deepgreen18 | Entries tagged with emf

My apologies, good readers, I didn't intend to leave and return a full week later. Things got rather busy. It was the last week at EMF, and social activity picked up correspondingly. I am pleased to write that my last week here was a good one. I practiced more than previous weeks, socialized more, and got to explore the town a bit thanks to Mom and Dad. My parents arrived Wednesday night, and we went to dinner at this really nice restaurant called Tripps. The food was excellent, and I actually tried a wine that wasn't too objectionable. Mind you, my experience with all things alcohol is still quite limited, and wine is no exception.
The next day Mom and I went shopping, and I found a pair of cute blue flats, and new comfortable black gig shoes. I also went to a Michael's and bought some sale yarn (technically, this makes it souvenir yarn, hmm..). That night was the first of my last three concerts. It didn't go as well as I'd hoped, but it was still very fun.
Friday was a sort-of repeat, except we went to a museum about Greensboro in the 1800's. Rather excellent places, historical museums. (We also went to a winery. This is a first for me, and it was really fun. The people there were really interesting, and I found wine I unreservedly liked. [This is in parenthesis because Dad's embarrassed about me writing this.]) The Friday night concert rocked, to put it simply. I haven't had that much fun since the second week here.
Finally, Saturday dawned. I got up unnecessarily early, but I had time for everything. My chamber group rehearsed, and I got a (really necessary) box filled with clothing and such off to UPS. That thing was heavy, I'm sore from having to carry it around. Lunch happened, and then I went to the operations center and found out when my group was playing. I'd been trying to find this out for three days, and nobody knew anything. At last someone told me the program was at operations. I had a difficult time locating it, but then I did my good deed for the month, and brought a copy of it over to the main hall. Then, because I was very tired (late nights do that, go figure), I tried to take a nap. Getting there felt like an obstacle course, Mom and Dad had arrived, so I met them at my dorm. Then they needed to use the computer, so I laid down and let them, and then they went and watched TV while I napped. My parents are cool that way.
My quartet played around 2:30pm, and we did well. Our violist said it was the best chamber performance that she's been involved in. Mom and Dad left after that to drive to Florida, and are there safe and sound, according to the message I got last night.
After that I went to dinner (at Elizabeth's Pizza!) and the last EMF concert with my roommate and some friends. The faculty played Don Quixote by Strauss. It was a wonderful thing to hear. I finished the first Harry Potter book during intermission, and managed to return that to the library here after the concert. Unlike many others, I managed to get a full night's sleep. I woke up earlier than I planned today, but that turned out to be a good thing (after all, I get to write this). I have a few regrets about what I missed here due to laziness, stubbornness, and fanfiction, but overall it's been a good experience. Music is a wonderful thing, and I'm glad to have been immersed in it for five weeks.

Now, back to reality.
Greeny

P.S. The knitting is bigger.

Current Mood: happy
Current Location: Greensboro, NC

Here I am, posting on a Saturday! Unusual, but not that strange, if you consider the fact that my weekend started yesterday. I got to sleep in, which was thoroughly enjoyable. I also managed to get a few things done, like picking up my last round of orchestra music and knitting a bit at the masterclass I attended (Nadja Sonnenberg is a very cool lady violinist, quite the character). The only thing that distinguishes the weekend from the weekday here is the time of orchestra. Instead of 9am-12pm, it's at 1 or 2pm until 4 or 5pm. I'm a morning person, so I actually prefer the weekdays, weirdly. Players get a day of break after their concerts, but never enough to lose that wicked edge that playing in an orchestra daily seems to hone.

Our new music is interesting. We're doing selections from "The 3-cornered hat" by De Falla, Strauss' "Till Eulenspiegel", and two of the concerto competition winners (Sibelius violin concerto, movement 1, and "Totentantz" by Liszt). It's half hard, half easy. Goodness knows what everything's going to sound like. Both the student orchestras will be playing on Thursday and Friday night (another half and half bit of business).

Right now I quite tired. I'm considering going to the faculty orchestra's concert tonight. The star is the lovely lady I mentioned above. Before I leave, I present one of my favorite things about this place:

Squirrels in trashcans. They startle and they amuse!

Okay, I'm done.
Greeny

Current Mood: accomplished

This week has been a good one. Compared to last week, it was glorious. I slept almost enough, I ate enough. Hormones didn't bother me badly, and, best of all, I have a NEW standmate. His name is Chris, and we talk like normal people. Tension between us is basically non-existent. It is truly amazing how much better life is when you don't have to focus on a person you dislike, or even ignoring a person you don't like.

This feeling of well-being creeps over me as I walk back to the dorms from rehearsals or meals. The only thing wrong with life right now is my recurring obsessiveness towards fanfiction. I got fed up with ~~reading more fanfiction~~ staying inside today, so I finally sent my three library books home via UPS, got more quarters for the hungry laundry machines downstairs, and am currently supposed to be practicing while my laundry happily splashes about. The best thing about rolls of quarters is looking for my last ones to complete my state set. I found an Alaska today, but can't remember if I need a Hawaii, instead. I've also found District of Columbia and Guam quarters, which came out this year. They are sparer in design next to state quarters but pretty enough to keep.

The knitting, as always, is in my thoughts, but rarely in my hands. I've managed a few rows since last time. Mandatory meetings are good for something after all. Who knew?

Finally, I leave you with a Lolcats comic that caught my fancy (and it reminds me of a few people here at the camp):

see more Lolcats and funny pictures

Current Mood: amused

Dear Readers,

As of yesterday, my stand-partner didn't exist. Let me explain.

Now, in reality, my stand-partner should exist, but I'm not admitting that she does. Why? She bugs the heck out of me. Here, all violinists are rotated around in their orchestra sections weekly, as it's a great way for us youngin's to gain experience. The standpartner (let us call her Lilo) I have this week is the same as the first week here. This is statistically unlikely, as there are fifty violinists here to be partnered with. One week playing with Lilo was enough, and my annoyance built steadily throughout the week. She (and her friends) did not impress me at the Pops rehearsal and concert over the weekend, they talked, laughed (after the guest conductor asked them not to), and, somewhat more importantly, did not practice. How do I know? She did worse than me at our concert, and that's weird, cause she's crazy good at violin stuff.
At first, I just suffered in silence. Then, I started to complain to quite a few people, including my roommate and teacher.
Tuesday was the last straw. As I dutifully reported, I had stayed up far too late the night before. That, combined with low amounts of food and raging hormones, nearly caused me to forgo my usual peaceful methods of living with a person I dislike. I had to clench my fists in order to not shove her off her chair.
Wednesday my brain started working again, and suddenly I had an Idea: Lilo....doesn't exist. She's not there. Whatever she's doing right now isn't happening. It's a beautiful solution. Genius, even. My life was and is so much better now that this girl doesn't exist. I feel such a sense of relief and power, because I don't have to be affected by something that isn't happening. Also, our concert for the week is tonight, and I won't have to not deal with her ever again. (I know this for a fact, because I requested that I not be placed with her again, and then I learned that the placement people did put us together twice on purpose, but that's another story).

Onto completely different subjects. I read two books in the past four days. Nice, thick novels. The weekend is so very awesome. Now, I just have to send them back before they're due at my home library (I may very well be incorrigible).
I tried to go see Harry Potter 7 on Wednesday night. That did not work. My driver, a counselor here at the school, managed to get us lost on the opposite side of town. We eventually found the theater, but it was too late by then. Really, being the passenger while getting lost is much more enjoyable than being the driver, you can torment the driver about what a horrible navigator he is (I tried not to, honestly, but guilt-inducing statements just pop out of my mouth sometimes).
Finally, there are soccer girls here on the campus for a camp of their own this week. They are dang scary. Young, aggressive, pack-traveling girls are plain intimidating.

Greeny

P.S. I'm totally not ready for this concert. The maestro is a different guy than the first two weeks. That, in addition to the stand-mate situation, was not conducive to practicing. I feel concerned about this, like maybe I should practice despite what the world throws at me. Oh well.

P.P.S. Knitting is stalled. That is all.

Current Mood: thoughtful
Current Location: The center of the known universe
Current Music: Shostakovich is in my head!

It is, isn't it? Doesn't feel like Tuesday, though by all accounts Monday was yesterday and quite dreary to start a week with. Over the weekend we did two pops concerts, and so practicing other stuff (the "important" and "serious" music, like Shostakovich, may he rest in peace) didn't really happen. I also stayed up until who-knows-when reading the newest Dresden Files book (thanks Mom). So, right now I'm tired. Oh yeah, and Tuesday is our busiest day of the week. We all have orchestra rehearsal, and chamber group. A good half of us have a lesson and sectionals, and maybe a third take a class in the evening. I'm doing it all. Urgh.

I went out with a few friends last night. We went to a Harris Teeter grocery store, and then to a Jimmy Johns, which is like a cool Subway, if you can imagine. I don't know what it is about being out at night with three other girls, but things got very silly.

The knitting is getting longer, but that's it, really.

I need a nap, later.
Greeny

Current Mood: tired

My internet connection's being all iffy, and it has been this way since I got here. Some days it hates new pages, and on others it goes quicker than a greased eel. Today is an in-between day. It goes willingly enough most of the time, but sometimes it balks. Today is a sort-of break for me. My orchestra had no rehearsal this morning, so I slept in for the first time in two weeks. Of course, breaking a routine isn't always a good thing. I got up and went to the bathroom first thing, and when I came back my door wouldn't open. This wouldn't have been a problem if I had gotten up with my roommate, who did have orchestra rehearsal. So I asked one of my neighbors down the hall to lend my their phone, and discussed flute embouchere (mouth shape) with her while waiting for a counselor (not an RA, this is a summer camp, after all) to come and unlock my door, which cost me a dollar. Don't you love it?

Yesterday night was our second concert, and by many accounts it went really well. There was a lot of energy in the room that night. Afterward, I hitched a ride with my roommate in her teachers car because it was raining. Rain here was supposed to be plentiful, but we've barely had three days of it during my stay. Denielle's teacher, Uwana (I don't know the spelling, she's Romanian), invited us all to her studio to eat cookies. She had just gotten a large box of them from another student's teacher. They were extremely good. I took some back here, and they are serving as breakfast right now.

I seem to be going out with friends here with surprising regularity. The night before last I went and had milkshakes with Rachel and Kaila. I think everyone here is enjoying having other people so close by, as most of us are out of the dorms at home. I'm glad that I get to do this, at last. I wanted to in Vienna, but the right people weren't there.

Before I go, a small update on the knitting: It's reached five inches long, and it sheds like crazy, perhaps I should get a better yarn for this project...I'd love to go check out the yarn stores around here.

Until next time,
Greeny

Current Mood: optimistic

I am now at one with EMF. I realize that sounds incredibly odd, but during every event I attend there is this point of utter understanding, where I know where I should go, what I should do, and who I want to be with. That point is apparently now. To juxtapose that slightly silly statement, here's a visual joke, don't worry if you don't get it, it is juvenile.

Signs at EMF:

I was in a very punchy mood the day I noticed these things.

Anyhow, things are going well. I've been playing my requisite 5 hours of violin a day, and practicing, too. It's rather nice to be able to focus on just one subject. It's all music, all the time.

Not much new stuff...well, actually, I did start the baby thing over the weekend. Do you want a photo? (Your opinion doesn't, in fact, matter, you're getting a photo).

Behold!

Isn't it pretty? I love the color, myself, though it's slightly more purple in real life. It's on top of my new laptop, by the way (not a lot of backdrop options here). See the little holes near the bottom of the knitting? Those are for drawstrings. The pattern suggests a zipper, but my lovely cousin requested a drawstring. If there is a zipper later the holes are so close to the bottom of the thing that there's no danger of caught toes, I think.

In case you're curious, I'm going by this pattern. I do believe that the adorable Cassie is a Taurus, so that will be taken into consideration upon finishing it up.

In mundane news, me and Denielle went to Tai Chi Sunday night. It was very relaxing, but was hard on the back. I went to a concert all on my own (via the school) yesterday night. We got back incredibly late due to driver confusion. Still, I'm not that tired today. According to the main conductor, Jose Luis, the hard part (besides practicing and injuries) is sustaining energy over the five week period. Consequently, I am trying to be very good about going to bed on time. Tonight I went to a Music as Business class, it was very informative. I definitely like the teacher, Karen, she seems very efficient and friendly, which are not two traits you find together often.

Our next concert is on Thursday, and my orchestra is playing Beethoven's 5th Symphony (the famous one), which I've played before at school, and Mahler's 2nd Symphony, 1st movement, which is both fun and challenging.

And...that's all, folks.
Greeny

Current Mood: accomplished
Current Music: Orchestra music in my head...

Well, that was fun. I didn't practice at all this afternoon. Instead, I went to the bank (they didn't even blink at my request for $30 in quarters, it's a real college town), CVS (envelopes! rubber bands! chocolate), and helped celebrate the fourth by picking out an assortment of colors to with which to make friendship bracelets and eating ice cream.

On a side note: apparently the EMF people are not going to do anything tomorrow. However, never fear, us students have plans to find and attend some fireworks. I missed the festivities last year, and I really want to do it properly.

Returning to the subject, which is the rest of today, I also did my laundry here for the first time, using a few of those loverly quarters. I always feel like I've accomplished something after doing my laundry. It's the whole self-sufficiency complex a lot of women have, I think. After a quick dinner, me and Denielle got dressed and went to the pre-concert talk. It was about the composers and their pieces, and would have been interesting if the speaker laid out his ideas a bit more clearly. The concert itself was pretty good, in my opinion. Our director, expected a lot of us from the very first day, and managed to get us to do a good bit of it. Our dynamics were very noticable and wide-ranging, we stayed with him most of the time, and we definitely stayed together. Our pieces were Francesca di Rimini by Arthur Foote, and Carnaval Romaine by Berlioz.

After that, we stayed and watched the next orchestra do their thing. It was very exciting. Now I am here, posting.

Oh yes, I also wanted to make a few observations about this place. Where else could you have discussions about reeds and their making with two oboe players, and then go and discuss strings and metronomes with bass players in the same day? (Also, I would ask where else would you get hollered at by two black guys within five minutes, but that's happened more than once to me, argh)

I guess I'm done for tonight,
Greene

Current Mood: hungry

My back is much better, barely twinging now. Thanks to everyone for your (mostly silent) well wishes. I had a genius idea after posting last time and used my lovely faux-feather comforter as a sleeping bag, and that helped a bit. Then I arranged a trip to Target last night (I'm turning into quite the mover and shaker here. It's fun), and bought a foam thingy for my mattress, which, when augmented by the comforter, is quite comfortable. I also got a couple of shirts, because a few of the ones I brought are too fancy for everyday wear.

Tuesday my roommate arrived. Her name is Denielle, and she's also a violinist. She's been here in past years, so she knows the not-so-obvious stuff, like when we get music for chamber. Randomly, we're both playing in the same chamber group. I like the piece, and our group is pretty serious about getting it right, which is heartening.

Today is a concert day. The orchestras here (there's three: two student, one faculty) perform on a weekly basis. So we've been having daily 3 hour rehearsals since Monday night. I've been amazed how rapidly everyone has improved, including myself. I'm still not ready to perform, but you take what you can get.

Proving the adage in my title true, at least while I'm away from my family...In a shocking twist of fate this morning, my bow broke during rehearsal. The hair came completely out of the tip. Don't worry, I have two, and a repair company is coming to the festival next tuesday. It was completely unexpected, but I just looked at it, and immediately got up and got my other bow. You never do know how you're going to act in a crisis, huh?

Um, since I can, here's a look at it: