Well, it's official! The first concert of my new home is officially done.
I can now say that I have 1) played on a stage full of fog, and 2) played on a stage while "surprise" bagpipers walked in from the sidelines. It was awesome. The piece, written by Michael Schelle, was called "The End of the World," and it also happened to include pre-recorded thunderclaps. The fog was the most interesting, though. We only rehearsed with one fog machine, not two, so we had no idea what the end result would be. My roommate, Qiudi, told me later that the director said something like, "I knew it was all over when I couldn't see Aimee anymore." We were all just playing our parts in our small bubble of fog. I remember at one point losing count of the measure number (the ending ~50 measures repeated the same 2-measure pattern until the end). At that point I thought, "Ok, I'll just keep playing until I can see Prof. Hill again, and hope that the rest of the ensemble has the same idea." Thankfully, we did -- great minds think alike -- and the overall effect seemed to work pretty well. I'm definitely looking forward to the rest of the ensemble performances. It was SO much fun, and I hope I can keep this assignment during my entire stay here at ASU.
The back story...
For my scholarship, I play piano (and sometimes celeste) for the large ensembles here. That means any orchestra or wind ensemble (or larger chamber ensemble) piece that needs piano, I'm their gal. It has been an awesome experience, to go from playing under zero conductors for the last few years to playing for six different ones -- it really helped me get well-adjusted again. Not well adjusted to following conductors -- that part was easy -- but adjusted to counting rests again without cues. (Also, it should be noted, there are not six conductors for the large ensembles -- this number includes other ASU activities also.)
I must admit, at first I was worried about the transition to playing in large ensembles again. The last time I played in an orchestra was 2005...in the second violin section...in the very, very back. Second violin is very different from piano in orchestra -- mostly because you have 7-11 other team-mates to help you out. So, if you miscount, there are people to help you, including the section leader. And, well, you have teammates helping you! Playing piano is a little more terrifying in large ensembles. Thankfully, it was only terrifying on the first few days -- after I got used to counting 25+ measures of rest without having the other music in my part, it was back to being awesome. Kinda makes me wish that wind ensemble/orchestra gigs became vacant more often, instead of once every 25+ years.
Anyway...
The orchestra and wind ensemble were very strong -- everyone had worked really hard for this concert, so it was exciting to hear it all. I only played on two pieces (plus the Messiaen). They were spread throughout the concert. Because of this, I didn't get to see the concert from the audience, but I did get to hear from backstage. It was so interesting, playing on such a large stage again -- it's been awhile.
My favorite aspect about playing with large ensembles is the fact that we are such a large group of people, a team, but can also be one single unit. When things work well together, they REALLY work well. I love the sheer energy you can feel on stage with that many people -- it's a different kind of performing somehow. You can't always trust your ears 100%, because if you do, you will be behind. Instead, it's a cross between what you hear and what you see. That takes a bit of getting used to. As a pianist, I can't "sneak" in like I used to be able to on second violin, ha!
Now that I'm adjusted to large ensembles again, I can't wait for the rest of the music for this semester:
Schwantner's From a Dark Millennium
Missy Mazzoli's Still Life with Avalanche
Prokofiev's Lieutenant Kije
Tchaikovsky's The Nutcracker Suite
Ravel's Mother Goose Suite
...I'm sure there's something I'm forgetting, but that is all I can remember at the moment. Have a happy Tuesday!
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