Week one highlights

Concert went very well - the Hanson especially so. I've always been afraid of a letdown after a good dress rehearsal but the quality and focus was a bit higher on Sunday, which is always nice.

In addition, I was drafted to play percussion on the Prokofiev Love of Three Oranges Suite; I guess it worked out well because I'm playing percussion again this week. I enjoy the change of pace, but I kind of hope that it doesn't necessarily become a normal thing - I really enjoy playing cello in the orchestra.

So the rep for this coming week is a bit more challenging; in addition to a challenging concert, I've got John Adams' Short Ride in a Fast Machine (you'll have to YouTube it, I can't seem to embed links on my iOS app). Maybe the most difficult thing I've conducted in a long long time.

On the non-podium front - the maypole went very well. It was much like herding drunk kittens, but everyone really enjoyed themselves. We finally got out to Bar Harbor for the first time today and it was much like going home (of sorts).

More to come...

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A hootenanny was had...

So, I guess I can add maypole dancer to the additional skills of my resume?

It went well - it was a but like kitten herding, but really fun. Not necessarily something I'll do often (if ever again) but something I was glad that I produced.

In rehearsals, we've gotten through the concert music twice and started on some readings; this year's batch of first year conductors is quite good. There's an evenness to them that I haven't seen for a while.

Looks like we're about to get out first Maine thunderstorm of the year - just in time for evening rehearsal. :)

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Now for something a little different...

So, filed under something I never thought I would have to do: this week I had to build a maypole, arrange a tune, and choreograph a dance. In 36 hours. We'll see how it goes tonight.

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Day 1: let's start this again...

So, we got here yesterday and settled in; we were fortunate to get the same housing we've had for the past two years.

The first week's concert rep has been set and I am conducting the last two movements of Howard Hanson's Merry Mount Suite - a piece I was interested in, so bully for me.

The first week here is usually interesting (and terrifying if you're a first year conductor). Because the teacher has never seen them conduct before, he assigns an audition piece of sorts, and throws you in the deep end to see what you can do. Once those are done, the first years are still assigned a reading piece; so in that first week, they get two works.

Normally Monday's are days off, but we have a warmup rehearsal tonight before we leap in tomorrow with a double rehearsal day. Let's see how it goes.

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It has been nice to have time with family in the northeast before heading up to Maine and the Monteux School. For the first week (after the two day drive), Liv and I went camping with my parents, which is something neither of us has done in almost 15 years. It was nice - especially the opportunity to spend some real time with my parents. We stayed on Lake Eaton, which is just to the north east of Long Lake and pretty much in the middle of nowhere. It was really relaxing - got a lot of reading, card playing, and canoeing accomplished. We also took a dy trip to Lake Placid, which was a normal haunt for me when I was studying in Potsdam. Despite not being there for over 10 years, it hasn't changed much at all - we even ate lunch at the Lake Placid Brewery (a microbrewery I absolutely adore). For this week (up until Sunday) we're at the in-laws house, spending time with her family as well as her best friend (who still lives in town). Sunday, we'll drive up to Maine, and we start rehearsals on Monday.

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