The first of which has arrived: The next Saratoga Orchestra rehearsal & concert series is tomorrow, Friday and Saturday. The orchestra doesn't usually perform in the summer, but this summer is different: They are hosting the Pacific Northwest Conducting Institute, with the orchestra serving as the host and allowing the conductors some very valuable experience. The repertoire is no biggie, just two incredible orchestral standards: Tchaikovsky's 5th Symphony and Dvorak's 9th Symphony. Yeah, that's right, no biggie.
Hehe, of course, for those of you who don't understand my little joke there, yes, playing these two pieces is actually a huge deal. Playing 2 big Romantic era symphonies with such a rich history is quite a treat. I've played both of these pieces before. I played Tchaik's 5 with the UW-Milwaukee Orchestra in 2013, also as principal horn, and I just absolutely loved it to death. Tchaikovsky is my favorite composer, wouldn't you know? And for those of you that don't know the piece, there's a huge horn solo in the 2nd movement. And Dvorak's 9th I've played twice, once on 3rd with the Saratoga Orchestra (my first concert with them) and once on 4th with the Oregon East Symphony in Pendelton, OR. The 3rd & 4th horn parts on the Dvorak are better than the 1st & 2nd horn parts most of the time, which I'm sure a lot of other players can agree upon. But, there are some great moments in the 1st horn part, so I'm looking forward to those, including several little solos.
So yeah, I'm quite excited to playing these two pieces and to represent myself well. I always feel that when I play in an orchestra I always have to be as impressive as possible, which I feel has served me well. Of course, I haven't always sounded impressive in rehearsal...ugh, particularly in my college days...
And I'm excited that I get to bring one of my students to some of these rehearsals to give her a taste of the professional orchestra up close. This student will be a senior in high school this year, and is a very eager and outgoing young lady. She was basically invited by the orchestra to come and sit in with us (and hopefully play with us) because the executive director heard her play at my brass camp and was blown away. I'm happy to have such a great student, and to give her this cool opportunity.
Aside from practicing and preparing for this hefty orchestra concert, I'm also diligently working on my horn concerto. I'm just about done with the 2nd movement, which I am composing before the 1st movement because I had a better idea of what I wanted to do with this. The 2nd movement is turning out very much to my liking. I would've finished it today, but once again I'm having issues with Finale's compatibility with my Mac. Some of these new system updates mess with Finale's full functionality. The problem better get fixed soon, because I'm supposed to have this piece done by mid-August. So I don't have time to have problems with my computer!
I realize some of you may still be waiting to see picture and video of my brass camp...sorry. Sit tight. Once I'm done with the orchestra this weekend, I'll get right on it.
Oh yeah, in reference to the title of this blog, not only am I awaiting the birth of my horn concerto (which is dependent on me), I'm also waiting for the birth of my 3rd child, which could happen any day now!
Take care and value music...and send good vibes to me computer so it will behave.