the 6/4 pattern... AKA the password...
this whole week's been really tugging at my heartstrings, and i know it's only going to get worse... i'm behind on my schoolwork and projects, but i need to update, since it's been a while...
spring fest... of course, the stressful, annoying festival it is, working nonstop, around the clock... but it was okay... despite the frustrating "do you have the keys" every half hour, when i frickin' didn't have the keys, as well as the rude hostess who tromped around the place like she owned it, it wasn't too bad... and CSA made a pretty good profit...
i got to play faure's pavane with paulin center orchestra... one of my favorite pieces... even if it was with a beginning orchestra, it's still pavane, and i got to play the clarinet solo... good stuff... i also taught handbells for mrs rasmussen, and ended up having a really responsive group, and accomplished a lot... shelley said that the compliments really inspired her to play well, and that i was going to make a great music teacher...
wednesday, i got to have my first teaching experience at PUC Prep band... i was nervous the whole time leading up to it, but when i got on the podium, i was in a zone, and the rehearsal went smoothly, i didn't even sweat, they responded well to my conducting, and they gave me a round of applause afterwards, with the occasional few sticking around to thank me for the good rehearsal... mr gilley even said that he knows i'm going to make a great music teacher from that rehearsal... too bad dr mitchell wasn't there to grade me... i would've gotten perfect scores down the line!
i'm gonna save all the doc-ism's for the end...
friday night, jenni h, rachel racker, and i head down to have a rehearsal with opus one, a paid gig for the three of us... mr armstrong, the person that contacted all of us to join, said that there would be very many principal players, as well as members of the napa youth symphony, so this was going to be quality... oh boy, we get there, and yeah, the players were really good, but mr armstrong was a horrible conductor! he was totally losing his pattern on a 6/4 time signature, and jenni finally had to tell everyone to just let him be, and count out the numbers... it's funny when the students are teaching him how to conduct a 6/4... my other bassoonist is a freshman from napa high, and she was really nice... i'd probably want to student teach there, so it was great meeting others from that school... after the rehearsal, jenni told us to run to the car, and once we got in, she blew up... we vented on our ride up, as well as opened up to each other, sharing stories and talked about jenni's passions... it was a good bonding experience nonetheless...
odd one out sang for redwoodstock... practices leading up to it were funny, when i organize the theory room with my OCD mannerisms, lining up the chalk and cleaning the whiteboards, as well as straightening up the desks... i don't think i've ever heard marisa laugh that hard... =D we sang three songs: "just a closer walk with thee," "sweet sweet spirit," and our gem, "his eye is on the sparrow..." we didn't do half bad... it was great having some homemade filipino food (which i miss horribly), and hang out at marisa's house to play some board games... i totally lost at racko, almost won at rummikub, but beat everyone at yahtzee... what a great game! we played some password after a quick photo session (in our matching yellow outfits, haha) afterwards, which was intense, playing with mr and mrs fiorello as well... the drive back was intense, when we barely could see the road, even getting pulled over by a cop, telling andy that one of his headlights were out... shelley was scared the whole time, and it was good to see that there was a legitimate reason to be scared...
this whole week, i've been collecting video tributes to doc, and it's really hard hearing people saying good-bye... today, dr marks recorded hers, and afterwards, she started to share with me underground information, which frustrated me to the point of crying... i've been able to hold it all in until this point, but i just let it go, vented all my anger, and she was there to listen... she shared with me that i was the star of the music department, and that they see me as one of the best things that have ever happened for PUC... she also told me that the way i'm developing now, i could easily become the future dr. narducci... something i've heard several times from several people... my reason of staying at PUC was to show that something good can still come from the PUC music department... but after everything she told me, i don't feel the same way... i'm only staying at PUC for everything BUT the music department... save the kindness of dr davis and the few good music major friends i have there... that's it...
after my teaching experience on wednesday, doc stayed after to compliment me... i didn't ask him to, but for the last half of the rehearsal, he sat in the back, just watching how i'd do... voluntarily afterwards, he told me that "had i been graduating this year, they would've offered me the job here at PUC..." it was the same situation he was in 26 years ago, and he became the best thing musically at PUC... we've been auditioning different band conductors last week... the first one was okay, but when mr keller auditioned us, i snapped... it's the same group of instrumentalists, but with a different conductor, the band just sounded dead... the music was dead... i even wrote that on my evaluation...
i'm going to miss those nods of approval, after i get up on the podium for instrumental conducting, perform an exercise well, and him just say "there's nothing i can fix... move on to the next one..." i've decided that i'm not joining band next year... and i'm going to train a worker next year, and step down after first quarter... i'm joining choir and pro musica, and that way, i'll have a legitimate reason for not being in band... something i talked about with kari after she took her footage... she's joining choir next year too... and yes, it's a loyalty thing, but when you've had a teacher as influential as doc, it'd be torture to try anything else...
::exhale:: three more wind ensemble rehearsals... one last wind ensemble concert... one more month... this is all too much for me to handle... hey guys, i've asked some of you already, but cut me some slack if i come across as emotional, annoying, and heartless...
spring fest... of course, the stressful, annoying festival it is, working nonstop, around the clock... but it was okay... despite the frustrating "do you have the keys" every half hour, when i frickin' didn't have the keys, as well as the rude hostess who tromped around the place like she owned it, it wasn't too bad... and CSA made a pretty good profit...
i got to play faure's pavane with paulin center orchestra... one of my favorite pieces... even if it was with a beginning orchestra, it's still pavane, and i got to play the clarinet solo... good stuff... i also taught handbells for mrs rasmussen, and ended up having a really responsive group, and accomplished a lot... shelley said that the compliments really inspired her to play well, and that i was going to make a great music teacher...
wednesday, i got to have my first teaching experience at PUC Prep band... i was nervous the whole time leading up to it, but when i got on the podium, i was in a zone, and the rehearsal went smoothly, i didn't even sweat, they responded well to my conducting, and they gave me a round of applause afterwards, with the occasional few sticking around to thank me for the good rehearsal... mr gilley even said that he knows i'm going to make a great music teacher from that rehearsal... too bad dr mitchell wasn't there to grade me... i would've gotten perfect scores down the line!
i'm gonna save all the doc-ism's for the end...
friday night, jenni h, rachel racker, and i head down to have a rehearsal with opus one, a paid gig for the three of us... mr armstrong, the person that contacted all of us to join, said that there would be very many principal players, as well as members of the napa youth symphony, so this was going to be quality... oh boy, we get there, and yeah, the players were really good, but mr armstrong was a horrible conductor! he was totally losing his pattern on a 6/4 time signature, and jenni finally had to tell everyone to just let him be, and count out the numbers... it's funny when the students are teaching him how to conduct a 6/4... my other bassoonist is a freshman from napa high, and she was really nice... i'd probably want to student teach there, so it was great meeting others from that school... after the rehearsal, jenni told us to run to the car, and once we got in, she blew up... we vented on our ride up, as well as opened up to each other, sharing stories and talked about jenni's passions... it was a good bonding experience nonetheless...
odd one out sang for redwoodstock... practices leading up to it were funny, when i organize the theory room with my OCD mannerisms, lining up the chalk and cleaning the whiteboards, as well as straightening up the desks... i don't think i've ever heard marisa laugh that hard... =D we sang three songs: "just a closer walk with thee," "sweet sweet spirit," and our gem, "his eye is on the sparrow..." we didn't do half bad... it was great having some homemade filipino food (which i miss horribly), and hang out at marisa's house to play some board games... i totally lost at racko, almost won at rummikub, but beat everyone at yahtzee... what a great game! we played some password after a quick photo session (in our matching yellow outfits, haha) afterwards, which was intense, playing with mr and mrs fiorello as well... the drive back was intense, when we barely could see the road, even getting pulled over by a cop, telling andy that one of his headlights were out... shelley was scared the whole time, and it was good to see that there was a legitimate reason to be scared...
this whole week, i've been collecting video tributes to doc, and it's really hard hearing people saying good-bye... today, dr marks recorded hers, and afterwards, she started to share with me underground information, which frustrated me to the point of crying... i've been able to hold it all in until this point, but i just let it go, vented all my anger, and she was there to listen... she shared with me that i was the star of the music department, and that they see me as one of the best things that have ever happened for PUC... she also told me that the way i'm developing now, i could easily become the future dr. narducci... something i've heard several times from several people... my reason of staying at PUC was to show that something good can still come from the PUC music department... but after everything she told me, i don't feel the same way... i'm only staying at PUC for everything BUT the music department... save the kindness of dr davis and the few good music major friends i have there... that's it...
after my teaching experience on wednesday, doc stayed after to compliment me... i didn't ask him to, but for the last half of the rehearsal, he sat in the back, just watching how i'd do... voluntarily afterwards, he told me that "had i been graduating this year, they would've offered me the job here at PUC..." it was the same situation he was in 26 years ago, and he became the best thing musically at PUC... we've been auditioning different band conductors last week... the first one was okay, but when mr keller auditioned us, i snapped... it's the same group of instrumentalists, but with a different conductor, the band just sounded dead... the music was dead... i even wrote that on my evaluation...
i'm going to miss those nods of approval, after i get up on the podium for instrumental conducting, perform an exercise well, and him just say "there's nothing i can fix... move on to the next one..." i've decided that i'm not joining band next year... and i'm going to train a worker next year, and step down after first quarter... i'm joining choir and pro musica, and that way, i'll have a legitimate reason for not being in band... something i talked about with kari after she took her footage... she's joining choir next year too... and yes, it's a loyalty thing, but when you've had a teacher as influential as doc, it'd be torture to try anything else...
::exhale:: three more wind ensemble rehearsals... one last wind ensemble concert... one more month... this is all too much for me to handle... hey guys, i've asked some of you already, but cut me some slack if i come across as emotional, annoying, and heartless...