Bloomington was a great time. I had a really good lesson with Mr. Perantoni at one of the most revered music schools in the world. It was also the first lesson I have had in over 2 years. Hanging out with Rohr, Will and Mery was also a lot of fun.....got to see B'town proper!
Then came NYC....and wow was that a great trip! I had lessons with Alan Baer (NY Phil) and Chris Hall (the MET) and both went pretty well. Was definitely a lot of work and I got some really good things out each experience. I got to stay with my good friends, Kathy and Kelley Corbett and it's always good to see them. They were great hosts as usual and took me around the city to see some stuff. Then Scott Elliott came up from Philly and we went to catch the Phil do Mahler 7........and WOW!!! First orchestra concert I've been to in 2 years (that I wasn't playing on).....I miss it.
I had to rush back to Blacksburg so that I could meet up with Carly, Elayne, and JAMESON!!!!! They stayed with me for a week while Elayne was teaching at the VT Music camp. So while she was off teaching flute and such, Carly and I hung out with young James...and had a BLAST!! We took him to a playground (where he LOVED the swings), to a duckpond (where he fed the geese and ran through a tunnel) and got to really experience a thunderstorm from our living room. All in all, it was a great week with old friends and one little new friend. These are a couple of my favorite pics from that week:
Jameson thoroughly enjoyed playing with, on, and inside
of the Big CC tuba (aka, Roberto) and we enjoyed
watching him!
Then it was time for the always-popular VTuba reunion
in July. Friday night downtown was a great way to start
off what proved to be a FANTASTIC weekend. Lots of
drinks and laughs with many old friends is a great
time. On Saturday we hit up the NRV Junction and did
some more hanging out in the River. Saturday evening
was the cookout and bonfire that lasted until 4 am!!!!
We Tubas know how to throw down!!
So after all that fun, it was time to get back to work
and start packing for the move....all of 0.3 miles down
the street. Will and Dave helped me out and I'm slowly
getting settled into the new place....and loving the
fact that I can practice whenever I want!
Now its just back to the grind and trying to crank out
some webpage before classes start back up. That and
spend as much time on the tubas as possible. Applying
for another audition......this one with the WV Symphony
next month, so wish me luck! Looking like I'm going to
have a very busy Fall as the gigs are rolling in for
quintet and hopefully with the newly formed Roanoke
Jazz Orchestra......had our first gig on Sat and went
VERY well.
Hope you are all well wherever you are. More to come
soon....