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| Sunset Hill Cemetery, Valdosta |
So I spent last Friday in Valdosta in order to catch Betsy’s faculty recital on euph and baritone. I started off the morning by sitting in with her studio class and trying to do 45 minutes or so of “The Breathing Gym,” which is a video put together by a couple of really good tubists and consists of exercises designed to teach musicians how to breathe effectively. Seems like a good program if practiced regularly.
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| Sunset Hill Cemetery, Valdosta |
After that, Betsy had to teach her regular lessons, so I took off to entertain myself in the rain. I spent a bit of time in a cemetery near the school, then grabbed some lunch, waited for the sun to come out (it did eventually), and went back to the cemetery. The stones weren’t all that interesting, but the trees – dripping with Spanish Moss – made for great photography.
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| Sunset Hill Cemetery, Valdosta |
The recital itself went really well for Betsy, but no so great for her student quintet. Apparently, the guy playing the 1st trumpet part doesn’t do a lot of practicing (or at least didn’t practice his part for the recital piece much), and it showed. Overall, however, the performance was worth the drive; and I had a great time listening to a wide range of euphonium music and taking pictures – stills and video. Once I’ve had a chance to synch my video up with the official audio recording, I’ll put some of the tunes up on YouTube.
Yesterday, I drove home and basically did nothing. I took a nap immediately upon arriving at home, then went grocery shopping, had dinner, and went back to bed.
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As you might have deduced, this was during the rehearsal
for the recital. |
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| I took this during the recital by shooting through a crack in the acoustical shells. |
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See that mute on the chair? It got used for about 2 measures. I think the composer just wanted to mess with the
performer’s head. |
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| This shot was from just off-stage. The bottom half of it is obscured by the piano top. I like it. |
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| Looks pretty proud of herself, doesn’t she? I guess she’s entitled. Well done, Betsy. |
Today is beautiful – high 60s and sunny – and I feel somewhat guilty for still being in bed (it’s 11:30 am). I’ll probably try to get out and about at some point.
