It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year…for PLANTS! When the musicians in the orchestra give each other Holiday presents…and someone gives you a tiny plant!! Squeeeeeeeeee!
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| | Here’s some pretty cool rehearsal footage! I held my phone between my knees so I think this now qualifies me as highly athletic. Hahaha SO MANY NOTES !!! |
Hahahah MOOD
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BEST WEEK EVER
One of the most incredible weeks ever, as a musician. I played principal oboe with OI performing Marsalis’s epic work, “All Rise”. For 6 days I sat directly behind (and I mean DIRECTLY BEHIND) Wynton Marsalis and the absolutely iconic trumpet and rhythm section of the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra and I learned so much.
This was a cool collab I was invited to join: music of female composers, LunArt, and members of of the Madison Ballet. An epic summer thunderstorm appeared mid-concert…and then disappeared as quickly as it arrived.
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I had the lovely opportunity to perform Piazzolla with the University of Wisconsin -Platteville Symphony Orchestra! What a gorgeous piece of music.
Play principal oboe with Orchestra Iowa on two John Williams movie concerts? YES I WILL DO THAT! Who could pass up the playing the oboe solo from Superman and the Maureen McGovern song with the lyrics…
Can you read my mind? Do you know what it is you do to me?…. I love it!!
An added bonus is that our 3 children came with me for the weekend’s rehearsals and performances!
Can you read my mind? Do you know what it is you do to me?…. I love it!!
An added bonus is that our 3 children came with me for the weekend’s rehearsals and performances!
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What a run of great gigs this December! I had the extreme pleasure of playing with the great inventor, instrument/bocal maker, and oboist, Thom Hiniker! I learned so much. It was, in fact, my first time playing the complete Nutcracker, and Orchestra Iowa did a beautiful job with the 4 performances—2 in Davenport and 2 in Cedar Rapids. I absolutely love this music, but when I was called to play english horn at the last minute, I was a bit apprehensive. I’ve never felt very comfortable holding the instrument. But there I was, playing next to Thom—he giving me plenty of great advice about bocals and unusual fingerings, me feeling like a fish out of water, trying to absorb all that he was teaching me while at the same time play the notes on the page. After the first rehearsal, I was frustrated. I spent the next day trying to analyze my problem. After numerous phone calls to english horn player friends and taking several videos of my hands while I played, I determined that my right hand fingers simply were not covering the holes! When I arrived at rehearsal that evening, I sheepishly told Thom my story. His face lit up and immediately said, “Well, then let’s cover those holes up! You don’t really need them, anyway!” I didn’t quite understand, but Thom grabbed some gaffe tape from backstage, covered the offending keys on the lower joint of the instrument, and I put the reed on the bocal. To my complete amazement, it was like a different instrument to me. It’s a slightly ludicrous story, but I win the award for “Most Improved English Hornist” in the period of 24 hours in the history of the world. 😂. I am forever thankful that my path crossed with Thom.
I was hired to play with Mannheim Steamroller this December and it was such a great experience! It was my first time playing with a click track in a live performance and learning to listen to my sound versus what I was hearing come out of the speakers was a whole new experience. Despite having an unseasonable tornado/severe thunderstorms blowing through the state, the Wednesday night performance was almost capacity at Gallagher-Bluedorn Hall on the UNI campus! I was shocked! All 3 concerts were virtually sold out—the last one being in the large area in Cedar Rapids. The appeal of Mannheim Steamroller seems to live on and I had to ask myself a lot of interesting questions about classical music, its relevance, and what kind of music do people really want to see/hear. As I played into the microphone, my sound amplified for thousands of happy people, I realized that this might be their only introduction to western instruments playing “classical” style music. And this was an important task—to represent my craft in the best possible light. During intermission, I saw all ages in the aisles, hugging and greeting each other. It would take a lot more than an unseasonable tornado to keep people from getting out of the house and enjoying something special in a concert hall—something we have been missing from the last year and a half. I found the whole experience heart warming.
More December concerts with Orchestra Iowa! The Holiday Concert set was great because I got to play with some of my favorite friends and colleagues, Courtney Miller and Jillian Camwell. You know the theory of 3s in a gig right? It goes like this: a gig has 3 characteristics-- the music, the people/colleagues, and the pay. If 2 out of 3 of those elements are there, then it is a gig worth doing! Well, Christmas music is not the most musically rewarding thing, but playing for a decent wage and doing it with fantastic people? It hit all the sweet spots. One cool fact: this was the first time my husband and I have played an orchestra gig together!