salience
June 21, 2010
The woodwind quintet I'm in (called McJam, using the first initial of everyone's name in the group) performed tonight at Jefferson Market Garden in the west village.
We played for over an hour and we did really well! This group has taken on many forms through various members over the years, but we've gotten to a point where we're so comfortable with playing with one another that we can converse with our playing. Our audience was enthusiastic (we were the entertainment for the Garden's silent auction) and the weather held up nicely.
As usual, fotos:
We played for over an hour and we did really well! This group has taken on many forms through various members over the years, but we've gotten to a point where we're so comfortable with playing with one another that we can converse with our playing. Our audience was enthusiastic (we were the entertainment for the Garden's silent auction) and the weather held up nicely.
As usual, fotos:
Yesterday was not only my birthday, but the first performance of the 2010 Columbia Summer Winds season! (Check out our new fancy website here!)
We performed after only three rehearsals, but our performance went well. It took us a total of 8 hours, but our 1 hour concert in the blazing hot sun at Holley Plaza in Washington Square Park was enthusiastically received. We had quite the fan group. I had people asking if they could buy a shirt from us to match the polos we wear, and also folks saying how efficient we were with the set up and break down. In the span of 15 minutes we took a blank area of park space and transformed it into a concert arc for 85, complete with a full percussion set up, folding chairs, a banner, a podium, stands, bottled water, and a programs/donations area.
At the end of our concert, the entire band sang "Happy Birthday" to me, which was a lot of fun too. :)
Some photos, first up Load Crew up at Teachers College at Columbia:
Our set up at Washington Square Park near NYU (Holley Plaza):
Check out our new stand clips (also, my copy of Festive Overture):
Alex showing one of our youngest fans how to play timpani:
"CSW Load Crew is fun!"
And more CSW Load Crew rockstars in the back of our UHaul:
We performed after only three rehearsals, but our performance went well. It took us a total of 8 hours, but our 1 hour concert in the blazing hot sun at Holley Plaza in Washington Square Park was enthusiastically received. We had quite the fan group. I had people asking if they could buy a shirt from us to match the polos we wear, and also folks saying how efficient we were with the set up and break down. In the span of 15 minutes we took a blank area of park space and transformed it into a concert arc for 85, complete with a full percussion set up, folding chairs, a banner, a podium, stands, bottled water, and a programs/donations area.
At the end of our concert, the entire band sang "Happy Birthday" to me, which was a lot of fun too. :)
Some photos, first up Load Crew up at Teachers College at Columbia:
Our set up at Washington Square Park near NYU (Holley Plaza):
Check out our new stand clips (also, my copy of Festive Overture):
Alex showing one of our youngest fans how to play timpani:
"CSW Load Crew is fun!"
And more CSW Load Crew rockstars in the back of our UHaul:
One of my good friends here works at Carnegie Hall. She plays tenor/clarinet with me in various ensembles, and when I heard Whitacre was coming to NYC last winter to do a concert version of Paradise Lost: Shadows and Wings this summer, I had to get tickets! The concert was nothing short of amazing! (And so were our box seats!)
It’d been three years since el prometido and I saw it fully staged in Pasadena, but the music was even more impressive when backed by a 425 person, international chorus.
If you're curious, The New York Times review is here.
Some photos from the group of us who went:
It’d been three years since el prometido and I saw it fully staged in Pasadena, but the music was even more impressive when backed by a 425 person, international chorus.
If you're curious, The New York Times review is here.
Some photos from the group of us who went:
June 7, 2010
Here are pictures from two of the three weddings in the marathon known as "I can't believe we have 3 ceremonies/parties to go to, back-to-back weekends, all in Northern Virginia, but we can't miss any of them, nor would we want to!".
First up, Ry's cousin's wedding in Stafford over Memorial Day weekend. Ry surprised his entire family (aside from his mama and I) when he showed up with me, home from the UK, an entire week early, just so he wouldn't miss his cousin saying her "I do":
Ry's high school/college buddy, Mohsin, had his Valima this past weekend in Manassas (part 2 of his wedding, the groom's party for his family and friends; part 1 was in Dayton, OH back in March and consisted primarily of the bride's family and friends). Ry and I wore the traditional dress, which was a fun learning experience. Thank you, youtube, for teaching us how to wrap an 8 foot long sari!:
Part three of this marathon is this weekend, when Ry's best friend gets married in Alexandria.
My little coche is getting quite the workout driving back and forth between NYC and Northern Virginia so much, but it's all worth it. :)
First up, Ry's cousin's wedding in Stafford over Memorial Day weekend. Ry surprised his entire family (aside from his mama and I) when he showed up with me, home from the UK, an entire week early, just so he wouldn't miss his cousin saying her "I do":
Ry's high school/college buddy, Mohsin, had his Valima this past weekend in Manassas (part 2 of his wedding, the groom's party for his family and friends; part 1 was in Dayton, OH back in March and consisted primarily of the bride's family and friends). Ry and I wore the traditional dress, which was a fun learning experience. Thank you, youtube, for teaching us how to wrap an 8 foot long sari!:
Part three of this marathon is this weekend, when Ry's best friend gets married in Alexandria.
My little coche is getting quite the workout driving back and forth between NYC and Northern Virginia so much, but it's all worth it. :)
