Concert Reflection

Concert Reflection

I think that our ensemble performed very well in both of the pieces that we played. In After the Rain, I felt that our entrance was a little bit shaky and unsure. I could hear people around me start to come in, then doubt themselves and wait. That happened a couple of times until most of us started together. After we got into the next few measures, the tone of the orchestra started to come out and become richer. I used vibrato on all of the half, three quarter and whole notes and I could hear immediately how much better it sounded, and I think a lot of people were using vibrato because the tone sounded very warm and clear. The whole second violin section seemed to be together for the most part, because the watchers such as myself and my stand partner were closer to the back and the people that tend to cue and help keep the section together were in the front. There were not very many people cueing this time, but I think that is because it was the first concert and most of our new orchestra members weren’t used to cueing to keep the section together. After we played our first piece, I really enjoyed the harp solos and duet. The harp has a very pretty and clear sound that rings out and falls over the whole audience and creates a peaceful feeling. I enjoyed the first solo and the duet the most. I feel that the sound of a harp might complement some of our pieces in Orchestra. The trill on the harp would have sounded really nice in the background of After the Rain, and some of the lower notes might have sounded nice in the background of Illumination. I felt that our second piece Illumination sounded very good. The second violins worked on letter G in our sectional time, and I think we got the notes and the rhythms down really well. The divici notes also sounded really good, because the high and lower tones complemented each other and really made the mood of the piece come together. The moods of After the Rain and Illumination seemed to contrast, with After the Rain being sadder and quieter, and Illumination being more upbeat and energetic. The length of the pieces were also perfectly timed, not too long and not too short. I felt that our ending to Illumination was very good. Looking around, I could see that most people had ended at the same time and at the same part of the bow.

First Post of this Year

So the school year just started about 3 weeks ago, and we have had quite a few orchestra rehearsals since then. Reflecting back on last year, I can see that I didn't work at my full potential last year and that definitely will change this year. Over the summer, I had a few private lessons where I mostly worked on relearning the fundamentals. I found out how important it is to learn to do the correct posture and bow hold from the start, instead of forming the wrong habits and then having to relearn them later. I worked a lot on my posture(sitting up straight on the front edge of my chair, left hand position, keeping the instrument over my shoulder instead of down in front like a necktie) and especially my right hand bow hold which I had a lot of trouble with last year. I'd like to say I'll be playing everything perfectly from now on, but learning music is a journey that lasts a lifetime. I am definitely better prepared for what this year will bring, and I will be putting in a lot more practice outside of school. I think the problem last year was not only using the same bad habits that I had learned from middle school, but underestimating the amount of time I would need to spend on practice. Hopefully this year will go a lot better for me, and my video of the passage I worked on in After the Rain will be up by Sunday at the latest.

Dido and Aeneas Overture

This is my new video which is finally up, it was supposed to be done a while ago but my laptop wasn't working right and it wouldn't upload. Anyway here it is:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0LIY0p52UyA&feature=youtu.be

MSBOA Festival Blog Post

I think festival went very well for us this year. We got straight 1's, including sight reading which i did not expect. I thought as a whole ensemble, we played very well. There were certainly problem areas which we could have worked on. Our first piece Hopak went quite well. I felt that we had a little trouble staying together with the pizzicato, and measures 58-72 were not as together as they could have been. Other than that, we were mostly on tempo, and our bowing seemed to be together. The Capriol suite as a whole did not go as well as i would have hoped, mostly because of Mattachins(sword dance). The accidentals were quite out of tune, and the bows did not stay together for most of the piece. I felt that Pavane went very well, i liked it the best out of all the pieces we played. The dynamic contrast was very good, and we stayed together and most people looked up at the conductor at some point. The first movement Basse Danse went pretty well, mostly together and good dynamic contrast and tempo. The only thing that could have gone better is if the bows stayed together completely and the sound was clearer. Our last piece, Farandole went extremely well and I was extremely proud of how well it went for the amount of time we had to learn it. The accidentals were all on key, and the dynamic contrast and tempo were both very nice. Overall, i feel that we deserved the 1 rating that we got.

                                                                                                               

My Scales Test Video

My scales are up....watch at your discretion

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HGQK9AMC4gI&feature=youtu.be

Concert review for Winter Concert

I thought that the pieces we played for this concert were well adjusted to our experience level. I thought Halcyon in particular went very well, we were together for most of the piece, only getting off beat occasionally. I felt that Days of Yore could have gone better, especially in the measures with tremelo. Symphony was amazing as usual, and i particularly enjoed their second movement. Although it was quite long, it was very well played. I also enjoyed the solos very much. As far as looking up at Mr.Wolf during the concert, i think i managed to do that quite often. I felt that looking up often during pieces that are not as well rehearsed as others helps to get us back together and on beat.