evan Posted January 22, 2016 Share Posted January 22, 2016 (edited) I just kinda wanted to express some good things today, because I think a day like this will help keep things on track. so today was a big concert featuring our universities major ensembles and it was fantastic. it also led to some big changes in mindset which is why i'd like to backtrack and explain a bit: context first; blah blah I'm a music major who plays percussion in the university symphonic band. i may like more modern music, but for the past semester i really really started to hate being in the ensemble. there was a lot of faulty communication among the section, the conductor had a bad tendency to be negative, and honestly the concerts were just kinda mediocre. plus we had been put under additional stress to be perfect this year because we got invited to two conferences to play. additionally, the music i had been put on was difficult, and some of it i couldn't play consistently without a lot of warm up, which i didn't always have. i had some individual pressure due to taking an opportunity to assist the university orchestra with Gustav Holst's "The Planets" in the fall as well, which ended up eating my time further, but i fortunately thought i was done. it was just a matter of making it to this concert and getting it over with. the past two weeks have been ridiculous. i've already stacked myself up with a pretty fuckin busy semester (although manageable, by all means), and the band rehearsals honestly kinda horrible off the bat. like i really wanted to quit the ensemble for good just a few days ago. ALSO A FEW DAYS AGO; one of the orchestra percussionists could no longer do the gig that was today! so i had to learn two different pieces (not hard, but nerve-wracking!) in two days, and add another evening rehearsal to a week that already had a booked evening every other night. it was shaping up to potentially be either amazing or a complete fucking disaster, and with the way that rehearsal went, i was super anxious and kinda miserable. but...damn. even though i had to play like eight pieces in one night, it was just...unbelievable. it was the best performance i had ever had of every single one of those pieces. the whole band and orchestra sounded so fucking good, and those parts that were consistently hit and miss were not just on point but actually better than usual. i had a fucking goofy ass smile on my face the time, and it was honestly the first time i had fun playing music in a while. which leads me to what i'm really raving about; the first two paragraphs basically summed up to say that rehearsing music really really started to completely suck for a while! although performing ensembles don't really dictate the quality of my degree experiences (especially being a potential music education/composition major), it had a huge effect on my mood and ability to take the negative with the positive. i always believed that putting in the work for things like this led to fun concerts, but last semester just sucked sometimes. it stopped feeling worth it, and i was even starting to reconsider even being a music major because i thought i had lost my touch and that all the fun of it was temporary. but no sir. that is the best i've felt in such a long time. i've never felt that happy and giddy before. it was just one of the most fun concerts i've ever played and it was full of music that i feel lucky to have experienced. and it was at a relatively significant conference in michigan, so atop that it represented our university very well. i really couldn't ask for anything else right now. Edited January 22, 2016 by evan 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DevilishlyHandsome49 Posted January 22, 2016 Share Posted January 22, 2016 Excellent. The next step... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
evan Posted January 22, 2016 Author Share Posted January 22, 2016 ...i do still have the wine... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GamingGal Posted January 22, 2016 Share Posted January 22, 2016 Woo, that's so exciting! We all need a great day sometimes, you know? I might not be a music person, but man do I love listening to a good orchestra. I'm sure you guys sounded awesome! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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