Battle of the Bands

I live in an off-campus apartment complex that is cheap and perfect for college students. In a situation as this, there are often parties and loud music. It comes with the terrority, although our landlords don't put up with out-of-control situations. But we live in close quarters, and everyone hears everything. Generally I have no issue with this situation. I like knowing there are other people around. With the arrival of warm weather, the windows are open and the noise level rises a bit. But with that warm weather also comes the end of the normal semester and most of the apartments are now empty. Those that are left here have become a little community. It's nice and I enjoy it. Though there are a few odd characters in the bunch.

Take the boys who just moved in next door. They spend hours a day (yes, I said hours a day) outside playing with fake swords and gladiator type things. Different, but not really a big deal. Until the capes came out. Then they passed from different into odd. But it doesn't hurt me or bother me, and they seem to enjoy themselves, so I let them be.

A few mornings ago, I got up climbed into the shower. I was rinsing the shampoo out of my hair when the music started. My first thought was someone turned the stereo on in my apartment. I started to panic, wondering who was in my apartment, how did they get in and what the hell were they doing? And if someone was in the apartment, what was I going to do about it? Armed with the heaviest bottle of shampoo, I climbed out of the shower, pulled on my bathroom and poked my still soapy head out of the bathroom. At this point, I realized it wasn't my stereo; it was coming from just outside my window. The boys next door had stretched their stereo outside so they could play music as they fought. Not a huge deal, but it was a little on the loud side. It was mostly German headbanger music but the stuff in English had a lot of cursing. It annoyed me, but what excatly could I do about it? It was daylight hours and I didn't want to come off seeming like an impossible neighbor. As I finished my shower, the gears in my head began to spin. If they could listen to their music, so could I.

Have you ever heard of Wagner? I have an album called "Magic Fire Music" which is all music written by him. So I popped that on and cranked my stereo to about 1/3 volume. What's great about Wagner is that he balances the loud intensity with soft intensity. First, you barely hear anything and then in smashes the brass section. I peeked from behind my shades, and though the boys were surprised, it wasn't being quite as effective as I had hoped. So I began flipping through my vinyl collection to see what else I had. I have a great recording of Scheherezade, but it wasn't quite loud enough to overpower their music.

Have you ever heard Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture? It starts off very soft with a beautiful choral melody and builds to that well-known ending, complete with church bells and real canon fire. I cranked my stereo up to about 3/4 volume and went back to balancing my checkbook. I'm pretty sure the whole neighborhood felt that ending. But I made my point, because when the piece ended, the boys turned down their music to a more neighborhood friendly level. Classical music on vinyl for the win!

I talked to one of the other neighbors later who said he was mad at those boys. He has a little girl and he didn't want her to hear those explicit lyrics. He felt there was no reason for their music to be that loud. But then someone else started playing "that nuclear test piece" and blocked them out. I was worried he would be upset with me too, but I 'fessed up to being the second music. He thought that was absolutly hysterical. The reference to the nuclear test is that video footage of nuclear testing is often accompanied by that little snippet's theme. He knew it was a classical piece and said he much prefered his daughter hearing that than the curses.

So: Headbanger Music - 0; Classical Music - 1

Beannachd leat.

It's all Mom's fault...

In March, I took a Saturday and went to Pittsburgh to see some good friends from high school, Brian and Manny. Brian lives in Pittsburgh and Manny was visiting the same weekend. Brian took us to a record store within walking distance of his apartment, which he often frequents. He and Manny have recently gotten into listening to vinyl records, and both have growing collections. There were milk crates filled with old vinyls of the Beach Boys, Journey, Paul Simon and all kinds of other pop music, which the men eagerly dug into. But this store had a wall - an entire wall of of classical albums. I was in heaven. I found all sorts of great stuff, but with my strict budget couldn't buy everything I wanted. As our college orchestra was performing Scheherezade that semester, I bought a recording of Pierre Monteux conducting London Symphony Orchestra and an album of oboe concertos by Vivaldi and Albinoni performed by Sydney Sutcliffe. I debated on buying one more thing, a box set of Brahms's four symphonies conducted by Claudio Abbado (four different orchestras). I desperately wanted this, but decided to stick to my budget and put it back. When Manny saw this, he decided to get it for me. He was my hero for about a month for that.

Now I had filched my parents' record player a while ago, but it wouldn't quite work with my stereo. Now that I had these records, I was determined to find a way, or at least a way that wouldn't break my wallet. I poured over the Internet searching for help. I considered buying a new record player that would work with my stereo, but decided against it when I learned the player my parents owned is considered one of the best in the market, even for its age. Eventually I discovered an answer and for less than $20, I was able to listen to my records. Brahms and Scheherezade blasted out of my apartment, as my oboist friends (known as the Small Brain Oboes or SBOs) came over to play cards and hang out.

Now that I had a working record player, I wanted more records! CDs are great, but some of the best performances are on vinyl and the sound quality, especially for symphony orchestras, is out of this world. When Mom came out for the Symphony Orchestra concert in April, she brought along a few records from her stash at home. I mean, she didn't have the record player anymore - what did she need them for? As she was taking the train, she couldn't bring them all, but it was still great of her. A few weeks later, I spent a day with my oboe friend, Sarah, at a huge yard sale. They take over the county fair grounds for the day. It takes the entire day to see everything! But Sarah and I had an excellent time, and I pawed through boxes upon boxes of records, discovering quite a few hidden gems. About a month ago, I made a quick trip home for a friend's sister's wedding. I asked my mother if I could take the rest of her records back to school with me. Like, I said before - she wasn't using them! I also took the record rack, as my collection had outgrown its designated space. I've been in heaven, slowly working through all the records.

I'm sure you're wondering - Where does my mother fit into all this? How is she to blame? And for what?! This morning, I put on an album I took from home titled Hymns Triumphant. It is two records of traditional hymns strung together in long medleys, performed by the London Philharmonic Choir and the National Philharmonic Orchestra. There wasn't a hymn listed I didn't know. As I listened to the records, something occurred to me. In church, I usually have the words to the first verse of a hymn memorized, maybe even the second verse. But I can never remember the verses that follow. I've never been able to figure out why. Until now. These medleys only use the first, and occasionally, second verses of the hymns. As I listened to each new section, I remember Mom playing these albums as she cooked or cleaned around the house. I learned those first verses, but never the following ones. The harmonizations I prefer are also the ones used on this albums. These are all my favorite hymns, and to me, are considered traditional. I've run into a bit of friction when my congregation doesn't know a hymn I've selected which I've always thought was traditional. This album is why I think those hymns are traditional!

Now, I'm not one of those kids who blames her parents for all her mistakes. At the end of the day, I make my own choices and must live with the consequences of those decisions. But this... This I totally blame on Mom. She brainwashed me with all these great hymns, stuffing them into my subconscious when I wasn't looking.

I must remember to thank her sometime.


Beannachd leat.

Summer is here and she's not going anywhere

As the temperatures in Western NY have reached the upper 80s, even the low 90s, summer is officially here. So what exactly are my summer plans?

I'm still out at school, taking a summer class and some oboe lessons. The summer class is Spanish, to fulfill a language requirement for graduation. I took German in high school, but not enough for college. I've never been good at learning languages, so I thought that a fast, intensive course would do well for me. The class meets three times a week for 2 and 1/2 hours and only lasts five weeks. My biggest struggle has been the German I learned years ago is leaking back into my consciousness. I'm speaking in sentences that have Spanish, English and German. The class finds me amusing. Thankfully, my teacher is very understanding and has given me extra help. I'm actually starting to remember and understand more and more. Mom suggested I watch Spanish soap operas as extra help. Except in western NY, the foreign language is the French from Canada instead of Spanish. Ahh, well...

I spend the afternoons studying and working on my grad school application process. There is a lot of music I need to learn, applications to prepare - not to mention audition times to arrange for next year. I'm currently looking at three schools in the US - Arizona State, Colorado State and Bowling Green - and three schools in the UK - Trinity College in London, Northern College of Music in Manchester, and Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama in Glasgow. My major would be performance, which will hopefully lead to a job in a professional orchestra. I've chosen these schools based mostly on the oboe professors, as they will have the largest impact on my education. The US schools all offer assistantships, which I'd hope to get. The UK schools, well, those will be more difficult. Should be an interesting ride!

My Spanish class ends June 26th, the last Thursday in the month. I'll spend the weekend packing up what I'll take home and moving the rest of my things into my new apartment. I'm moving out of the place I've lived in for 3 semesters into a townhouse owned by the same landlords. They are great landlords and offer free summer storage. In addition, I'll have a roommate! She's another oboist in my studio named Kelly. I've had bad experiences with roommates, but I really want to try again. Living alone sometimes does get a little lonely.

That Sunday after church, I'll be driving home. I'll start my summer job at the Fresh Air Fund camp on Monday. This will be my third year working there and I'm looking forward to it. From what I've heard from my boss, we have a great team this year. I'm sure I'll have great stories to share as the summer progresses. Other tentative summer plans include a visit from cousins, Greg and Mary, and hopefully Rob, a friend from school. He lives in St. John's, Newfoundland and wants to spend some time seeing NYC. There will also be visits with friends as this may be my last full summer in Wappingers. Mostly, I'll be working as much as possible to earn money for school. Oboe supplies, application fees and travel expenses are going to eat up a large part of my funds - not to mention just generally living expenses.

It seems as if the thunderstorm has broken the heat for a while, so I'm going to practice before it begins to rise again.

Beannachd leat.