Haven't written much lately, though a lot has gone on.

Memorial Concert went well, I (and the Maestro) were very happy with how my movement of the Lutosławski went. Rest of the concert was awesome as well. This week is the pops concert, which is always a lot of fun.

I've been happy with how the summer has turned out. When I came here his year, I was a little down on myself with my technique and just how I was conducting. But, I really feel like I progressed here this summer and bad a couple of "a-ha" moments that will help down the road.

The summer has also had its share of awkwardness - but I'll try and get into that in a tactful way when I can organize my thoughts.

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Week 4 in situ

It's been a bit of a rough week here for me. No particular reason, but I've been unhappy with how my conducting assignment has been going; many small affectations that I have been able to expunge from my technique have creeped back in, resulting in a rather disastrous dress rehearsal for today's concert. It really is quite frustrating and a little disheartening - it also feeds into my (rather severe) self doubt. What if this is my pinnacle? What if the best orchestra I ever work with is here? I've been job searching for four years now. Should I look at my lack of success as writing on the wall? Seeing as I have no plan b, that is terrifying. But, I also acknowledge that I have a (rather severe) sense of paranoia and lack the ability to self evaluate. So, it may be in my head.

On happier topics: a group of us went for a whale watch yesterday and ha a blast. The boat ended up about thirty miles off the coast, so it was pretty cold. Coming back in, we watched a thunderstorm come over the mountains; it was really pretty. Then a great dinner was had, and we all came home and crashed.

Concert today; I am conducting the first movement of Tchaikovsky's Second Symphony.

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Children's Concert

Well, this morning our idyllic day off is cut short for a children's concert we give at the halfway mark. This year it's Prokofiev's Peter and the Wolf, and will be narrated by my wonderful wife Olivia. And, on the plus side - we get served breakfast by the school's associate board.

Things have been going well, if not a bit stressful; more on that when I can find the right way to put it.

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Settling into a routine

The weather here has started to even out, although for the third year in a row it was super foggy and rainy on July 4th - so no fireworks. But we had a potluck picnic that day which ended up being a lot of fun; we also had our fair share of dime store sparklers.

Earlier in the week, a group of us headed out to Acadia for the day off and did a little bit of hiking. It was quite pleasant and bolstered my confidence ever so slightly: I am in a bit better shape than I thought.

I still haven't had my podium time for the week (Beethoven 2, for the 3 of you who read this), but hopefully I will get it done this morning.

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It has been a week...

I've slightly avoided writing this week; it's been a bit unusual and I'm still somewhat scratching my head over it.

People have weirdly been on edge, partly because of this week's concert repertoire (Shostakovich 6, Ravel's Alborada del Gracioso, Elgar's Enigma Variations, and The Dance of Vengeance from Barber's Medea), which is proving to be most difficult. I've personally been a little off because of my reading piece (which went well, but I didn't get a ton of feedback) and because I've been stuck in the percussion section again. Oh well.

On the plus side, some of us have starting working on Schönberg's Transfigured Night for performance on a chamber concert - something I've wanted to do for years but never had the chance. Plus the concert is today; which means the end of the week and new rep. One of the things I love about this place is even if you have an off week, you roll over fresh in the next.

We're going to explore Acadia tomorrow, so lots of new pics soon.

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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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