Dear God

Here I am, at the All-City Music Contest. I managed to sneak away to the computer lab to do something productive with my time while I sit and wait for my last group to go.

There was too much to do today:

Brass Quintet: meh

Horn Quartet: oh my (the bad type of 'oh my')

Horn Duet: not too shabby

Horn Solo: AHHHHH!! Let's just say I never came in and we'll call it even, okay, judge?

Brass Choir: TBA, but probably boring.

It's boring just talking about these things. I'm going to stop now before I put any of you to sleep. But I just wanted YOU, my precious readers, to know that I was thinking of YOU while I was here in this mini musical hell.

My Weekend at an Honor Band

Day One: The Audition

Professor Lady aka Judge: "You interested in music major in college?"

Me: "No, not really."

Professor Lady: Glare

Day Two: The Rehearsals

Director Man: "Hello we are going to work hard but have a fun time."

Percussion: Whisper, whisper.

Director Man: "Percussion, shut up."

Us: Ahh!

Director Man: Conducts at lightning-speed tempo.

Us: Play section wrong.

Director Man: "Idiots."

Us: AHHH!

First Chair French Horn: Plays solo.

Us: Ooooh!

First Chair Oboe: Plays solo.

Us: Ooooh!

First Chair Flute: Plays solo.

Us: Ooooh!

Director Man: "Good! Now keep going we're on a schedule."

That night: Watch two-hour concert. Stay in hotel with a leaky shower, smokey lobby, and questionable overall safety.

Day Three: The Performance

That Morning: Eat a quick breakfast, trudge to rehearsal.

Director Man: "We're going to take it easy today."

Us: "Yay!"

Director Man: "And I'm actually a really nice guy. I love you all."

Us: "Awwww!"

Lunch: College cuisine school cooks meal for us. Yum!

Back in rehearsal: Preparing for concert.

Director Man: "Now let's go out there and kick some major bootay!"

Us: "Hoo-ra!" Proceed to stage and rock the house.

Masterclass: Completed

Because I have received several comments begging me to do a follow-up on my last post, I will oblige.

How did my masterclass go with one of the best French hornists in the world go? Surprisingly, it wasn't as bad as I had imagined. Why? Let's make a list (by now, this seems to be another theme for this blog. Nice, orderly lists to organize my thoughts):

1. The man had social skills. I didn't know what to expect. He could have been the "hehvy ahkcent zat nobotee culd understahnd" guy, or the look-at-floor-or-wall-or-boobs-or-anywhere-but-making-actual-eye-contact guy, or the music-first-hygiene-second guy. So many things could have gone wrong. But when he entered (who we will now refer to as Mr. William Caballero), he spoke clear, American English, knew how to work a crowd, and was well-groomed. Bravo!
2. I heard a familiar tune. From the time the class started, the color was draining from my face and my breakfast wanted to take an emergency exit. By the time the girl before me went on stage (yes, a stage) to play for Caballero, I wasn't sure I would be able to stand up without passing out. While I was having a mini-meltdown, the girl began playing; I listened. I had played the song she was performing a few years ago! It was nice to go after someone more on my level, unlike some of the prodigies attending the class.
3. My fingernail polish looked like Texas. When I was onstage, playing and getting my own set of advice, it wasn't going too well. As I mentioned in my last post, I was playing standing up, making things difficult. As I ran through my piece for him, the crowd was whispering. About what, I'm not sure. "Did they pull her out of a dumpster?" "Her fly's undone." "Let's pray for Caballero; this one's going to take a miracle." "Let's TP her horn case." "She sounds like dissonance in a major fourth. Haw haw haw." It was probably something like that, but who really knows? After I had finished playing and he had begun to give me exercises and pointers, he stopped and stared at my fingers. "I just have to let you know, your nail polish on that finger [he pointed] looks just like Texas." I looked and it was true! The crowd laughed (not at, but with me) and it helped ease the tension of my slightly-bad performance. I was finally able to relax and ended up learning a thing or two.
   

So overall? I had an ok time. I survived (which you all must be thrilled to hear) and didn't make a complete fool out of myself; although I did say that I didn't know who Franz Strauss was, which was received by the thirty-some people there with disbelief. I met a world-class musician who turned out to be a fairly normal guy. And now, instead of seeing nails in need of a paint-job, I will look for the other forty-nine states......maybe.

The Unfun of Masterclasses

I was at my horn lesson a few weeks ago when my teacher informed me that he had signed me up for a masterclass with a famous French hornist. I would play a prepared solo for him and he would give me tips. It was an opportunity too good to pass up. My teacher's excitement was obvious, but unfortunately not infectious.

My thoughts on the subject: what?

First of all, I never like playing alone in front of people. Only in large groups do I feel comfortable playing my music loudly; the focus is not on you, and if you screw up no one notices. I have done city and state solo contests since I was in first grade and have hated every moment of it. Old, frowning men stared as I attempted to plunk out a memorized melody onto an out-of-tune piano. Then, they gave me a score telling me what my talents were worth. Not a hay-day.

Secondly, I am going to be the least experienced person there. The other students signed up are either in college or teachers themselves. I imagine Mr. Famous listening to their near-perfect etudes, offering a token of advice for the aspiring musicians. Then I come in, plunk myself down, and gurgle out a tune on my horn that sounds more like a wookie mixed with a batch squealing. Once I have played my final note, a moan of a dying cow, he will stare at me and then proceed into a rant in a foreign language. Wonderful.

Third, I only just asked what I would be doing at said class. The answer I got was not reassuring. Not only would I have to play my solo for the man, himself, but for the entire class. In front of everybody, my abilities will be picked apart. To make matters worse, I have to stand. In all my years of playing the French horn, I have only played standing about ten times; each time either within my home or for a simple warm-up. It doesn't sound like a big deal, but it is very hard - it throws off most techniques that work sitting down. Finally, I am to be "prepared for anything", as the more specific events of the class are being kept as a surprise for us to enjoy when we get there. The anticipation is killing me.

I thought I was over getting guilt-tripped into doing things I didn't want to do. Yet here I am again, headed to a masterclass that sounds about as good to me as licking the floor. Oh well. It couldn't really be that bad.

Could it?

Updates

I have left you without conclusion in a few of my past posts. So I have decided that it would be nice to update you on how things have gone.

To start off, I had my first day of checking on Sunday. It turns out that this is the worst day to have a trial run because it is the busiest day for shopping. To top it off, this weekend was the employee-discount weekend. Several parents of employees came through my line with carts overflowing with food. This was always a challenge as a bagger (especially when they refused a second cart, because they were "sure everything could fit," then became impatient as I tried to stack the bags in a way that they would not crumble when going out to their car), but it was difficult for checkers as well. How fast should you scan the items? You don't want to overwhelm your bagger with piles of groceries, but you don't want to seem incompetent to the customer. It's difficult to balance, to say the least.

Overall, though, things went well. It helped that I had a checker next to me who has been working there since the store opened. Whenever I had a quick question (and didn't feel like drawing attention from half the store by calling a manager), I could just turn to Ms. Fountain-of-Knowledge. I only had to call over a manager five times, and three of those times were mandatory. Once, I accidentally gave a man a nickle in change instead of a dime and I didn't catch it until he was out of the store. I hope they don't come after and have me fired. But all in all a good first day.

Next update: All-State auditions. They were stressful, as always, but it helped that I had some experience from last year. It was the first year for two girls who play horn with me, and they were very nervous. The more I reassured them, the less time i had to freak myself out. Our judge was really nice, as well, making me even more relaxed. Long story short, I got second alternate. This means that if two people get sick or die, then I get to go! I am not disappointed; I got my name on the wall, and that's what I wanted.

A few major stress bumps are now out of the way. I will be able to relax for a bit, but never as long as I would like. But that's how it goes, isn't it?

Auditions

Last weekend we had our last marching band competition, thus ending the part of the season we care about. The rest of our marching consists of one football game (where there no emphasis on accuracy) and an indoor, non-competitive get-together of all of the schools throughout Cedar Rapids. Despite my relief to be finished with late night practices, I will be sad to see the season go. This was the best show we have had since I became a high-schooler, and I wonder if there will ever be another show equal to its excitement. I will miss seeing the entire band (as opposed to 1/3 during concert band), not to mention I won't get my regular dose of exercise. Most importantly, the end also signals the beginning of a more stressful, competitive time.

While the group competitions finish out, it is time for us to focus on our individual competitive nature. All-State auditions will be occurring this weekend. This audition asks you to play impossible etudes along with useless scales (I understand it is good to learn them, but does it have to be at an incomprehensible tempo?). Preparation includes procrastination, stress, and a healthy sense of failure. Despite mentally preparing yourself for inevitable letdown, you feel sick to your stomach when you realize your name is not on the wall with those who were accepted. That is the fun saved for this Saturday. Luckily for me, it does not end there.

Next week, we have auditions for our school band. While less strenuous than All-State, it is still nerve wracking. With All-State, it is not surprising if you do not make it. With school chair auditions, it is noticeable if you move down a spot or two. While it is probable that everyone worrying the same things for themselves, you can't help but become self-conscious; you push yourself harder so you don't slip. I am lucky this year- the audition etude this year is the same as one of the All-State etudes. Hopefully all will go smoothly, but we will have to wait and see.

Not much more to say, except auditions stink.