playing in groups, part deux

[WxJeff]

Ebayscrounger has got it right... if you get out of the house occasionally with horn in tow, good things are bound to happen.

I've been playing occasionally with an orchestra at a friend's church for a year now. The first violinist and the bass player in this orchestra host a chamber orchestra, and invited me to play 2nd Trumpet when they added winds for a Mozart concert. I was both honored and humbled at the same time, but both of them encouraged me that I would "fit right in."

Never before have I been in so far over my head!! The orchestra was full of great musicians, both current and former professional players. The 1st Trumpet player is a music professor at one of our local colleges. Everyone, including my "partner," was very nice and it was an absolute thrill to play with these folks. We had four rehearsals and two Sunday afternoon performances and played:

Overture from the Marriage of Figaro
Horn Concerto in D (trumpet tacet)
Concertone in D
Symphony No 35 (Haffner)

As someone explained to me, the only way you become aware of a trumpet's participation in Mozart's music is if the player messes up. While I focused on playing the right notes, rhythm, and counting rest periods correctly, the 1st Trumpet player worked with me on intonation and appropriate volume and attacks. It was a great learning experience!

The 2 1/2 hour rehearsals were actually exhilirating. Never before have I been in a group that was so focused, motivated and prepared. There was little "woodshedding" and a lot of "tweaking." I think the most impressive part of this experience was the quality of the double reed playes. Now, you and I have both heard some really BAD oboe and bassoon playing... the four players we had in the group were outstanding. I don't think I heard a gack or a squawk the whole four weeks.

To bring this blessing to a fitting close, the final concert was this past Sunday -- Father's Day. Using that leverage, I was able to /ahem/ persuade all four of my pre-teen and teenage children to attend with their mother and grandmother. One of them summarized the experience eloquently, "Dad, you look pretty good in a tux. Oh, and we saw your lips move when you were counting."

In the image linked below, I'm on the right... counting.

[img=http://images.ofoto.com/photos510/1/46/11/97/52/8/852971146103_0_ALB.jpg]




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[ This Message was edited by: WxJeff on 2004-07-07 06:36 ]

[mheffernen5]

Hope you had a great time