October 25, 2015

Last Monday was open classroom day, which was stressful. All these strangers walking around and watching classes. We had seven people sit in on our literature class, which is more than the number of students. Also we had to set up the orchestra in the most awkward way ever, with extra chairs scattered throughout the orchestra so that donors could sit amongst us if  they wished to. They did not seem to wish to and most of the chairs went unused (there was one tenacious old lady who stuck next to the cello section for the entire rehearsal). Sigh...

Partial map of the orchestra setup - the green chairs are extra donor chairs

I went to opening night of the Magic Flute. It was in English, which was a shock, and the sets and costumes were very modern and abstract-looking (the sets consisted of floating circles or coloured stripes or squares projected onto film). Lots of bright colours, primary colours. It looked like Alice in Wonderland; a fantastical crayon world. I liked it. Very imaginative.

On Saturday I was presented with two highly interesting but just as highly suspect tales from the music world. One was that Shostakovich was shot in the head while serving in WWII and had a piece of metal lodged in his brain for the rest of his life. According to the yarn, Shosty didn't want the shrapnel removed because it enabled him to hear melodies when he tilted his head, which he then used in composition. However there is zero evidence to support this story.

The other fascinating article I read was about how A-440 is Nazi tuning and A-432 promotes world peace. Lots of evidence for this one, but much of it seemed somewhat circumstantial. I have my doubts, but it would be cool if it were true.

This morning I played in a handbell piece in a Presbyterian service. So cool, and the organist has mad skillz (he's the director of ABS).

Foggy morning

Handbells

And of course, keeping you current with SFCM life...

I feel like student council is trying really hard to turn us into a "normal" college...

What is "applied violin"?

- Antisocial Violinist

October 19, 2015

A week of intensive rehearsals culminated in an "open rehearsal" on Sunday. Our conducting student was on the podium and Scott was coaching all of us. It wasn't a concert, just an opportunity for the public to see what a rehearsal is like. I've been keeping busy with research and rehearsals but need more practice time. On Saturday night I made some Bach and Rameau aria recordings with a singer (she needs them for auditions). I am pleased to be doing more Baroque projects and making more connections.

Here are some random photos from school and around.

We must be at a music school

Yet another way to spell Tchaikovsky

These people are in a MASTERCLASS. Someone is PLAYING. Why are you on your LAPTOP!!!

Prokofiev's account of premiering his Second Suite from R+J...

!!!!!!

I'm  trying to teach A to play the gamba, but that foot positioning can't be right....

- Antisocial Violinist

October 11, 2015

I'm really sorry (sarcasm), I only have a couple pictures this week. Some satisfying musical work that I'll tell about shamelessly, whether it's interesting or not. Ian says that I'm musical but need more sheer ability and confidence on the violin. To this end, I am supposed to bring in a "violinistic" piece every week (think Wieniawski, Saint-Saens, Kreisler, Sarasate etc.) So I played Scherzo-Tarantella for him this week and I think I've made a real stride. This will help me a lot - just walking through the pieces, getting around them, working out tight passages that I can't nail. I enjoy it. I am quite pleased, and so is Ian.

I'm learning bass gamba this year and I have private lessons because all the other "advanced" gamba students graduated. It's fun, and great cross-training for violin. I try to practice dutifully at least twice a week. Gamba lessons are not things most people get.

My lovely mother came down to visit me for our fall break/Thanksgiving. We spent a few days walking around downtown and Golden Gate Park, finding caches, sitting on the beach and going to concerts. Here are the two photos I have, of a fairy door in a tree...

- Antisocial Violinist

October 5, 2015

I spent most of my free time this week working on the three papers I had due Friday: a paper for literature class, the draft of my Stravinsky essay and the draft of my program notes for the next orchestra set (Prokofiev, Romeo and Juliet suites). This was not very exciting. In fact the most exciting thing that happened this school week was that during somebody's presentation in Stravinsky class M did a 3D doodle and I said she should make a new career as a Symbolist painter.

Those pencil scribbles on the left are my contribution...

 On Saturday I went with a group to Fort Funston to look for caches, and this WAS exciting. The day was gorgeous and it was very, very windy at the beach - we were all blinded by stinging sand. We attempted to capture a webcam photo and spent quite a while standing around in different places trying to find where the camera was. Somebody suggested we try to make letters with our bodies and spell out a word - the best we could come up with was "YMCA" twice. Then people started complaining and asking if we had to hold our letter for the ten minutes it would take for the webcam to update. I thought the whole thing was hysterically funny. We ended up getting only a couple blurry photos because no one wanted to stand in the eyeball-tearing sandy wind for much longer. We slithered down a dune to the beach, where the ocean was being whipped into foam. I've never seen this before. The foam was coming in to the beach, pushed by the wind, and it was pure white at first. The foam that had been sitting on the beach for awhile was full of sand and browner.

That's all foam!!

White foam drifting in

Geo-buddy on a soft sand bed

Saw on the way home

Went to the library on Sunday and found a double tower of books and Ghirardelli. Sounds like a good plan.

Also noticed in the train station that the buskers are getting more creative. I guess competition is stiff these days.

- Antisocial Violinist