Music

I love music. Obviously, or I wouldn’t torture myself playing piano as an accompanist. Denis thought I should have a graduation gift for completing my masters degree – one that is as impractical as possible: a French horn. The thought of having one of these beautiful instruments for my very own has consumed my imagination for weeks now. Through the research I’ve done, I’ve learned all about different valve types, wraps, throat size, bell flare – even the fact that the different metals the horn can be made from (and therefore the color the horn is) makes a difference in how it sounds. And when we go to NYC this weekend, we’re going to visit a store in NJ that specializes in brass instruments – they have hundreds of horns in stock (unlike the mere three that the local music store carries). I’m going to be like a kid in a candy store, wanting to try them all. My current favorite is this one (pictured above), but I’m willing to change my mind if I find something better.

Sound of Music went very well over the weekend, despite my stage fright. It’s not like I’ve never played piano in front of people before – it was just my first time being the only accompanist for an entire musical. Now I feel like an old pro, and the rehearsals and performances this week aren’t going to faze me in the slightest. Well, maybe just a little, since being overconfident is a bad thing when it comes to playing piano.

My project defense, on the other hand, is terrifying to me. I have never been very good at speaking in front of people (except when acting, which is somewhat different). I know my subject, my presentation is well on it’s way to being decent, and I’ll have practiced it at least a couple of times before next Tuesday. Still, I already have butterflies in my stomach just thinking about standing up in front of my committee – and probably no one else, since I scheduled it for 9 AM – and doing this presentation. The rational part of me realizes that my committee wants me to pass, and will probably not ask terribly difficult questions. The rest of me is still scared to death. I have 8 days to get over my fear of public speaking. Hm. Well, I’d just be happy to find a way to not sound like I’m nervous.

with the sound of pages turning?!? OK. That’s it. I need to invent an automagic page-turner for piano music. One that will read my mind so it knows exactly when to turn a page. Oh, and it has to unstick stuck piano keys. And cue people who are supposed to start singing. Actually, a third hand would work just as well. Maybe I could be like that guy (Zaphod?) in Hitchhiker’s Guide, three arms, and two heads, too – one to look at the music, and the other to watch the actors/actresses to make sure they haven’t gotten lost in the music. (Sorry, this whole blog is just a rant about rehearsals & other assorted preparation for The Sound of Music, which I am accompanying this weekend and next for a bunch of 9-14 year-old kids.)

Rant over. It’s actually been pretty fun to do this, and I’ll probably do it again. It just might not have been the wisest thing to agree to do in the two weeks leading up to my project defense. :)

…but I must be getting old, because I’m exhausted from being out late last night! Lisa and I went to see The Chieftains play with the RPO last night. It was a great concert. It made me want to go back to Ireland. It also made me want to rejoin orchestra. *sigh* But now I’m really sleepy… It actually wouldn’t have been so bad if it hadn’t taken a half-hour to just get out of the parking garage. When did people become so rude? Once someone finally let me back out of my parking space on the roof, I let every car I saw on the way down back out in front of me. Maybe it will improve my parking karma or something. :D