Transformative concerts, happy horn playing

Well, after all of my complaining this week, I reached a transformative state during the Vaughn Williams last night. Because of limited rehearsal time with the chorus, we hadn't really ever run the piece until Friday night (we couldn't; we had to rehearse all the choral parts with the chorus with all the time we had and the afternoon rehearsals were devoted to the orchestra and soloists). So last night was enjoyable but everyone was still getting a sense of the piece.

Last night, however, was absolutely - what's the word I'm looking for? - well, transformative. It's a word worth repeating. First I must say that it was also easier to get into such a happy mental place because we hadn't rehearsed the hell out of our faces in the afternoon like we had on Friday, so I wasn't in pain. It's amazing how the absence of pain can make things so much better! {*smirk*}

I just absolutely basked in the glorious sound of the chorus. This is one of the most amazing orchestra choruses in the world.

Side note: The Milwaukee Symphony was the first American orchestra ever to get its recordings on iTunes! How cool is that? We got a lot of publicity for it. Go to iTunes and do a search for "Milwaukee Symphony". You can walk around listening to us on your iPods! (If you don't have an iPod or mp3 player yet, don't worry. Even I, techno-gadget girl, do not yet have one.)

Bill Barnewitz did an amazing job on the Hindemith again last night (Friday was incredible too). He has Parkinsons, and yet you would never know it to listen to him or to meet him. There was a very well-written article in the paper about Barnewitz and how he's dealt with his disease and I thought it was really interesting. Read the article; it's worth checking out.

Ooh, another thing that was great last night was that I think I finally figured out the intonation on my horn since Wes Hatch, the famous maker of amazing hand-made horns who we're lucky enough to have right here in Milwaukee, did some work on the lead pipe (the main pipe that the mouthpiece goes into). Not only is the pitch much better, but because of it, I feel much more confident on the triple horn in general now. But it gets better - because the overtones are locking in so well now, the resistance somehow seems less. I think because I wasn't getting a good ring before when I hadn't figured out the pitch, I was forcing to try to get more sound, or a better sound somehow, out of the horn. Now it comes naturally, without my forcing, and it's much better!! I think this will also help my face to not take such a beating when we're playing loud things.

Today David and I are celebrating Valentine's Day, since we have a run-out concert to Hartford on the actual day. We're also celebrating the 2 year anniversary of David's move up to Milwaukee from NE Ohio - a very happy milestone for me (I know his family in Wooster misses him very much!). I can't believe he's been here for two years already; it's been so blissful having him up here it hardly seems like any time at all. We're going to go see the movie Memoirs of a Geisha (even though I told David we could also go see the Narnia movie if he wanted to), which seems to work better with our dinner reservations at Ristorante Bartolotta, a 4 star Italian place in Wauwatosa.

Well, I really want to go to church this morning since I've missed the last few Sundays, so I had better get going. Have a lovely wrap-up to your weekends!

XO Darcy