Me a soloist?

I've had this week off from work at the theater due to a lack of music to rehearse.  The arranger is just taking his time!  But for that the weather in Berlin has been amazing so I've spent lots of time outdoors on the bike!  It looks like the next month or so is going to be quite intense for me.  I have a solo performance on June 18th playing two brand new pieces! 

One of the pieces is being entered in a competition for the 3rd of June.  At first the composer and I weren't sure but in the end decided not to pass up the oppourtunity.  The competition is sponsored by my school and awards composers for new works and musicians for their interpretation.  So theres a chance for both of us to win!  The scary part is that it's less than a month away and we registered extremely late.  I already performed the piece in February, but at that time it wasn't quite competition ready.  The next few weeks are extremely busy at the theater, and for the end of May we'll be in Luxembourg.  That means Max and I have very little time to prepare!  But I love a challenge and I'll be taking this one by the horns.

I've felt for a while now that being a soloist is probably my biggest weakness as a performer.  I just get so nervous and its hard to stay in control of my body.  Usually after a series of solo performances I get better at it, but the events coming up are very important and I don't want to screw them up because of my nerves.  Several friends have suggested taking beta-blockers, pills that basically relieve you of the "fight or flight" reaction that comes on when performing in front of a large audience. I've always been somewhat against them, feeling that there must be a more natural way to get through it.  I mean, plenty of people do it without the beta-blockers.  But several performers that I respect a lot swear by them.  This may be a good time to try them out.  Any suggestions from the studio audience??

Back to the Blog or Swimming with the big kids now!

Hello faithful blog readers! After moving in, starting the new job and having a houseguest I'm back in action! Before I move on to the new news, let me tie up a few loose ends:

The concert at school was fantastic! It was completely packed with a very receptive audience. Playing the Vivaldi Concerto was really one of the highlights of my student career, I had goosebumps the whole time!!!

The mothers to be were both very happy to recieve the baby socks! You can see the whole baby sock collection in the updated "Finished Products" section.

I think that about covers the loose ends that I left hanging. The new happening is basically my new job! I'm taking a semester off to work for the Volksbühne ("Peoples Stage") playing for a production of Wagners Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg. The original opera, I come to find out, is a whopping 4 1/2 hours long! Wagner was trying to write something short and light that would be convenient for any small theater to produce, but like most of his works, it ended up being out of control and out of the price and space range for all but the biggest theaters.

So what does the Volksbühne do since its not a big Opera House? They whiddle the cast and the orchestra down to less than 20 people! The director of the show is known for turning well known works into his own works of art and this is proving to be no different. The cast is made up of actors, not opera singers. They all can sing of course, but its not the kind of singing you might expect when you go see a Wagner opera. The chorus, so I hear, will be made up mostly of stagehands, people with no formal training in voice whatsoever. This brings us to the orchestra and me. Ensemble is really a better word since we are merely a group of seven. Two pianos, Trombone doubling and Euphonium, Trumpet (Me!) doubling on Flugelhorn, Bassoon, Clarinet doubling on Sax and Oboe doubling on English Horn. Its a colorful mix and a balance nightmare, but what a cool sound!

My colleagues are great and I'm really feeling like a professional! After all, they all (except one other student) graduated long ago and have been playing in the professional world for years. To be counted as their equal feels like a great confirmation of all the hard work and progress I've made as a player! I don't feel like the "young guy" thats struggling to keep up, but rather a strong lead voice like the trumpet should be! Even on days like today when my playing wasn't in top form I get a smile and a wink from a fellow player as to say "We all have bad days, but you're doing great!" I'm excited to keep you all updated on the shows progress!

 You can check out my updated "Upcoming Performances" to the right >>>

Today was a long rehearsal, we ran the whole program.  Some things sounds great, but others just need a lot of work.  It seems like many people just aren’t practicing the parts…everyone is surely in “semester break mode” this time of year, myself included! But come on people, please just practice your part once a day!  Heres a photo of all of the instruments I’m playing in the concert:

(Bb Trumpet, Piccolo, Flugel Horn)

The Bb is mine and the other two are borrowed, I only wish they belonged to me!  I am however having trouble juggling all three.  In the concert I have to switch between them rather quickly and its hard to adjust.  They all have their own special quirks and tricks, and above all intonation problems!  I’m managing to keep things at a presentable level, despite my scattered focus in this time of change!

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As usual, I’m not SO busy that I can’t work on my socks on the side.  After lots of asking around and experimenting on my own, I came up with a great sock heel with no holes!! The trip is wrapping and encroaching together!!!!  Plus I used some cool colors and made a cute look infant sock….

Still babysocking…

Here is the second pair of Baby Socks that I finished yesterday.  The colors aren’t my favorite…a little too much “camping” color, but they’re cute all the same.  I decided to make a bigger pair for when the baby is older, but it took way too long!  Well, not as long as a normal size sock, but longer than the cute newborn socks.  There’s something really satisfying about being able to churn out those little socks nice and fast, so I think I’ll stick with the small ones for now.  I’m hoping to have atleast one more pair finished before I get on the plane in a week.  I’m still not sure wether I can bring my needles on the plane, so I need to make some progress!

I’m still having a problem with holes in the gusset when turning the heel and can’t seem to find a good solution except sewing up the holes.  Maybe I should start knitting the “heel flap” version instead, that seems to be the best solution, I just hate having to pick up stitches!!

Back but busy!

Hey there faithful blog readers. Sorry I’ve been away for a spell, I’ve been preparing a concert, preparing to move, and preparing to go on vacation. Needless to say that keeps me quite busy! The upcoming concert is with the Eisler Brass Ensemble. I’m a soloist in the Vivaldi Concerto for Two Trumpets, playing alongside a wonderful friend, colleague, and musician Na’ama Golan from Israel. The piece is arranged for brass ensemble from the string parts. The solo parts are a piece of cake compared to what the ensemble has to play! Its a very big feeling standing in front of a group as a soloist, I’m glad I don’t have to do it alone.
The rest of the program is mostly arrangements. Thats about all we ever get to play in brass ensembles…..any composers who are reading: Get your shit together and write some original music for brass! We desperately need it! Playing the entire Suite from Carmen all on brass instruments is just not ok. And who wants to hear it anyways?
I know I know, it’s a “great oppourtunity” and a “good challenge.” But to be honest, if I’m going to spend a good month of my “semester break” still rehearsing I’d rather it be something a bit more musically interesting. If it wasn’t for the Vivaldi I would probably find some way to weasel out of it!

On a side note, after camping out for 1 1/2 years, I’m finally moving into a real apartment! It’s got running hot water, a bathroom inside the apartment, and normal heating! A palace compared to my current “aparmtent.” I can’t wait to be out of here and relaxing in the sun of CA!!!

Heres a foto of my current heating system.  (feel sorry for me):

4 down, 1 to go

The Barqoue concert last wednesday was a great success!  I don’t think I’ve ever played the instrument so beautifully.  Experiences like that make it worth it to continue practicing the baroque trumpet.  It can only get better from here!  Now if only I could get the darn trills to work more consistently….

Last night I went to hear the Berlin Philharmoniker (http://www.berliner-philharmoniker.de/).  After a nerve racking manouver sneaking into the building (is that considered stealing?), my friend and I found some fabulous seats that were available.  This was the first concert that I’ve heard from them that wasn’t all that great.  I mean, everyone plays fantastically, but the interpretation was a bit dry, and things just weren’t together!  They played Bartok Violin Concerto 2 and Rachmaninoffs 2nd Symphony.  Both pieces were rather unbalanced as far as structure goes, the soloist played well but not awe inspiring, and the Rachmaninoff was just plain too long.   Not a good enough ratio between content and length.  I spoke with some of the orchestra members afterward, and they admitted that it was all a bit shaky.  It was the first performance of this concert, things will surely improve.

It was very inspiring, though, to hear one of the greatest orchestras in the world not play in top form.  It makes the whole thing a bit more human.  I remember not too long ago, maybe a few years back, going to hear the symphony and thinking of how magical and unreachable it all seemed.  Is it really possible for me to reach that level of playing and musicianship?  Last night was the closest I’ve ever felt to reaching that level.  Not only did I feel like I could play at that level, but that I could even do better!  Fortunately, the magic wasn’t lost.  I still admire the players and strive to get to that point myself, and to even go further!  I can easily compare it to my experience learning German.  For a long time I never felt like I would be able to understand movies, or carry on a group conversation.  Then one day it happened and I didn’t even realize until afterwards, “wow, I understood every word!”

Baby Sock MADNESS!!!

Yup folks, I’ve caught the baby sock bug. I can’t help it, the little socks are just so damn cute I could SCREAM! And the pattern is so easy and they knit up in a wink. I wasn’t sure about baby foot sizes…i just know they’re small and that they grow fast. So heres the first pair, hopefully small enough for the first 6 months. Do newborns even wear socks? I’ll knit another pair one size bigger for when it’s not so small…we’ll see how that works out. I have a huge surplus of sock yarn, enough for a whole army of babies! Watch out pregnant ladies!! Thats my cat Coco, he wanted to pose with the socks as you can see.

I’m becoming a HUGE fan of self patterning sock yarn. It makes the cutest darn things and turns a simple pattern into something a bit more fun.

I’m still in hibernating mode, so there will surely be more socks soon. Its hard getting over the guilt of sitting around doing nothing, but I keep telling myself I deserve it. I’ve ben working hard! Besides, in this weather theres not much else to do besides eat, practice, knit, and sleep! I do have to prepare for my concert tomorrow, but that ones in the bag!

Sweet Success!!

Last night was absolutely great! The piece came over really well! Max got lots of compliments and I did as well. I think the piece was the highlight of the evening. Everything wasn’t 100% of course, we could have used a couple more weeks preperation, but it was a big success anyway. I can’t wait to hear the recording! Afterwards we went celebrating, I think it was a big relief for both of us. It’s so exciting working on brand new music, no one to tell me how it’s done. Max even wants to dedicate the piece to me, what an honor! Two pieces have now been written for and dedicated to me! This was really a big highlight of the semester! Woo hoo!!

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In addition, I finished the second glove.  Today I proudly wore the gloves and matching hat running my errands!  I feel like a huge success!

next project?  Baby socks for the pregnant!!

Progress!

Today was the dress rehearsal for my performance tomorrow evening. I must say, we sound amazing! I’m surprised at how fast we’ve put this piece together. In less than four weeks we’ve put together this 9 minute (!!) solo piece. All of the glitches and bugs with the computer program are pretty much gone, so I can rely on the sounds and noises that I’m used to heaing from the electronics. The composers teacher was there and he had some helpful tips and was very pleased with the last run through. We’ll see what happens before the concert when I get nervous, but I’m feeling confident and most importantly, pepared!

I’ve also been rehearsing for a concert next week. I’m playing a few Scarlatti Arias for soprano and trumpet. We’re going for authenticity, so I’m playing on the baroque trumpet (!) and we’re playing with baroque tuning (a bit lower than modern tuning). Heres a photo of a baroque trumpet, actually the same model I’m playing. It’s quite different from the modern trumpet in many ways:

(Trumpet by Egger http://www.eggerinstruments.ch/)

Our group sounds pretty good, but I must admit I’m struggling with the baroque trumpet. My teacher says it sounds great, but I would really like to be better! The biggest problem is accuracy. It seems like that’s just a problem that comes with the instrument. There are no valves so pitch changes are done solely with the embochure (lips and mouth). On the modern baroque trumpet there are 3 holes that you can cover or uncover which helps keep certain pitches more in tune. Shortly said, a lot of notes crack or come out wrong! To actually get 80% of the notes in a performance is pretty darn good. But when it’s played right it sounds unbelievably beautiful!! A very brilliant and exciting tone that flexibly changes color at the performers will, almost like singing! Thats motivation enough to keep working at it.

One (g)love…

I recieved the last of the music today from the friend who is composing a piece for me. Well, for trumpet and live electronics which he will play. His name is Maximillian Meintz, he studies composition at my school. The piece is quite a challange, I’m looking forward to seeing how well we put it together in such a short amount of time. He’s asking for some pretty virtuoso playing from me! I played my part for him today and his face just lit up, so if it’s that great now then I should have no worries on sunday. It’s real nice to see that he likes what I’m doing. His energy feeds me and vice versa. We’ll be recording it live, yikes!
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In other news, I finished one half of a pair of gloves to match my hat! No no, the gloves aren’t recieving devil horns, it’s enough for me that the colors are the same. I used the pattern from my new favorite book, “The Knitters Handy Book of Patterns,” that I recieved from my parents for christmas, thanks guys! I added the colors and ribbed fingers too keep ‘em warm! What is it about stripes thats so cool?

The worst part about knitting with multiple colors are all of the little tail ends of yarn that stick out at the end! I think I spent about as much time weaving in those ends as I did knitting the darn thing. I sure hope I get his brother done before it’s too warm to wear it!