The music of Dorian Gray
Between the weather, and people not coming to work, and now internet issues preventing me from getting online last night, I haven't discussed band as of yet this week. It's not like rehearsal itself was earth-shattering. We got a few more songs, owing to the main director coming back (and both assistants being off). My folder had gotten double copies of things save for one song, and when I'd asked the director for his key to copy that last song, he gave me a bit of guff about it. Well, I'm sharing with a high school kid, and she's using the extra folder so she can practice. He was like, but we don't have any high schoolers! They were done after the last concert! …Yes, and now we got a fresh batch of 'em last week, when you weren't here. …Oh. He relented, got me his keys, and then at the end of rehearsal asked all of them to stop by and say hi.
As it turns out, I didn't get all of the music. One song, which isn't one I really know by name but completely recognized past a certain point, is the wrong part. For whatever reason, we were given an oboe part that had "oboe" scratched out and "flute" written in. Um, that's great and all, but we currently have two oboes. If we had none, or even one, fine. Two covers their part. Better (read: more frustrating for her), two-chairs-down has played this song before, and on the standard flute part, so she was totally like, what *is* this? Lucky for us, the second flute lead said she'd copy us all the music, so by next week we should have the correct parts. For the most part, it's not terribly different, but some parts are written down the octave, some parts are marked solo though the regular flute part is playing, and in one place toward the end the rest of the flutes were resting but the last two stands--TCD, the high school player, and me--were chugging along on a bunch of running eighth notes. I wouldn't mind keeping that part. But, yeah, up until then I was like, okay, we have to get the real flute part here.
Before band, TCD and I were talking, and somehow I mentioned that one of my schools is closing. Last week, it was announced that five Catholic schools in the Chicago diocese would close at the end of the year; I'd taught at the Deerfield school. (I still have contact with its students at solo contest, though neither Mr. C or Mr. D have taught there in many years.) TCD was asking if I currently taught; oh, no, this was 14 years ago now. She looked at me funny and said, how old were you? Twenty-six, I said. She looked at me funnier and said, how old are you now? She was stunned to hear I'm 40. The woman in front of her, fifth chair, was sort of listening and TCD said to her, does she look like she's 40? Oh, no! Fifth chair replied. I promised them, really, I am, and so-and-so was my college classmate; he can vouch that we graduated together. He happened to walk by right about then and I said to him, can you tell them that I graduated with you in '99? They don't believe I'm 40. He went, you know, I turn 41 tomorrow. Well, happy birthday! Wow. I didn't realize he was that much older than me. But yeah. I mean, granted, the other women are in their 70s (TCD doesn't seem like it; I think fifth chair is close in age to the main director, at the far end of that decade), so sure I can see why they'd think I was in my 20s, but yeah. I'm not. I'm not exactly thrilled that I'm 40, truthfully, but it's not a terrible place to be.
As it turns out, I didn't get all of the music. One song, which isn't one I really know by name but completely recognized past a certain point, is the wrong part. For whatever reason, we were given an oboe part that had "oboe" scratched out and "flute" written in. Um, that's great and all, but we currently have two oboes. If we had none, or even one, fine. Two covers their part. Better (read: more frustrating for her), two-chairs-down has played this song before, and on the standard flute part, so she was totally like, what *is* this? Lucky for us, the second flute lead said she'd copy us all the music, so by next week we should have the correct parts. For the most part, it's not terribly different, but some parts are written down the octave, some parts are marked solo though the regular flute part is playing, and in one place toward the end the rest of the flutes were resting but the last two stands--TCD, the high school player, and me--were chugging along on a bunch of running eighth notes. I wouldn't mind keeping that part. But, yeah, up until then I was like, okay, we have to get the real flute part here.
Before band, TCD and I were talking, and somehow I mentioned that one of my schools is closing. Last week, it was announced that five Catholic schools in the Chicago diocese would close at the end of the year; I'd taught at the Deerfield school. (I still have contact with its students at solo contest, though neither Mr. C or Mr. D have taught there in many years.) TCD was asking if I currently taught; oh, no, this was 14 years ago now. She looked at me funny and said, how old were you? Twenty-six, I said. She looked at me funnier and said, how old are you now? She was stunned to hear I'm 40. The woman in front of her, fifth chair, was sort of listening and TCD said to her, does she look like she's 40? Oh, no! Fifth chair replied. I promised them, really, I am, and so-and-so was my college classmate; he can vouch that we graduated together. He happened to walk by right about then and I said to him, can you tell them that I graduated with you in '99? They don't believe I'm 40. He went, you know, I turn 41 tomorrow. Well, happy birthday! Wow. I didn't realize he was that much older than me. But yeah. I mean, granted, the other women are in their 70s (TCD doesn't seem like it; I think fifth chair is close in age to the main director, at the far end of that decade), so sure I can see why they'd think I was in my 20s, but yeah. I'm not. I'm not exactly thrilled that I'm 40, truthfully, but it's not a terrible place to be.