September 12, 2007 at 12:30 AM

Well, what’s been happening since my last post then. Hmm, Practice, rehearsals, that’s really about it. I’ve been having rehearsals for Britten’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and for the WAYO Concert, and just last night started rehearsals for Princess Ida. I’ve got rehearsals Thursday, Friday, Saturday (2), Tuesday, Wednesday, then performances for Princess Ida Thursday, Friday, Saturday (2) and Sunday. Though thankfully after that I’m on mid-semester break (sometimes I just love being a Uni Student… there’s just so many holidays!), and then Production week after that for Britten.

I’ve also made some suggestions to the University that they change the way the orchestra is run. At the moment, it’s held as a 2 week intensive rehearsal session, with a concert at the end of it. For some reason, it didn’t work well this year, and the concerts weren’t as great as they should’ve been. I made some suggestions to the conductor, and received, in my opinion, a rather dismissive reply. Anyway, I think that we should be having weekly rehearsals, even if it is just the strings rehearsing every week. I also think that we could be putting on 4 or more concerts a year, instead of just two. I’ve stuck my head out on the line here in a way, but I think it’s worth it to hopefully infuse WAAPA with a performing spirit, which it seems to be lacking at the moment.

Finally, I’m putting together a plan to teach a public music appreciation course, and hopefully use the extra money I get from that to save up to go on a holiday after the WAYO tour in 2008 (if I get in next year). At the moment I’m planning on visiting LA, New York and London, though it’s also been suggested that I visit Washington DC (and even had an offer of accommodation which makes it very tempting). It’s a while a way, so I’ve got time to have a good think about where I want to go, and what’s going to be on in those places at the time.

Part of a post from my blog at Top Left Hand Page Click to read the full post.

From Pauline Lerner
Posted on September 12, 2007 at 12:51 AM

Ben, I'll tell you more to whet your appetite about Washington DC. There are a lot of good luthiers here. I remember reading about your problems with buying a bow; merchants would charge you a fortune for transport. You could try a lot of things here with no obligation to buy. However, I advise you to be prepared to fall in love with something in the luthier's shop, and plan your finances accordingly.

From Pauline Lerner
Posted on September 12, 2007 at 12:55 AM

...and then there are those free concerts.

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September 12, 2007 at 12:30 AM

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