First Concert Reflection (Orchestra)

Our very first concert of the year was this past week at Kirk in the Hills church in Bloomfield Hills. This was my very first time not only playing there, but ever being inside the huge and beautiful building. Performing here was quite different than at Seaholm High School for a number of reasons. First of all, the "stage" on which we played was level with the audience, and it was very odd to meet the eyes of the audience members when glancing up at Mr. Wolf. Usually, the seats are below the stage with minimal lighting, if any, so contact with the audience is almost impossible during the concert. The close proximity to the audience was a new experience that made the performance all the more intimidating! Second, the acoustics and sound quality in the hall were incredible! They were significantly better than we were used to, and this made it easier to play together. I could hear every single instrument, including parts that I had never heard before, especially in Mars. Because of this, playing together as an orchestra was significantly easier, and we sounded fantastic! Our constant movement as a section also contributed to our success, and my mom even went as far as asking if most orchestras move as much as we did! (This was a compliment of course). Overall, even though we played to the best of our abilities, there are still a few things that we can work on for our next concert.

1) Personally, I need to work on the horribly hard runs.
In Mars, there were several times in which the strings had to play ridiculous runs, as I have previously called them, "crazy fast noodle-esque all kinds of accidentals runs." I could not play every single note up to tempo, so admittedly, I faked most of it. But for our next concert, I will focus on playing more notes (duh) and make sure they are the correct ones!

2) As a (viola) section, we need to work on playing completely together as much as possible, with everyone in the section leading.
In this concert, we played fairly well together, and I was especially impressed that we pulled together the high part in the second movement of the Janácek. However, we can always work on having the entire section lead, as opposed to just the first stand. The front row naturally leads because they are right next to Mr. Wolf, and can pass on his tempo and rhythm to the people behind them by cuing. But it is equally important for the rest of us to lead for the stands behind us, including the basses, because they are even farther away from Mr. Wolf. This will promote not only sectional awareness of each other, but also orchestral awareness of each other.

3) As an orchestra, we need to work on creating greater dynamic contrasts.
We are very good at playing forte, as most orchestras are. We can also play piano very well if we set our minds to it. But at this concert, dynamic contrast was not one of our strong-suits. There were many opportunities for dynamic contrast in Mars, and I think we handled those fairly well. But there were also just as many opportunities in the Janácek that we did not control. Big dynamic contrast is important for entertaining the audience throughout the performance, specifically in slower songs. The application of this would have made our performance one hundred percent perfect.

Janácek Suite Movement 6: Measures 28-59 (Orchestra)

In this blog, I focused on some of the hardest parts of this movement of the Janácek Suite. I practiced getting the chords by making sure that every note was in tune, and that the top note rang. I also worked out a fingering for measures 49-53, the hardest part of the piece. Overall, I focused on intonation and rhythm.
(Once again, I apologize for the horrible sound quality. In this recording, whenever I played at a soft volume, my laptop did not catch those notes, so it made a kind of airy sound instead.)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-53pN0iypiA

Mars, the Bringer of War measures 91-94 (Orchestra)

This section of the piece, although admittedly very tiny, is one of the most challenging portions of this piece. In my video, I worked on different tempos and fingerings for the "crazy fast noodle-esque all kinds of accidentals" runs. I do not have it nearly up to tempo as of yet, but I will continue to work on increasing the speed (with the help of my best friend, the metronome).
Even though I forgot to play box seven in my video, I practiced that as well. I focused on creating and using the most efficient fingerings, and over-exaggerating the crescendos and decrescendos.

http://youtu.be/k2gU_2PqzHg

Self-Evaluation for the Year (Orchestra)

This year in the string orchestra, I believe that I made a HUGE improvement in my technical abilities, as well as my musical abilities. Not only did I grow concerning my viola, I also grew personality-wise.

When I first started at IA, I was a really shy player. In middle school, I would play loud and with confidence, but that seemed to evaporate when it came time to start school. I think the whole idea of IA was very intimidating to my quiet little self, and that contributed to my shy playing because I was scared to play out, and to be heard. This year I can definitely say that I have grown in confidence, and I am now much more willing to play for people (previously, playing a solo piece for an audience sounded nightmarish!!) I also think that I have developed a greater sense of musicality this year. I used to think that I was great at playing musically, but I realized that there is a lot more to it than I thought. It is much more than just hearing the music; its cuing, listening to chord progressions and moving rhythms, and looking up and around. What it means to be a team player in an orchestra was also a major lesson that I learned. Listening to the players around me, in my section and outside of my section, is a huge part of playing well as an ensemble. Watching the conductor and looking up frequently are also vital. I improved on my listening skills, and I know that the best performance is one whose musicians are paying attention to each other.  

In the next three years of my high school career, I hope I continue to develop in the same fashion as I have this year, learning to be the best player I possibly can be! :)

Concert Order!! (Orchestra)

I think the song order for our last concert should go as such:

1. The Odyssey
2. River Flows in You
3. The Evil Eye and the Hideous Heart
4. Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory
5. American Idiot

Honestly, I only have one main reason for choosing this order. I feel that the best concert is one whose successive pieces contrast, moving from exciting and bold, to soft and reserved. This keeps the audience engaged and exuberant. I feel a bit bad about saying this, but as my parents have told me, hearing two or more relaxed pieces in a row can be very boring to an audience member. Because of this, I think we definitely should not have River Flows in You and Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory together, as they are our two calmest pieces, and may cause the audience to lose interest.
I think we should have The Odyssey as our first piece because it just seems like the type of piece you would open with. It is big, and tells a broad story. I would even go as far as to say that it is like a fanfare, in the way that it shows off our deeper skill levels, impressing the audience. In a way, it is starting the concert off "with a bang."
To stick with the theme of contrast, I think the song River Flows in You should go next. Not only is this piece very different from The Odyssey, but it also transitions well. When we tried playing each piece after The Odyssey, River Flows in You was my top choice.
After River, I think we should play The Evil Eye and the Hideous Heart mainly for the same reasons. The end of River sounds great transitioning into the beginning of Evil Eye where the cellos have their tremolo. Evil Eye is also very intense and captivating, while River is soft and flowing, like a river (haha!) The audience can clearly hear the distinction between the two pieces.
For our last two songs, I think we should play Willy Wonka, and then American Idiot afterwards to end the concert. Once again, there is a big difference between Evil Eye and Wonka, and the transition from EE to WW sounds awesome. Green Day should follow because there is a large contrast between WW and AI. Playing this song last would also end the concert "with a bang" in the same way that Odyssey started it!!     

River Flows In You Class Recording (Orchestra)

This recording of our class playing the song River Flows In You provides a very prominent viola sound (because it was on our stand). Because of this, I don't think I can give very accurate feedback for this performance. If this were taken from in front of the orchestra, I would say that the violas are overpowering, and that the other sections should be significantly louder, in particular the first violins. But because this was recorded from a viola stand, the previous statement is not applicable. Based off of this performance, I would say that we are progressing very nicely, needing only to work on counting and rhythm, as well as some intonation here and there (mainly F sharps and C sharps).

Festival Reflection and Plan for Improvement (Orchestra)

This year at festival, I think we did a fantastic job as an ensemble, and I know we worked hard to earn our first division rating. Not only did we perform well as an orchestra, but every single person dedicated time and effort to their own playing to reach a greater quality sound when performing with the group.

Rondo Energico:

• Watch for incorrect intonation in lower notes (violas/cellos) and higher notes (violins)
• Try to maintain a constant tempo-resist the urge to rush in pizzicato sections
• Could exaggerate dynamic contrast a bit more to keep audience enraptured
• Great balance between the sections throughout the peace
• Nice "quick fixes"-adjusting to little mishaps

Rating: 

Tone: A
Intonation: B
Rhythm: A-
Technique: A-
Interpretation: A

The Far Away Place:

• Make sure F sharps and C sharps are in tune
• Create more balance between melody and harmony
• Don't rush the eighth notes-keep a steady pace fitting to the piece
• Overall beautiful dynamic contrasts 

Rating:

Tone: A-
Intonation: A-
Rhythm: A-
Technique: B
Interpretation: A

Bells:

• Nice balance and energy level
• Intonation-specifically F sharp and C sharp, and the occasional A sharp
• Make sure the accelerando is gradual and together
• Try to distinguish between forte and piano in measures 5 and 6

Rating:

Tone: A

Intonation: A

Rhythm: A-

Technique: A-

Interpretation: A

Overall Grade: Division I

I feel that we played very well, and had musical aspects in all three of our songs. We put a large amount of time and effort into our pieces, and the outcome was great. We had strong tone, balance, and rhythms, and we collaborated well as a team. If anything, we need to work on intonation, particularly those hard to reach sharps, and greater phrasing in Rondo and Bells. For those reasons, I evaluated our orchestra's performance, and awarded us with a division I rating for all of our hard work.

Plan for Improvement:

Personally, I can (yes, I admit it) practice more frequently with more dedication to improve my playing. I practiced a significant amount for this performance but I believe I could have practiced more. There are many reasons why I didn't, from legitimate to made-up excuses. One of the things I need most work on is time-management; balancing homework, OYO practice, solo and ensemble, auditions, school orchestra practice, and enrichments. Once I learn how to manage my time a bit better, I think that I will have more time to practice all of my music equally.

I should also get into the habit of practicing with a metronome, because it helps me to fully understand the timing of my part, and the complicated rhythms.