The oboe solo at the beginning of the funeral march is like a face in the crowd. It’s a very personalized and very interior expression of grief within a public ceremony. It’s a modern solo in that it has tremendous psychological dimension to it. It’s very introspective and fraught with all kinds of anxiety and tension.
William Bennett, principal oboist of San Francisco Symphony
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I found this blog entry of David H. Thomas interesting. And of course I have to laugh at some of what he says, since we’ve all seen things like this happen.
As for me and my space: I wear progressive lenses, so my stand has to be “just so”. I need a bit of room, but certainly not anything extreme. We, too, have some tall string folk. I just work around them, and they are mostly willing to try to move if it’s really impossible for me to move. No, I never move someone else’s chair or stand unless I can see there would be a major problem. And yep, I bring all my tools and supplies on to stage with me. (Considering what I did to one of my oboes last week, though, I should probably HIDE my screwdriver. The poor oboe is totally out of whack and I keep trying to figure out what I did but even using the Sawicki book I’m getting nowhere. I remember Mark Chudnow telling me one of the stupidest things Loree does is include a screwdriver with their oboes!)
I’m assuming Mr. Thomas’ colleagues read his blog and he’s fine with that. I’d be nervous about how they’d react … but I’m often worried about what others think!
My Progress
Most of the house has been dusted and vacuumed. I paid the bills. I still need to balance the checkbook. The laundry has been washed, one load has been folded, a second is calling out to me for that, and the third is just aching to be dried. Now I think I’ll check the mail and then get dinner going. So far I’ve not gotten the energy to look at the voting stuff. Sigh. That’s the thing I probably should have done first!
Today is the day I attempt to get all the things done that I should have been doing over the past week. The first load of laundry is in. I’ve done a bit of shopping (although of course I realized I forgot something … even though it was written on the list). The car has been cleaned (Hoorah for 10 coupons=free wash!). I see a layer of dust on furniture. Or is that two layers? I can’t tell. I have to balance the checkbook and make sure I’ve paid all the bills. I can actually make dinner today, so I want to make something that will last for more than one day so that, come the Wacky Double Days™ I’ll only have to reheat the dish.
And I need to fill out my absentee ballot.
Sigh.
I vote absentee because I’m never sure where I’ll be on Tuesday. But of course I didn’t fill it out sooner, so I’ll just swing it by our polling place tomorrow. Still … I haven’t a clue on some things yet. So I have studying to do. And it has to be quick studying. I can tell you, though, that if I voted against anyone who irritated me I’d probably just not vote. I certainly look forward to tomorrow being over. I think I’ll not answer the phone today. (So if you’re trying to contact me via phone please yak on the ansewring machine and I’ll pick up! I promise.)
Catch up day isn’t such a bad day for me, really. I enjoy getting things tidy, and I enjoy tossing all the mail that has stacked up. I enjoy order, and the chaos that has resulted in my schedule drives me bonkers.
But it does make me wonder: How do people who work full time deal with all these chores? While I’m busy, I don’t work 9-5. Am I missing something here? Or do most 9-5ers have house cleaners? Say what?
Maybe I’m just a wimp!
Other Things
In the pit yesterday I was thinking about a musician (a doubler from the LA area) I met a few years ago. I was playing a show up in San Francisco, and he came to sit in the pit and observe, as he was friends with the conductor. During intermission he said to me, “You really take this seriously, don’t you? And you like it!” I nodded. He then said, “You care too much. And you know your symphony colleagues will look down on you for liking this stuff.”
I was sort of surprised, but not entirely.
I know many of my “symphonic” pals think very little of musical theatre. It is beneath them, and is a kind of “last restor” sort of job. I know that by caring about the music, and putting as much energy into this music as I do into symphony or opera I get upset if I don’t do well, where some of the pit folk just don’t care. But I can’t be any other way. For one, I simply love shows. I really do. Is that pathetic? Does it make readers want to leave the blog? I wonder! But also, if I didn’t care I feel as if that would infect all of my playing.
But maybe I’m just a sucker for musicals, too. So be it. I’d rather be a sucker than a cynic.
Call me silly! 🙂
Now back to work with me! Dust is calling. So is the vacuum. As are politicians.
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