07/19/10
Tonight was the All-Camp Sing! Earlier today we went through another rehearsal with the winds and percussion. I think alot of the kids my age take this particular orchestra as more of a recreationla thing rather than something to take seriously (I know I do!)....mainly because of the fact that the music is SOOOOO easy to perform. I think that the reason that I dislike this orchestra is that nothing seems to stick. I'll get something wrong, be asked to fix it, and then I will. A majority of the people in the orchestra will do that too, but many of them often don't fix simple mistakes after multiple run-throughs that rehearsal gets very monotonous.
Later today was the All-Camp Sing, which is essentially a fun bonding thing for people to do with their units (units are comprised of six cabins each). It's really fun to do because you're not stuck sitting around in the heat all day and you don't have to sit through a performance until late in the evening, knowing you can't shower even AFTER walking ten minutes in the cold, sticky night. It was very fun, but at the end of the day I was very tired.
I noticed that Blue Lake schedules gives us alot of time to spend alone, but only if it's all in one chunk of time. I think that they should change it so that the breaks are a bit less broken up. They also REALLY need to work on giving us some individual time to practice with faculty. That would most likely improve a lot of the issues I have with my own playing.
Friday, December 17, 2010
Day Five
07/18/10
Today was middle Sunday, which means that we could sleep in, got to a nice chapel service on camp or at home, or go out with family for the day. A few girls in my cabin decided to go to the service, but like always, I decided to sleep in for an additional hour.
After a breakfast of ONLY carbs, I practically had to spring to my morning rehearsal 10 minutes away. Needless to say that I felt very sick for all of rehearsal. Today was a special day though, because we didn't have our additional classes besides afternoon rehearsal. Instead, the faculty members would perform for us.
Hearing the faculty members play for us makes me really happy. It reminded me of why I love being a musician: you get to make people happy by sharing with them the music that you have prepared for them. I love being a musician for that very reason. However, I feel as if being here does not truly provide me a creative outlet like school does.
Today was middle Sunday, which means that we could sleep in, got to a nice chapel service on camp or at home, or go out with family for the day. A few girls in my cabin decided to go to the service, but like always, I decided to sleep in for an additional hour.
After a breakfast of ONLY carbs, I practically had to spring to my morning rehearsal 10 minutes away. Needless to say that I felt very sick for all of rehearsal. Today was a special day though, because we didn't have our additional classes besides afternoon rehearsal. Instead, the faculty members would perform for us.
Hearing the faculty members play for us makes me really happy. It reminded me of why I love being a musician: you get to make people happy by sharing with them the music that you have prepared for them. I love being a musician for that very reason. However, I feel as if being here does not truly provide me a creative outlet like school does.
Day Four
07/17/10
Today we went over some more string pieces in the morning. What's interesting about this group is that occasionally many people in a particular section will play something wrong, the conductor will help them fix it, and then the next day (or even a moments later) the same section will get the exact same passage wrong. It's very irritating. I think the fact that I'm getting this frustrated over something that probably wouldn't have bothered me last year is a sign that I need to not come here anymore.
Today there was a mini-presentation about Blue Lake's International Program. I've heard this same presentation two times already and it gets very annoying. Although I am excited that there is an opportunity for me like this, I would prefer if the experience were a bit more laid back (usually the program is all about the music and less about getting to spend time in particular countries). I don't think I'll audition again (I tried out my first year) until senior year (next year) so that way I can prepare. I've known some people who have gone and they have told me it was fun, but I'm not sure if I would like to be away from home for that long.
Today we went over some more string pieces in the morning. What's interesting about this group is that occasionally many people in a particular section will play something wrong, the conductor will help them fix it, and then the next day (or even a moments later) the same section will get the exact same passage wrong. It's very irritating. I think the fact that I'm getting this frustrated over something that probably wouldn't have bothered me last year is a sign that I need to not come here anymore.
Today there was a mini-presentation about Blue Lake's International Program. I've heard this same presentation two times already and it gets very annoying. Although I am excited that there is an opportunity for me like this, I would prefer if the experience were a bit more laid back (usually the program is all about the music and less about getting to spend time in particular countries). I don't think I'll audition again (I tried out my first year) until senior year (next year) so that way I can prepare. I've known some people who have gone and they have told me it was fun, but I'm not sure if I would like to be away from home for that long.
Day Three
07/16/10
Last night we went to go see a performance by some of the theater faculty. The performed a sort of mash-up of certain Shakespeare pieces for half an hour in order to honor the new theater that was built, which was made specifically for Shakespeare. It was a nice experience, but I would have preferred to have read the texts before acting them out. I like that they are placing an importance on Shakespeare, considering that part of the international program travels to Europe in the summer in order to learn about Shakespeare.
Today's morning rehearsal was interesting because we played with the winds and percussion. These sections are made up of the kids who sight-read the best on opening day. Two girls from my cabin are in the winds section, so I finally have someone to talk to when rehearsal is over. The pieces we are playing with the winds and percussion aren't hard, even when just sight reading.
This afternoon we went over the pieces just for strings. Some of them are fast and very fun to play, but I prefer slower pieces. They are very beautiful and it surprised me that most people in my section couldn't get rhythm right even when playing slowly. Even worse, alot of people in general didn't count and couldn't get the rhythm. I am not the best solo performer, but I feel that my ability to play in an ensemble is beyond some of the musicians in this particular orchestra.
Last night we went to go see a performance by some of the theater faculty. The performed a sort of mash-up of certain Shakespeare pieces for half an hour in order to honor the new theater that was built, which was made specifically for Shakespeare. It was a nice experience, but I would have preferred to have read the texts before acting them out. I like that they are placing an importance on Shakespeare, considering that part of the international program travels to Europe in the summer in order to learn about Shakespeare.
Today's morning rehearsal was interesting because we played with the winds and percussion. These sections are made up of the kids who sight-read the best on opening day. Two girls from my cabin are in the winds section, so I finally have someone to talk to when rehearsal is over. The pieces we are playing with the winds and percussion aren't hard, even when just sight reading.
This afternoon we went over the pieces just for strings. Some of them are fast and very fun to play, but I prefer slower pieces. They are very beautiful and it surprised me that most people in my section couldn't get rhythm right even when playing slowly. Even worse, alot of people in general didn't count and couldn't get the rhythm. I am not the best solo performer, but I feel that my ability to play in an ensemble is beyond some of the musicians in this particular orchestra.
Thursday, December 16, 2010
Day Two
07/15/10
Today was the first full day. First there was breakfast, morning rehearsal, break, technique class, sectionals, lunch, minor hour, p.m rehearsal, rec time, and then finally dinner. Usually after dinner there's some kind of performance. It rained last night, and rained on and off throughout the day, so during morning rehearsal I saw a huge flash of lightening and the rain dampened the music, as well as the inside of my violin case. After rehearsal, I had to wait half an hour before I could go anywhere because of the lightening, which was bad news for me because I had planned on showering.
After waiting another half hours I went to tech class. I enjoy tech class because I believe it is the main problem I need to work on in order to improve my playing. The technique teacher talked about different exercises that he would teach us in order to improve our technique (mainly our finger flexibility). Today we started learning a technique to improve our shifting speed.
In Sectionals we got our re-audition music for next week to determine our seats in the section. I'm already third chair, but I know I'm rusty, so I'll probably move back a bit. This year is my last year here, so I hope I'll somehow pull through. The part hast three flats, which is difficult in general. The rhythm is fairly easy, but the problem is my technique. Listening to some other people in my section, they all seem to have better technique (vibrato, shifting, tone, etc.) which I think would improve if there were more individualized attention at camp from the faculty. I'll most likely get help next year if I can afford it.
Today was the first full day. First there was breakfast, morning rehearsal, break, technique class, sectionals, lunch, minor hour, p.m rehearsal, rec time, and then finally dinner. Usually after dinner there's some kind of performance. It rained last night, and rained on and off throughout the day, so during morning rehearsal I saw a huge flash of lightening and the rain dampened the music, as well as the inside of my violin case. After rehearsal, I had to wait half an hour before I could go anywhere because of the lightening, which was bad news for me because I had planned on showering.
After waiting another half hours I went to tech class. I enjoy tech class because I believe it is the main problem I need to work on in order to improve my playing. The technique teacher talked about different exercises that he would teach us in order to improve our technique (mainly our finger flexibility). Today we started learning a technique to improve our shifting speed.
In Sectionals we got our re-audition music for next week to determine our seats in the section. I'm already third chair, but I know I'm rusty, so I'll probably move back a bit. This year is my last year here, so I hope I'll somehow pull through. The part hast three flats, which is difficult in general. The rhythm is fairly easy, but the problem is my technique. Listening to some other people in my section, they all seem to have better technique (vibrato, shifting, tone, etc.) which I think would improve if there were more individualized attention at camp from the faculty. I'll most likely get help next year if I can afford it.
Day One
07/14/10
First day of camp. YAY! I woke up this morning with only three hours of sleep...and then I drove for an hour and a half in order to drive 106.6 miles straight. In traffic. On the highway. I got to camp about an hour and a half late. After claiming my bed, I went to put money in the bank (for food, clothes, letters, and any kind of instrument damage etc.) and to audition. I knew I was going to do poorly because I hadn't practiced in at least two months, so I wasn't surprised when after dinner tonight, I was placed in the lowest orchestra (lowest as in how difficult the music is to learn).
After dinner I noticed that I didn't have my necessary things for the shower, so I called my mom once I got back in unit and told her about the situation. She told me she would mail them to me and that until then I just needed to buy some things to make life a bit more bearable.
That evening we had our first rehearsal. The conductor for Concert Orchestra is the same on that I've had for the past two years. The music we were playing was very simple (but not too simple that it couldn't be musical, which was a plus). Honestly I was a bit irritated with the whole bureaucracy of the place. Usually you'll perform a few scales and the give a practiced performance, but at Blue Lake it's all about sight-reading. I guess they do it for time constraints, but in my opinion it's not the fairest option.
After rehearsal the rest of the evening was spent playing games in the cabin, learning rules, etc. Many of the girls had all been to Blue Lake at least once before.
First day of camp. YAY! I woke up this morning with only three hours of sleep...and then I drove for an hour and a half in order to drive 106.6 miles straight. In traffic. On the highway. I got to camp about an hour and a half late. After claiming my bed, I went to put money in the bank (for food, clothes, letters, and any kind of instrument damage etc.) and to audition. I knew I was going to do poorly because I hadn't practiced in at least two months, so I wasn't surprised when after dinner tonight, I was placed in the lowest orchestra (lowest as in how difficult the music is to learn).
After dinner I noticed that I didn't have my necessary things for the shower, so I called my mom once I got back in unit and told her about the situation. She told me she would mail them to me and that until then I just needed to buy some things to make life a bit more bearable.
That evening we had our first rehearsal. The conductor for Concert Orchestra is the same on that I've had for the past two years. The music we were playing was very simple (but not too simple that it couldn't be musical, which was a plus). Honestly I was a bit irritated with the whole bureaucracy of the place. Usually you'll perform a few scales and the give a practiced performance, but at Blue Lake it's all about sight-reading. I guess they do it for time constraints, but in my opinion it's not the fairest option.
After rehearsal the rest of the evening was spent playing games in the cabin, learning rules, etc. Many of the girls had all been to Blue Lake at least once before.
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