the adventure has come to an end

The End is officially here.

Monday: One season ends, the program for another is announced--gosh, you're fast, BSO! And although I can get ridiculously excited about that orchestra (see my previous post and that insanely long paragraph on Sunday--according to the Bangor Daily News, that was "the first time in more than five years" that the BSO had a full house), in my almost-ten years(!) of being a fan (the anniversary's next month), I've never been this excited. Next season, the orchestra will be playing many of my favourite pieces--now I really wish I could go to a concert (or five). Again, why, BSO?! As if that isn't enough, their YouTube video announcing the season is possibly the most exciting one yet (and yes I'm biased). I am more proud than ever to be a fan of the Bangor Symphony Orchestra. Also, it's a good thing that I don't plan on going to the first concert because I'd have exert a lot of self-control--otherwise I'd be dancing down the aisle, probably ending up in front of the violin section (it's all about the violins).



Because I'm so excited, I made a YouTube playlist of my favourite works that the orchestra will be performing (in chronological order). Enjoy. I listened to the playlist a lot this week.



Also from the BDN review: "Not only was every seat full, but every inch of space on the Collins Center for the Arts stage was taken up--by nearly 100 singers with the University Singers, the Oratorio Society and the Bangor Area Children’s Choir, and an orchestra full to bursting with extra percussionists, keyboardists and other musicians rounding out its ranks." Looks like you've got competition, Wagner (he liked big orchestras)!

That day was also my final class. Instead of meeting in our usual classroom, we met in the Split Crow Pub that's also in the Historic Properties buildings, where the Granville Campus is located. However, I thought we were meeting in said classroom and headed up there, only to find the door locked and the lights off. I tried checking my school email, but it was on the fritz (what's new?). I met a classmate who also didn't know what was going on--though she'd heard something about meeting at the pub, so we headed over--and there was the rest of the class! I handed in my final for that class even though it wasn't due until Wednesday because it was originally due on Monday--until Carla changed the due date, though the original deadline was firmly stuck in my head by that point. However, having it done a couple days early meant that I could focus completely on my final for Topics in Modern Canadian Art.

And although I planned to focus on that last final Monday, I ended up not doing a whole lot: making the above playlist was about as productive as I got, post-last class. Then again, I've gotten pretty good at banging out a thousand or more words in a day or two--NSCAD has done wonders to improve the speed of my essay writing (NSCAD has you write longer essays than NBCCD does--even at the first-year level).

Tuesday: I had my final appointment with Joan, and this time we met at Dal, where's she's based. Unlike the room where she meets with students at NSCAD, her office at Dal has a huge window, which means that said office gets lots of sun on days like Tuesday (sunny and +19˚C according to the thermometer at the IWK building that I passed on my way to NSCAD).

I spent the rest of the day churning out the first of two essays for my Topics in Modern Canadian Art final. Mom arrived, and I was surprised when I saw her walk into the computer lab at NSCAD, where I was, as I'd planned to meet her in the lobby, the Granville Campus being a bit of a maze (though Photo isn't too difficult to find).

Wednesday: Once again, I spent the day feverishly churning out the finals for Topics in Modern Canadian Art, and finished the last one late that night. They also happened to be my final projects for my degree, and I was more than happy to be done.

Thursday: I had to hand in my finals, so Mom and I went to the school, where I took care of those tasks (printing off the papers, stapling them and handing them in) and said good-bye to the techs (and got a hug from Alex), thanking them for all the support this year. It was nice knowing that I could come to the photo dept. and be safe from the abuse that I was dealing with.

Afterward, we went back to the apartment and packed almost everything in an hour or two. I always find packing stressful, but this time it went really smoothly.

Friday: I was up at 7:00 AM and we finished packing. Mom had a run-in with the person who's made my life hell this year--but Mom had a strength in her that I never had this year and she firmly told that person to "stop." Well done, Mom! After packing the last of the stuff into the car (as I said in my homecoming email to Lynn, "by some miracle, everything fit") and returning my keys, we drove home, stopping at Starbucks for breakfast and coffee. I drove a little ways, until my eyes started to droop too much.

When I got home, I erupted with shrieks and yells: I was safe. I spent the rest of the evening relaxing.

Saturday: I was still very tired from the previous day and, although I wanted to do something (like study the Nutcracker score), I didn't have the energy. I didn't even listen to the opera (R. Strauss' Arabella).

Sunday: I've finally started to regain my energy and do some stuff related to unpacking.

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With this, my college/university career comes to a close, as does this blog. I will still write when I have something to say, but unless I go back for another degree, it will no longer be used as a place to write about school.

I think this calls for some more awesome music as a send-off, and I can't think of anything better than the Finale and Apotheosis from my favourite ballet, The Nutcracker. Enjoy, and thank you for following my adventures these last five years.

I love the Met!

Tom and I went to see Avatar yesterday afternoon. This was his first 3D movie and he was just as amazed by it as I was the first time I saw it. This was my first time seeing a movie more than once at the theatre, and it was just as magical as it was the first time around.

I've been keeping up with my homework--this was the second week in a row in which I had everything finished by the weekend.

However, last semester I did well during the first two weeks--and then got completely derailed during Week Three, so I admit I'm a bit nervous about this coming week.

The Met played Carmen on Saturday, and by the end I'd named it my fourth favourite opera. Afterwards I posted a thank you note on their Facebook wall: "THANK YOU for helping me to name "Carmen" as my fourth favourite opera this afternoon! BRAVISSIMO!!" I've been listening to various pieces from the opera since forever--Tom has a recording of Suites 1 and 2 by l'Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal--but I completely fell under the spell of the MOO's version (all in a day's work for them). And since I was so familiar with so many of the pieces I couldn't resist humming/singing along.

Here are some videos from '87 of the MOO playing the Overture,

the Entr'acte from Act II,

the Entr'acte from Act III,

and the Entr'acte from Act IV.

I love watching an orchestra play. As I watch, I think about all the practising and rehearsing that went into the pieces that they're playing, and the teamwork needed to pull it all off (especially when said orchestra is as big as the MOO--if you count every single musician on the orchestra roster page, the total is a hundred and forty-five musicians).

One more thing: the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra RULES (these videos prove it)!

taking violin lessons again

Old String

It's been forever--I really must do a better job at updating this blog.

As I mentioned before, Mom and I went to a concert of the Passamaquoddy Bay Symphony Orchestra on Mother's Day and I decided to try my hand at joining the orchestra. Well, this past Thursday was the first rehearsal of the new program (which is really cool--they'll be performing it in August in Machias and Eastport, ME, and St. Andrews and St. Stephen, NB). I thoroughly enjoyed it--I was in the second violins, right smack in front of the French horns which turned out to be not so bad (it was actually kinda cool). I also learned some stuff about playing different notes on the horn.

However, I was also having a hard time with the music: I kept getting lost (my sight-reading isn't the greatest), and I felt like I was in over my head. In the end, the concertmaster, Alice, gave me the boot. I went over to the conductor, Trond (who's concertmaster of the Bangor Symphony Orchestra), and asked him what he thought (while trying to fight off the tears) and he agreed with Alice.

I told Malika (one of the violinists) about it and she and her mom, Lee-Anne (oboe), talked to Alice but there wasn't much they could do (the concertmaster is second-in-command).

On the way home the floodgates opened and I sobbed on Malika's shoulder. She agreed with me that it wasn't fair, that the orchestra does give the impression that anyone can play (there are no auditions for one thing), and said she'd do what she could to get me in. She also offered to teach me.

Yesterday I decided to take her up on that offer (though I had decided to not push it with the orchestra) and my first lesson in five years is a week from Saturday. We'll be working with stuff that I already have (Wholfart études, Suzuki Violin School, Royal Conservatory of Music, etc.), as well as some stuff that she has, like Kreutzer études, which are standard repertoire, but I never did them (they're mentioned in The Mozart Season). She also had me copy the music from the PBSO so that once I learn a few more things I can learn those pieces (I'll give her back the originals). I also have some questions about what some of the symbols mean.

My first lesson is on the twentieth (a Saturday), which feels weird since aside from a fiddle group I was in about seven or so years ago, I've never had lessons on the weekend (Lynn doesn't teach on weekends because that's when the BSO rehearses).

For now I view this strictly as a summer thing since I'll be going to NBCCD in the Fall and I'll probably be too busy getting used to university life to focus on music lessons (which Malika totally gets since she's just three years older than me).

good to be back

My computer's back (it was at the shop for about a week) and I'm finally getting caught up on my favourite blogs here on Blogger. The problem was something to do with the brain--I can't remember what exactly.

As a result I'm only just now posting photos that I shot during my computer's downtime to Flickr. I've really outdone myself.

Mom and I went to a concert of the Passamaquoddy Bay Symphony Orchestra on Sunday. When they were first formed in '07, Mom tried to talk me into joining (I play violin). At the time I wasn't interested, but after the concert I wanted to join. I love playing music and in the past I've enjoyed playing with others.

After the concert I talked with some of the musicians (who said that they really need violins and that they'd like to have more Canadians so that the ratio of Canadians to Americans is more even).

When I emailed Lynn to tell her about it, she emailed back telling me to not do it. I got the email the next day and although I wasn't too upset in the beginning--I just kinda shrugged it off--by the afternoon I was so upset that I cried a couple of times.

I forwarded the emails to Mom and she told me to just go for it--no matter what Lynn said, no matter what ANYONE said. Thanks, Mom!

This Sunday is Constitution Day in Norway and since we have a Norwegian Forest Cat we're celebrating. I made cookies this afternoon (and had to force myself to stop eating them). Tomorrow: soup and cake. I'm also learning the Norwegian national anthem.

Next week marks one year since the André Gallant/Freeman Patterson photography workshop that I took. I plan on posting a photo or two every day from that week on Flickr.

PS The colours in the photo that I posted (called Pink Tulip) are a lot more intense on Flickr. Hmmmmm.......