Just So You Know

My symphony concerts were so good. So, so, so good. We played Rhapsody On A Theme of Paganini. (You would definitely recognize the tune, if not the title.) Our guest pianist, Stephan Beus, was fantastic. I did not know fingers could move that fast, perfectly, and expressively. So cool to play with him. Playing with a soloist is different than playing a symphony, and it's a lot of fun to meet someone who's sacrificed and worked to become great. After we played this piece on Friday, the audience stood up. It wasn't one of those standing ovations where they clap for a few minutes, then a few people stand until everyone is standing. We finished and everyone immediately stood. We were that good. :D

The Bruckner symphony that we learned was a killer. Awesome, but exhausting. Mentally exhausting because of crazy counting and strange key signatures. (If he wanted to change the key signature, he wouldn't actually change it. He'd just throw a million flats, double flats, sharps and naturals at you. Grr!) It was also physically exhausting. The strings would often tremolo for a full page at a time, and the whole thing lasted about 75 minutes. (Tremolo is a bowing technique that is just vibrating the bow on the strings. Try making your right hand vibrate as fast as possible for 30 seconds. Now try it frequently off and on for over an hour. Yeah, exhausting.) Even though I thought my arm would fall off, the music was worth it. It was so powerful and beautiful. And performing in the Barrus Concert Hall was incredible. The acoustics are perfect. We sounded ten times better than in rehearsal. We got a standing ovation with the piece as well, but probably only because it was so long that people's legs were falling asleep. :) Just kidding, it was great too.

It was a wonderful experience. Even though I'm still an adjusting freshman, I feel at home in the symphony orchestra.