It began with the Summer Strings concert, which, because of rain, was held indoors. Our conductor, a professor of meterology at the local university, was able to determine the necessity of using our rain location, a church with excellent acoustics, early in the day. The recording I made came out sounding really good.
You can hear the recording here.
And you can see the music on the program in the comments.
Everyone played their hearts out, and the audience (more than 200 people, I have been told) reflected that love of expression in a really big way. This, for me, is the height of musical experience. Our ensemble has three professional musicians in it. The rest do other things for a living, or else they are kids who are out of school during the summer. Some come from rural farming communities. All of them practice.
Immediately after the concert, after a short night of sleep, we headed off to New Jersey to see some good friends. We spent a day in Montclair and West Orange visiting a great bookstore, having fantastic ramen for lunch, and exploring the wonders of the Thomas Edison National Historical Park, which was an experience that will take me a long time to fully process. If you ever find yourself in that area of New Jersey, go there. And if you are a "senior" you can get a pass for $20 that will let you and three friends in. You can use that pass for every National Park in the United States.
The next day we headed off to Massachusetts for a wedding. We had a wonderful time celebrating the coming together of two wonderful families (one of them ours) on the most beautiful of days in the most beautiful of places.
Our return trip, which we divided between two days, featured a huge thunderstorm that we encountered while it was my turn to drive. I proudly navigated my way through it. That was a huge accomplishment for me.
Before leaving for our adventure I started working on a piece for the Los Angeles Jewish Symphony, and I did some work on it this morning. I have plans later today to practice the first violin part of Haydn Opus 74 no. 1, and get to play it tomorrow with friends.
I don't think that I have ever returned from a week away with such a full head and such a full heart.
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4 comments:
Callino Casturame by Byrd
To a Wild Rose by MacDowell
Be Our Guest
Elegie by Maron Bauer (1882-1955)
Romantic Flight (Dragon film)
Andante from Mozart Piano Sonata K545
Your Song
Over the Rainbow
Imagine
Kemp's Gig (Traditional English)
Save Your Tears
How wonderful!
Sounds like a great week, Elaine. We went to Buffalo, Wyoming for Jan to participate in a spinning and weaving demonstration. While she was doing that, I was able to work on a composition of my own. After that we went to the Big Horn National Forest for some hiking and learn why Cloud Peak Wilderness Area is so called. A great fog.
I would like to recommend the "America the Beautiful" Senior Pass to anyone 62 years of age or older. For $80.00 it admits the holder and all passengers in their vehicle into any National Park, Monument, Recreation Area, or Historic Site for free. It was my present to myself on my 62nd birthday and has more than paid for itself.
I’m so happy that you had a great week away as well!
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