Music Theory, NME, First Lesson & Oboe Class
Today started much like Monday and Tuesday in that I had to be at school at 9am, but this time for Music Theory. When I got there, however, I was surprised to find out that I passed out of the first half of the course. Basically what this means is that on the Music Theory placement exam I must’ve done well enough on the first half of the test that I don’t have to come to class until after the Mid-Term when we will learn about analysis and form. So, I don’t have class again on Thursday mornings until October 21st! Very exciting. Naturally I was already at school so I just used that time this morning to practice for a couple of hours. I’ve been getting into the habit of getting a practice room with a piano so I can sight-read some Bach chorales (playing all four voices, and sometimes dropping a voice and singing it while playing the others). It’s very challenging, especially for someone like me who is not particularly piano-proficient.
At noon we had the second rehearsal of the Schwendinger with New Music Ensemble. It’s amazing how much better it sounded only two days after our initial run-through. I have a feeling that I made the right choice in choosing to play with this ensemble and I’m really excited about the level of professionalism that the group seems to aim for. It felt fantastic to be in an orchestra where everyone was just as invested in the piece as I was. I’m so excited about continuing to work on other pieces with this group!
Later in the afternoon, I had my first oboe lesson of the year with Jay. It looks like our lessons are going to be half reed-making and half oboe playing, so I’m really looking forward to that. I’ve come a long way with my reeds, but I definitely have a lot of room to improve. I already have something to work on from our lesson when I’m practicing tonight and I’m hoping that it will fix some of the problems with my hand that I’ve been having recently.
Oboe class was especially brief today, just a quick meeting with everyone there and a discussion about what to expect from the class.
All in all, today was a pretty amazing day. I’m so happy with my school choice and oboe teacher. I feel like I made a really great decision coming here, and finally feel like everything’s falling into place. It’s the first time that things have felt relatively stable since I’ve moved. Still looking for a job, but I have a couple of prospects and have a feeling that everything’s going to work out.
Another tidbit about this morning is that I’ve started listening to NPR on my phone while walking to school and it makes me sooooo happy. NPR is one of the big things that I was missing about not having my car, so it’s very comforting to be able to have it back in my life after it’s month-long absence. I’ve also been watching CNN on my computer in the mornings (another part of my daily routine that has been missing since I moved). It feels so nice to be relatively well-informed again.
