your concert and to share with you how much we love seeing your share your love of music with others. Don't give us too bad of a rap for that night. I hope that next concert we get to continue the tradition of going out for ice cream so we can all share the experience of how your music brought us joy! Love ya.
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