Finally, a review on Ole Orch

I was just looking back through some of my posts and noticing how I had commented on a couple concerts from a couple major ensembles at Olaf (namely Band and Choir), but somehow I missed giving Ole Orchestra a review [I'm thinking that's because I missed their concert last spring]. I'm going to try and keep it brief, as I have work to do, but last night's concert was simply stunning. Maybe part of it was the fact that I was seeing some of my friends in the ensemble for the first time in about 10 days, or maybe it was their choice of piece, but I was loving pretty much every minute of it. [OK, I was less than impressed on Michael Torke's Bright Blue Music, but it reflected more on the composition itself rather than the performance in the fact that it stayed in exactly one key for about 6-7 minutes.]

The last two bits of music--the fourth movement of Peter Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 6 in B minor (Adagio lamentoso) and the encore, whatever it was--really got me thinking, kind of like one of those time-life memories/reflections that I'm trying to make sense of. But part of it may have been related to an earlier event, one that happened during the third movement. As the program notes say, "surprisingly, the typical Tchaikovsky finale comes [in the third movement rather than the fourth]. This third movement is a sonatina, or sonata that skips development of the theme for the sake of hearing the catchy theme a few more times." So I was listening to what should have been the final movement, i.e. really uppity and exciting. But the development (no pun intended) that occurred in the seats just a mere few rows in front of me showed an elderly but still agile man running down the aisle and out the door, presumably to the bathroom. I figured he had an emergency of some sort, like he needed to use the toilet or throw up or something. So I was kind of praying that he was going to be alright. As a result, that may have played into how I listened to the somber fourth movement. I was kind of praying that he wasn't about to die.

Well, fortunately he wasn't. In fact, after the concert ended he appeared to be talking in happy spirits at the end, so I then figured it was nothing big. I found out later exactly what happened from a friend who happened to be sitting right in front of the group of elderly people. She told me that someone had fainted and the guy was running down to get help. I did notice that sometime towards the end of the third movement that a couple other people were walking an elderly woman down the aisle and out of the room, so I wondered if the several events were tied together.

Basically my only complaint of the evening is that I felt the audience was too noisy. Aside from the aforementioned incident, there were a lot of noisy crashes in the stands, as if something had fallen. And the worst part is, most of the noises seemed to come during the quiet parts of the concert.

Aside from that, it was all good. I was glad to hear such quality playing on pretty much everyone's part. Luke (bassoon) and Aria (violin) did a great job on their solos, and each section blended well with each other. But enough raving from me for now. I must get back to work.

The E-church

I went to All Saints Episcopal Church again. It was awesome. And a couple of my friends were there.

Now they (a couple parishioners) want me to join their choir.

Aaaggh.

I'm already in two choirs: Chapel Choir (Vespers was awesome tonight, by the way) and German Jazz Choir. I dunno if I have time for three.

But apparently I've found a new home (even if it's temporary).

I live for this

I have a composition due tomorrow, and I'm up kind of late this evening working on it. I'm almost "almost done," but I'm not complaining. This is what I live for (in terms of work). This is one of those rare moments when I realize why I became a comp major in the first place.

Pray for me this week (several big projects due, as well as a few midterms), but also pray for your fellow persons who may need it. I myself know several people that could use some prayer during this time, so I will attend to it (after I finish my piece of course).

Selah

Once again I skipped church this morning, but I went to Selah this evening, and I can easily say it's the most spiritually uplifting experience I've had in a while. But this is no new event for me. I've been going for quite a while (since late freshman year), but for the most part FCA dwarfed it.

This year I've been less than impressed at FCA. Many of the people I got to know and enjoy their company are MIA at FCA (sorry for the excess acronyms). It feels like a lackadaisical attempt to bring people together to worship God, when instead the focus seems to be on the people themselves.

So I can say the honeymoon period with FCA is long gone. But to be honest, when it comes to spiritual organizations it should never leave. Perhaps I've seen FCA in a more political light than spiritual, or maybe there are so many people I don't know that I don't know where to begin, or maybe I'm just too damn busy on Tuesday nights.

Then there's TNBS (Thursday Night Bible Study). I never went with any regularity, and when I did I'm sure I've fallen asleep during part of it. But the Sunday night event still sticks with me. Selah is entirely made up of singing. And I guess I like it best now because I spend the whole hour combining my love of God with my love of music. But probably on another note, this event is when I see most of the people I know.

Even though I know I have a long way to go spiritually, I have come a far way from January 2005, when I first re-entered the Christian faith. I recall I was so dependent on finding any form of Christianity that I was willing to take whatever side effects the group may have come with. As I've begun to mature and understand said faith, I've begun to weigh specific aspects of how one practices Christianity and pick out which ones suit me better than others. And to compare Selah with TNBS (and FCA to a lesser extent), I much prefer experiencing and feeling the Holy Spirit rather than studying it.

Something about voice lessons

This evening I had my first voice studio class, and per Dr. Smith's policy/tradition/whatever you wanna call it, all the first-timers to the studio had to sing. And I was one of them. It was kind of a fun experience, getting up and trying out my solo, post-changed voice in front of a crowd of about 25. But not just in the studio class; in the lessons I got to experience voice as an instrument instead of "something I simply sing with." I'm taking Instrumentation as a class this semester, so I have been learning about the different instruments and how they can and cannot function, especially the woodwinds and brass. With those instruments, one must push more air through the tubing system to get a higher sound, per se. Well, I discovered that's the same thing with voice, and in the process I found I had a higher range than previously believed. It's a cool feeling, although I wish I still had my lower notes that I've had pretty much the last 6-7 years (it's been that long already?).

Anyway my range is about the same (2 octaves) but I found some notes different from what I thought I had. I remember in high school Mr. Querio would audition us at the beginning of each school year so to figure out which section we would sing in. Oftentimes I'd look over at the evaluation sheet, particularly his range markings, and noticed that I went from a low bass F to roughly a B-flat in the mid-baritone/tenor range. Of course my voice was still developing, since the vocal cords themselves were still expanding/contracting/going whichever way. It's kind of like looking at a clarinet and pushing/pulling on the neck to adjust the pitch. So anyway, my range now (at least solid notes) goes from a G (whole-step above the F) to a high tenor F. And I'm thinking, wow, I didn't know I had that note before. So I just might be a baritone now.

But it's not really (only) about finding my range, but discovering all sorts of neat ways to make singing easier. As many of you (my posting fans/brethren/whatever you want to be called) might know, I'm a choir lifer, so I've been more or less "trained" to sing more for the group, sacrificing my solo voice so to make the section sound better. But at the same time (and I've made these discoveries over only the recent years) I'd find it kind of hard to get a good solid breath to support the phrase, and oftentimes if I hit the higher part of my range, I'd either stress it out or (more often) sing falsetto, which must be like playing harmonics on a wind instrument. Oh, and I've yawned quite often in choir rehearsals, partly due to my general fatigue, but partly due to the fact that we're pretty much always sitting down and I can't quite get the adequate breath that I need.

I guess the coolest thing about taking voice lessons is I can express more (both facially and musically) while singing rather than playing piano, and I can actually communicate with the audience by singing directly to them as opposed to for them.

And I guess the second coolest thing about just starting voice lessons is, I've got a bunch of friends actually in my studio who didn't know I was actually singing tonight, rather than accompanying someone who was singing tonight.

I guess I've done it. I'm finally taking voice lessons at St. Olaf. I'm the stereotypical Ole right there.

:-D