Powell River, Day 2

Today is when the music comes.

I was well-rested last night so I got up before 7am quite energized. I was a little nervous about the seating audition, but it turned out there was no audition for the percussion section. Instead, we drew our parts in random order and worked on some percussion ensemble music (as we are playing a show next Friday). Our instructor (Bill Linwood) even bought us coffee/tea. :-P I have met him before through an orchestral audition; now as I communicate with him more, I find him quite a laid-back person. Well, he might become very critical when he gives private lessons. LOL ...

Yesterday I said I felt like going back to a high school band camp. Guess what, I feel even more so now with the setting we rehearse in and the equipment we use. You will understand what I mean when you see my pictures.Also, I am one of the older people. A lot of people I meet are under 20 or in their early 20s. My goodness!

The first piece we rehearsed in the afternoon rehearsal was Mahler 1. The part I got was cymbals. This is the exact same part I got last year when I read it at VPO! (Hooray) I played with Bill's 20-inch cymbals and I now have sore shoulders. I was a little disappointed with the ensemble's unpreparedness. I thought this camp is readying young musicians to get into the professional field and thus people should be a bit more up front with things. Perhaps things will get better as they go.

It's nice to find out that the hotel I stay in is only a 10-minute walk from where we rehearse. I'd love to exercise my limbs more, given we get fed really well at the camp.

With little there is to be done, I think I'll turn in early tonight and get some practice done tomorrow morning.