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Oh man... Wind ensemble tour was crazy!
Thursday wasn't too bad. We started with a concert for the kids at Trinity Lutheran, where Mrs. Brennan works, and that was fun 'cause they were so excited to have us there. Practiced for a bit and then headed to Brockport HS. Here we thought we'd get some students in to listen to us practice, but no. They all kinda stared at us, wondering why we were in their band room, and then left. Dinner break was a fiasco too. Chose to go to Friendly's - big mistake - the waitress was horrible and we didn't get our food until 15 min before we had to be back at the bus. Back at Brockport HS, we were supposed to play for a band boosters meeting, which we didn't. Then headed to the hotel, roomie, Dman, Ashley and I hung out for the rest of the night.
Friday though... The morning and part of the afternoon was spent at Albion HS. We get there, and the school doesn't want to let us in. We didn't have the necessary clearance, and they wanted all 50-some of us to sign in at the office and get fingerprinted. Yeah. Luckily that didn't end up happening. Their band room is tiny and sooooooo cluttered, it was jammed. At least the kids that wandered in the band room here seemed more grateful to have us there. After lunch, we played for their band, all the kids had to stand at the back of the room behind the percussion. Then a select few of us played with them in their band rehearsal... for 10 minutes. The district decided we had to be off school property by 2pm. 10 minutes was all that was left before that.
Then there was the country club. Oh man. The Counrty Club of Rochester... for the elite rich people of the city. It looked rich. The curtains matched the wallpaper. The furniature matched the wallpaper. The bathrooms had anything you'd ever need that you might have left at home, in addition to a sitting room before the actual bathroom. They crammed us into a space about half the size of what we're used to, around 2 huge pillars. After we did a sound check, they told us to go upstairs, they'd feed us, and we could come back down at 7. But, don't use cell phones, they're forbidden in the club, and don't wander. In other words, you're not of the same caliber as our guests. Hide until we absolutely need you. Get upstairs, and at this ritzy country club what do they feed us? Sandwiches. Yes, sandwiches. Not to mention that there weren't enough tables or chairs for the entire ensemble to sit and eat. Roomie, Trevor, Jill and I sat on the floor. When it came time to play, there were oh, maybe 30 people there to play for. So we started our concert, the second piece was the symphony, which Dr. Brennan clearly explained had 4 movements. We finish the first, Dr. Brennan's arm is still up, you know, indication to not clap, and what do they do, they clap anyway. Same thing after the second movement. After the third, they clap and then the lights dim... We were confused. Look to the back of the room... and they asked us to sing happy birthday to some 13 year-old! In the middle of our symphony! Played the 4th movement, and we got a standing ovation... in the middle of the concert. I think they thought we were done, but no we're not thanks. Played the rest of the concert excepting the other multi-movement work. As we were packing up, someone came over and told us they had "a lovely grand piano we could have used." Thanks a lot!! We didn't get out of that ritzy place soon enough.
Saturday we spent all day in the recording studio, stopping twice for 5 min breaks and once for half an hour for lunch. Good news is we got it all done and Dr. Brennan was really pleased. Bad news is we were all cranky and tired by the time we loaded up and got back on the bus.
So, my first tour experience was certainly interesting. :) Very exhausting, yet amusing.
Today's our concert, Mom and Dad and the kids will be here, yay, and then we're going out to celebrate Beth's 13th birthday!! (I'm sooooo old!!)
Happy birthday little sister!!
Thursday wasn't too bad. We started with a concert for the kids at Trinity Lutheran, where Mrs. Brennan works, and that was fun 'cause they were so excited to have us there. Practiced for a bit and then headed to Brockport HS. Here we thought we'd get some students in to listen to us practice, but no. They all kinda stared at us, wondering why we were in their band room, and then left. Dinner break was a fiasco too. Chose to go to Friendly's - big mistake - the waitress was horrible and we didn't get our food until 15 min before we had to be back at the bus. Back at Brockport HS, we were supposed to play for a band boosters meeting, which we didn't. Then headed to the hotel, roomie, Dman, Ashley and I hung out for the rest of the night.
Friday though... The morning and part of the afternoon was spent at Albion HS. We get there, and the school doesn't want to let us in. We didn't have the necessary clearance, and they wanted all 50-some of us to sign in at the office and get fingerprinted. Yeah. Luckily that didn't end up happening. Their band room is tiny and sooooooo cluttered, it was jammed. At least the kids that wandered in the band room here seemed more grateful to have us there. After lunch, we played for their band, all the kids had to stand at the back of the room behind the percussion. Then a select few of us played with them in their band rehearsal... for 10 minutes. The district decided we had to be off school property by 2pm. 10 minutes was all that was left before that.
Then there was the country club. Oh man. The Counrty Club of Rochester... for the elite rich people of the city. It looked rich. The curtains matched the wallpaper. The furniature matched the wallpaper. The bathrooms had anything you'd ever need that you might have left at home, in addition to a sitting room before the actual bathroom. They crammed us into a space about half the size of what we're used to, around 2 huge pillars. After we did a sound check, they told us to go upstairs, they'd feed us, and we could come back down at 7. But, don't use cell phones, they're forbidden in the club, and don't wander. In other words, you're not of the same caliber as our guests. Hide until we absolutely need you. Get upstairs, and at this ritzy country club what do they feed us? Sandwiches. Yes, sandwiches. Not to mention that there weren't enough tables or chairs for the entire ensemble to sit and eat. Roomie, Trevor, Jill and I sat on the floor. When it came time to play, there were oh, maybe 30 people there to play for. So we started our concert, the second piece was the symphony, which Dr. Brennan clearly explained had 4 movements. We finish the first, Dr. Brennan's arm is still up, you know, indication to not clap, and what do they do, they clap anyway. Same thing after the second movement. After the third, they clap and then the lights dim... We were confused. Look to the back of the room... and they asked us to sing happy birthday to some 13 year-old! In the middle of our symphony! Played the 4th movement, and we got a standing ovation... in the middle of the concert. I think they thought we were done, but no we're not thanks. Played the rest of the concert excepting the other multi-movement work. As we were packing up, someone came over and told us they had "a lovely grand piano we could have used." Thanks a lot!! We didn't get out of that ritzy place soon enough.
Saturday we spent all day in the recording studio, stopping twice for 5 min breaks and once for half an hour for lunch. Good news is we got it all done and Dr. Brennan was really pleased. Bad news is we were all cranky and tired by the time we loaded up and got back on the bus.
So, my first tour experience was certainly interesting. :) Very exhausting, yet amusing.
Today's our concert, Mom and Dad and the kids will be here, yay, and then we're going out to celebrate Beth's 13th birthday!! (I'm sooooo old!!)
Happy birthday little sister!!