Sunday, December 2, 2007

December

is here for sure. I drove downtown (Toronto) today to play a gig. Had I not had to leave the house, I would've happily stayed in and avoided the amazing wealth of slipperiness out there. It was really something; I pride myself on being a true Canadian; I drive like a fiend and refuse to get stuck but my little car was simply unwilling to tackle the uphill skating rink road conditions. And yet, I survived. I'll check on the viola soon and see if it's in one piece; its strings have been flying out of tune in shock and horror at the weather. I think it must be its youthful naiveté that makes it so vulnerable to this cold.

I haven't been practicing as much as I should but I have forced myself to pull out the ol' excerpts. I haven't played an orchestral audition in years and don't know if I ever will again, but I do find that excerpts are a quick and efficient way of getting myself into shape. A combo Brahms Haydn Variations/Don Juan/Marriage of Figaro/Beethoven 5 sort of set seems to cover my trouble areas. Kind of like wearing a muumuu, I guess.

I find it terrifically difficult to meet goals if I don't set them so I've decided that some solo work and the excerpts will be my target for the near future. The Quartet's functioning but we're sort of moving in slow motion as we're tackling more admin work than playing at the moment...so it's to each his own in terms of personal playing maintenance.

off to play some orchestra concerts this week; Enigma Variations and Saint-Saens Violin Concerto, among other works...it'll be nice being in a section. Maybe I'll re-learn how to be a stand partner...

No comments: