And now, a review of the concert in the style of a symposium, from the two authors of this blog.
Lauren: So Jon, what did you think of the concert?
Jon: I know this says bad things about me as a team player and etc., but the most prominent take home message of the concert for me was that I clammed the hell out of a part that I practiced very hard. We put together a little trombone quartet thing, and I shedded it all week, got to the concert, got consumed by a case of nerves and not wanting to let my esteemed section mates down, and completely blew it. I can play it, I know I can play it, I just... didn't. I went behind the bandstand and blew through the lick after the concert and yep, I can play it. I just... didn't. God, I'm so ashamed.
Lauren: The trombone ensemble piece gave me a set of nerves also -- the first I've felt in years and years. Even though my Trombone Jedi Training has been kicking in during rehearsals, all of a sudden in the performance I realized that I am the harmony line and need to tune and blend, and it caused my hands to shake. I think I did alright despite this setback (if we don't think about that high part in the shout section), but I'm an optimist by nature. (Also it wasn't as bad as Jon claims it was; some notes were missed, but who doesn't miss notes? Eh. Maybe I'm too zen. I thought it sounded great.)
Jon: Otherwise, I thought Fiesta sounded really good. Nice job by the trombones playing the pedals in the middle (i.e. not me) and on those wonderfully nasty glisses at the end. The horns did a nice job in the 3/4 pesante section right before that, too. (Funny side note: we call the section before that, the delicate part with the flutes and clarinets, the "Dance with me" section, after Princess Tutu's signature line.)
Lauren: I did alright on those pedals until I started sneezing. ::sigh::
Jon: And it's always nice to trot out Ride for something that we all know how to play and are comfortable with.
Lauren: I personally thought that the highlight of the night was the medley of tunes by Chicago. The French horns were rocking, and I observed from my place directly behind them that they were really into the music, and everyone in the band sounded like they were into that piece at that particular moment in time. Notes were clammed, rhythms were screwed up, but there's nothing like a little slide vibrato and squealing trumpets to turn a normally boring piece into a good time. Plus our audience of 18 rain-soaked people really loved it.
And we'll cut off the symposium conversation there before it devolves into something about anime and kittens. You're not ready for that yet, gentle reader.
Next concert is Ligonier, on the Square, Sunday the 2nd at 7:00. Ice cream and commentary to follow.
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