I managed a good two minutes on the harp this morning before school. I had planned more but didn't get up early enough. I went through Rondo just to make sure it was ok for this evening. Time was short this evening as well but I did manage another 20 minutes of final concert preparation and O Sanctissima. This session was dedicated to sax player and fellow sax quartet member Mike. We have often joked that if Mike was in charge of music education all of his lessons would consist of recordings and videos of the great jazz players followed by mass jam sessions. And with his enthusiasm and knowledge this would be no bad thing! Mike is a great player and quartet rehearsals at his house finish with cheese and biscuits - very cultured! After Mike's session I packed the harp away and set off for Oakington. Rohan was already there tuning her own harp. She then had a look over my harp in the way an aunty looks over a young neice or nephew and set about tuning it for me! We had a quick run through of the Victorian Kitchen Garden pieces and a piece called The Nightingale by an American harpist. Audience and particpants began arriving and just after 7.00 Jane volunteered to 'perform' first. A brilliant violinist and leader of Hunts Phil, the orchestra I play with on Thursdays, Jane looked quite different with a horn in her hands. She announced her first piece, asked to check her first note, checked her first note then began. I thought the first three phrases were pretty good but in phrase four she had a breakdown and erupted with laughter, as did the audience. Jane apologised and started again managing just the first two phrases this time. A third attempt saw her get half way through then she took a big gasp and said "it sounded better at home" a phrase we have all heard before from our own pupils. The rest went as well as could be expected. She then played Hot Chilli, a great little rhumba and the determination to play the cha-cha-cha with accents in the middle was daring and hilarious! After the final cha-cha-cha the audience cheered and applauded Jane who then made a quick exit out the back! She returned after the horn was safely back in the case and I took my place on the stage. Although I was quite confident the need to bring plenty of humour in overtook and a few jokes were shared with the audience. The Ball went well and I remembered all the little details. I announced Rondo as 'the bane of my life' and this then went suprisingly well. I took it a little slower than usual which helped and then finished with Azaleas in Houston. There were a few buzzes from fingers touching vibrating strings but again this went well. I took an exaggerated bow and sat down. Next up was Lyn, a flautist who played the cello. She had a good tone and apart from a few dodgy notes she played both of her pieces with son James on piano very nicely. James then played the clarinet with Lyn accompanying. James included some impressive embellishments in his two pieces. Peter, a pianist, conductor and arranger of one of the orchestra pieces also played the cello. Peter managed to look incredibly professional and brought in his accompanist clearly. Andrea, a clarinettist and music therapist played the bassoon and then horn player Helen performed on the violin. Rohan and Anne played their own xylophone pieces and followed that with some duets, nicely performed. They are a natural duo team although I sensed that their rehearsals may have involved elbows being dug into ribs as they competed for space! Sensing the unease in the audience we moved onto our proper instruments and I played the Victorian Kitchen Garden Suite movements Prelude and Summer. It was lovely playing with Rohan and I thoroughly enjoyed the blend of harp and clarinet sounds.
Anne and Lyn's flute duet was great as was James on the piano then we were treated to two new pieces from a student in the audience. I didn't catch the name but will ask Anne tomorrow. Andrea on clarinet and Peter on piano played Music Box No. 1 then several players including Peter back on the cello played Wandering Albatross. It had to be restarted and Rohan was called upon to conduct. This was better but still didn't stop the composer, sitting on the back row, from giggling throughout. It was a highly entertaining evening and my groupies Jess and Margaret sitting with Chris said they had enjoyed it. They already have their tickets for the 'Clueless in Concert' on the 27th but now they have a taste of what they are in for I hope they are not currently on ebay trying to flog them to an unsuspecting punter! Anne had provided hot chocolate and biscuits afterwards and we all chatted about our experiences so far. Jane explained that ideally she needs a half hour warm up on the horn then she has a five minute window where everything goes well then that's it for the day! She also noted that having the instrument out all the time makes it easier to actually do some practise and this is something all of us suggest pupils should do if they say they forget to practise. We have all realised that when we get into difficulties we can't bluff it as we would normally do on our main instruments. Everyone is having a great time and the Wreck-cital was a great opportunity to share experiences and make ourselves feel a little better about our impending performances. Thanks to Anne and husband Mike for organising such a great evening!
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