I now have begun movement 1, which I think is also going to go quite well. Why did I start movement 2 before movement 1, you ask? Well, I just sorta had ideas right away for movement 2, and I stuck with it until its completion. I'm supposed to have this entire concerto done within the week, but I'm not quite sure about my ability to do so.
And I'm coming off of a really fabulous weekend with the Saratoga Orchestra, which hosted the first-ever Pacific Northwest Conducting Symposium. Of course, the Saratoga Orchestra was used as the house ensemble for the conductors, who all got to perform on Saturday afternoon for our community audience. Two big orchestra standards filled the program: Dvorak's 9th and Tchaikovsky's 5th, two of my favorites. I tell ya, though, playing both of those on the same program as principal horn is exhausting...even with an assistant! I felt like I played pretty well overall, although I was definitely feeling the effects of 3 days of hard playing without getting proper warm-ups in. I didn't play as well at the concert as I had in rehearsal, particularly on that exposed high B in the 4th movement of the Dvorak; it simply just didn't speak. But, I kept my cool and kept going, and nailed all the notes after it, including the loud high Bs several seconds later.
But yeah, I can't stress enough the importance of a good warm-up every day, as I didn't manage my time well last weekend to include warm-ups. I took some time off of the horn since then, but tomorrow I'm getting back on a good practice routine. And this time, I'm not straying from it. I'm already in preparation mode for my concerto in November!
Oh, and still no baby yet...in case you're wondering.
Take care and value music.