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....