I love it when an Opera San José artist gets to head to a big opera house. And it’s happened again. How exciting for Cybele-Teresa Gouverneur! Congratulations to her. (As if she would ever see this little blog.) I just hope she sticks with OSJ for a bit longer. Success sometimes means early departure … and while I am thrilled to see these singers move on to bigger and better things, I like to hear them here in our little company for a while longer when possible. Because they are very, very good. :-)
Wanna donate to a worthy cause? My friend Kathy (Megan’s —Jameson’s girlfriend— mom) is doing a 3 day walk for breast cancer. Any amount you can give is helpful, of course!
So … my planning days are over. I no longer am needed by my sweet girl. She is married. I can’t do research. I can’t bother her with thirteen emails in one day. (Yes, I really did that.) I can’t IM her at work, knowing she is about to die from my over abundance of messages, to ask some silly, unnecessary questions that is just burning to be answered.
And I have no gigs coming up.
My yard is a mess. (I’ve often referred to it as a “white trash” back yard. I’m not exaggerating.) But I hate yard work. And, besides, I think I’m allowed a bit of rest after a wedding. Ya think?
I could practice but, like I said, I have no gigs coming up.
I could start checking out paint colors for our bedroom that really needs painting. I could even buy paint and get to work.
I could make reeds. But … well … I’m not that desperate!
I could make a new valance for our kitchen, as the one we have there is so faded it’s pathetic.
I could practice but, like I said, I have no gigs coming up. And when I don’t have gigs it’s difficult for me to be motivated. (Uh-oh. I’m in trouble if my students read this!)
I could clean the house, and I suppose I could handle that even while I’m still a bit weary.
But mostly I’m lost. It’s as if I have no purpose now.
So … is someone out there getting married? Anyone want a “research queen” as my husband sometimes calls me? Anyone?
Hmm. What to do, what to do?
Oh … and check out the new blog entry by Katy.
Side Note:
I did get to see a short video of Kelsey & Dan walking down the aisle. The major note mistake occurred right before they began the walk. Sound-wise it’s not great, but the wind was fairly strong, it was outdoors and hot … I didn’t think it would sound like a concert hall. I do believe I would highly recommend not playing oboe outdoors for one’s own daughter’s wedding. Just so you know. ;-)
Well, yes, a new chandelier would brighten my day, but this … well … this is the sweetest couple ever and seeing this picture makes me very happy! Photo by the most fabulous wedding photographer ever. :-)
Another great picture by Katy!
Originally uploaded by katy regnier.
So … I’m a mother-in-law now. I prefer to think “I’m a mother again,” instead … MIL isn’t nearly as appealing to these ears. And Mel is my son now, as far as I’m concerned, so there you go.
But all of that belongs at the pattyo more than here, doesn’t it?
So … what does belong here?
Oh. Um. Yeah. How did the playing go?
1) I didn’t cry while playing (I knew I wouldn’t).
2) I didn’t play perfectly (I thought I could and would).
3) People still said “Beautiful playing,” (but not anyone I know that knows about music!).
Things I learned:
1) Memorize music when you’ve played it in a different key only a few months prior and are reading off the guitarists music because …
2) You don’t know if he might move just a bit and hide some notes and
3) You might forget which key you are in! (The other edition was a step lower.)
And no, I didn’t play a ton of wrong notes. But one wrong note (and I suspect it was more than one wrong note even though my poor brain can’t remember for sure) is … well … it means it wasn’t okay. Period. So there you go.
BUT … I know all eyes were on the bride, and when all eyes are on the bride all ears are not really on the oboe. So there you go. And it wasn’t about me. Even though it seems like … well … shouldn’t it have been?
No. Never mind! :-)
We had a lovely time. Kelsey was beautiful. Mel was handsome. (Hey, they still are!) And you can see two teasers over at Katy’s site. Katy Regnier is incredible. Truly. She was easy to work with, fun, and very patient. Thank you Katy!
Our guitarist, James Vita, was also a highlight, as far as I was concerned, and others complimented his playing as well. It was just so wonderful to hear him play. So thank you too, Jim!
And then there’s this: “Patty Mitchell, you just survived MOB-hood. What are you going to do next?!”
Yes. Yes indeed. I went to Disneyland! (I’ll blog more about that at the pattyo.)
I knew that I didn’t have a career in the oboe, so that’s why I gave it up. I did have one success though. I was in the kitchen of my parents’ house and I was giving them a little concert. I think they were devastated by my level of playing the oboe. But then I noticed that the cows in the field next to my house started coming towards me. So I now know I can charm cows with my oboe!
-Audrey Toutou (read here)
Yes: I didn’t blog yesterday
No: I might not blog today or tomorrow. Well, aside from this …
See ya on the flip side! ;-)
You know Philip Glass mostly from his amazing atonal film scores (“The Hours” and “The Fog of War”) and for the fact that Triumph the Insult Comic Dog once challenged him: “Philip Glass, atonal [and crass], you’re not immune, write a song with a [freaking] tune.”
Hmm. Is Glass really atonal? I never thought so.
(Read here.)
Part One:
Part Two:
Yet another wonderful slow movement where a composer “gifts” the oboist. Thank you, Mr. Barber!
I just love this work. :-)
Rebecca did not. Not because she wasn’t smart, but because there was really no reason for a 16-year-old girl to know anything about Schunnemunk conglomerate, not unless she wore thick braids and coke-bottle glasses and played English horn and collected bugs, and these things Rebecca did not do.
Heh. Because of course we English hornists have braids, coke-bottle glasses and bugs? Eat ‘em every day. ;-)
Read here. Maybe he’ll enjoy the hits I’m gonna give him, eh? Or maybe he’ll just send me some bugs.
What a talent. I just read that she died yesterday.
I’m no dancer. Not even close. I actually consider myself fortunate to walk upright without knocking anything down. I need my oboe to keep balanced, I guess.
Having attended El Granada Elementary and Cunha Intermediate schools (and played in the jazz band in the latter,) she attended the School of the Arts in San Francisco. From there, she went to Oberlin College in Ohio for a double major in music and neuroscience.
She had intended to become a doctor, but soon realized that music was what she wanted. Eager to start a master’s degree program, she went to Yale and then Juilliard.
She still likes medicine, but “it doesn’t feel as urgent to me. Music feels like something I need to do, and I need to do it right now.”
(RTWT)
(Here’s Part One … the announcement of this Sunday’s concert.)
So … anyone want to tell me what this guy is saying, and what this little device does?
Vienna State Opera canceled a performance. It’s all about those scary sports folks. Really. Read about it here.
What can ya do? Frenzied football folks are frightening.
The opera, divided into three acts and seven scenes, is a multi-national collaboration as German-born Lukas Hemleb directed the opera; Taiwan’s Gordon G.W. Chin composed music for the opera, and National Symphony Orchestra’s chief executive officer Chiu Yuan (Taiwan) wrote the script for the opera. The bright and young baritone Thomas Meglioranza from the U.S. will play Dr. Mackay, while soprano Chen Mei-ling (Taiwan) will be playing Mackay’s wife.
(RTWT)
Hey … that’s a blogger (although I can’t get to the site at the moment) mentioned above! It’s so much fun to recognize a name from a blog I read. So yay for Thomas Meglioranza!
I got a kick out of his manager’s “management territory”. Heh. I want to have the world as my management territory too. ;-)
Or maybe managing the world would be a bit much for me. Ya think?
