It’s very rare that I get together with friends and just make music. Just to play. But today I did that. And what a wonderful time.
This, to me, is one thing I really love about music. You can just get together, make music, enjoy one another’s company, and have a great time. No stress. No performance anxiety or expectations. Just music.
We played John Marvin’s Music of the Night. At a slower tempo that written in places, but what a great work! I’d love to perform it sometime. We played “musical chairs” with this one. I began on English horn, moved to oboe 1, and then moved to oboe 2. After that we moved to a Wranitzky work, and ended with … oh goodness … I can’t even remember! Oh, yes, Powning. So three trios. And three very tired mouths by the end.
I’d love to work up some trios and perform them. I’ve never had the opportunity to do that. I’d like to do that at some point in my life.
I think, too, I need to get to work on oboe reeds. At some point in my life. 😉
I still remember (well, as much as I remember anything anymore) doing a summer music program and getting together with the other brass players during a break. I’m pretty sure it was just trumpet, horn, trombone, baritone (euphonium) and tuba, but I don’t remember for sure (I was playing trumpet at the time – Scott was playing horn, IIRC, but I don’t know if he’d remember any better than I – it was at Lynbrook in 1974 and was run by Carl Ponzio, who was teaching at Monta Vista at the time). It was a blast (no, not literally, sheesh) – we were just reading through some of the parts we were playing in the band, but it was completely fun.
Nothing like just making music, is there?