Tag Archives: midlife musicians

by | July 11, 2011 · 8:27 pm

Summer and Fall Fantasies …

Received word today that the Minnesota Orchestra in Minneapolis has announced a fantasy camp this fall.   They are looking for 50 amateur musicians – all parts – to take part in a two-day camp in mid-September.  The repertoire is Borodin’s Polovtsian Dances, which is scheduled to be performed with the symphony in the second half of their September 16th concert.  You can get more information on the Minnesota Symphony site.

Nan Washburn

The information comes courtesy of Nan Washburn of the Michigan Philharmonic, who has just been named the new conductor of the Orchard Lake Philharmonic Society Symphony Orchestra.  The appointment received some coverage in local papers this weekend. Speaking both as a new board member of OLPS and a member of the orchestra, I’m delighted that Nan is coming on board.  The repertoire she has chosen for our fall concert is intriguing (Gluck, Ravel, Sibelius, Berlioz, and Mao Yuan).

The OLPS Symphony is looking for additional players, especially all strings.  If you play and want to get involved with a group, now is your chance!  Rehearsals begin Thursday, September 15th at West Bloomfield High School.  Additional information and registration materials are available on www.OLPSMusic.org.

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by | June 15, 2011 · 10:08 pm

Interlochen, Day 4 (Chuck)

We are starting to see an increase of activity around the camp as college students begin to arrive for the official opening of Summer Camp. Over a thousand students are employed as cabin and dorm monitors, security, life guards and other camp functions.  They are also sprucing up the camp in preparation for Saturday’s Garrison Keeler’s Prairie Home Companion radio broadcast.

Meanwhile, New Horizon campers are busily preparing for Thursday evening’s small group performances.  The Jazz Ensembles along with the various instrument choirs will be performing, all proceeded by a strolling band outside the Fine Arts building.

It is amazing how much progress the Intermediate Band has made in the past few days, thinking back to  when we were stumbling over “La Cumparsita” and Bob Margolis’ “Fanfare Ode” and “Festival for Concert Band”. Tonight’s run thru of Sousa’s “Northern Pines March” may have had the March King turning in his grave, but hopefully we can get the kinks worked out in the final rehearsal tomorrow morning.


It is just hard to believe there is just one more full day of camp before heading back to the real world. It’s just amazing how many mid-lifers (and older) are enjoying a chance to play (and sing) many for the first time. There have been so many stories about other camps. I am already starting to eye the calendar for October 2012, they say Chautauqua, New York is a great camp….

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by | June 14, 2011 · 10:31 pm

BSO Academy, Day 3 (Georgeann)

A marathon day of playing in Baltimore, starting with my own need to practice and work out some issues, followed by strings sectional.  Then, one of the key moments of the week, our first rehearsal on-stage at Meyerhoff Hall sharing stands with the professional musicians of the BSO, rehearsing with Marin Alsop.

In all, the rehearsal was very business-like and moved quickly.   In the middle of the Rimskey-Korsakov, I heard something remarkable:  the shuffling of musicians feet on the floor in applause for an extremely beautiful harp cadenza performed by our amateur harpist.   It was very cool.

After a break for lunch (and another hour for me in the practice room), BSO concert master Jonathan Carney led a string orchestra workshop, and I was proud to hear Mike, the cellist from our string quintet, performing another beautiful solo in the middle of Grieg’s Holberg Suite.

Then it was on to chamber music rehearsal, with our quintet coming together astonishingly well on the piece we plan to at Friday night’s concert.  Then another break for dinner, and class on getting most out of practice time.

In all, I calculated that the violin had been under my chin for at least seven full hours today.  Made me recall another quote from Monday’s session with the physical therapist:  “People don’t realize musicians are elite athletes.  It takes great strength to hold and play your instrument.”    Amen.

Sidenote:  Along with the intense schedule, the midlife musicians who decided to stay in the nearby dorm for the week were promised today they would finally have hot water tonight.   Can’t imagine what they’ve been putting up with!

 

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by | June 12, 2011 · 9:56 pm

BSO Academy, Day 1

The afternoon performance of Verdi’s Requiem, with more than 120 voices joining the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, was alternately stunning, ethereal, and emotionally moving.  So it was amusing to learn, talking to members of the brass section after the performance, that they nearly “lost it” midway through the performance when a cell phone went off at a critical moment, with a ringtone that was perfectly in key.

Marin Alsop addresses the BSO Academy Musicians

BSO Music Director Marin Alsop addresses the BSO Academy Musicians

That casual, companions-in-music camaraderie, set a great tone for the opening day of the BSO Academy.   As music director Marin Alsop told the assembled musicians (mostly midlifers like me), “it’s about the passion we all share for music.”   The BSO Academy, now in its second year, is a very different experience for the musicians, too, she says.

“We are here to help,” she told us.  “It’s not about pressure.  Any pressure you feel, you are putting on yourself.  We just want to help you improve your skill set and music making, so you can reach new goals.”

At the same time, Alsop warned that she would not go easy on the BSO Academy musicians, just because we are amateurs.  “I can’t help it,” she said.  “I work with every orchestra as if it is a major orchestra.”  But she also promised that the experience would “take you where you are and move you ten levels up.”

There are a lot of people here who do other things for a living:  a doctor, a nuclear physicist, a retired marketing executive, and so on, with home addresses that include Maryland, Pennsylvania, Colorado, Massachusetts, and California.

Crab Cake Sandwich at Phillips Seafood at Harborplace in Baltimore

As the schedules were passed out over dinner, it’s clear it will be a challenging week.  I have my first private lesson at 8:30 a.m. on Monday morning, followed by classes on preventing injury, Alexander Technique, sectional rehearsal, chamber music rehearsal, and — after dinner — another class on sight reading.

Good thing I got my crab cake fix at lunch today!

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by | April 26, 2010 · 8:31 pm

OLPS Community Orchestra Concert on Cable

Orchard Lake Philharmonic Society Orchestra-Spring 2010

Orchard Lake Philharmonic Society - April 16, 2010

The recent concert of the Orchard Lake Philharmonic Society Community Orchestra is now available for viewing on local access cable. Continue reading →

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