End of Session 3....

I realized that I had gone the entire session without posting anything to the blog! The session went so fast I can't believe that it's over... I had a lot of fun with both my groups, as well as with all of the social aspects of the camp. It's always a lot of fun to see how people get to know each other and create friendships throughout the session. The picture above is from Silver Lake where we went swimming a few times.
Musically, I feel like I've grown a lot in the past two weeks. I played a piece called "Shaker Loops" by John Adams, which was an amazing experience. The piece is a minimalist piece for seven string players (three violins, a viola, two cellos, and a bass), and it is extremely difficult to work on. The hard part about a piece like this is that there is no part that is clearly leading- everyone is responsible for keeping the pulse and making all the contrast changes together. This makes counting and keeping track of where you are really difficult. One rehearsal our coach told us after a run of the piece- "if you get lost just keep playing sixteenth notes and eventually it will be over...". But after a week of intense rehearsals, we had an amazing concert this afternoon- there was so much energy and we were all completely in sync with each other.
It has been a crazy session and I will write more very soon- the internet has been in and out, so I wasn't able to upload photos until today...

the session begins....

7/17/10
I’ve been at Apple Hill now for a few days and it has already been a great experience. Apple Hill is almost like another universe- where everyone is accepted no matter their religion, race, nationality, or any other difference that divides people in the real world. For me, Apple Hill is an escape from a fast-paced and many times intolerant world. There are so many amazing musicians here and that is the most important thing- we’re all musicians. There is really no other criteria for how we view each other here (and even in this, there is no judgment as to peoples skill level). While the mission of the camp is “playing for peace”, there is very little talk about peace during the majority of the session. The way that they achieve this is that by playing music together and being respectful and listening, the community building happens naturally. It’s funny, this is my 5th summer at Apple Hill (I think…) and I never realized that this was an intentional process, or that it was even happening at all. Lenny (the director of Apple Hill) explained it to us, and I realized that it had been happening every year without my realizing that anything was really changing throughout the session. The process of learning to respect each other, in playing music and in everyday life, is something that seems to happen naturally here at Apple Hill. I think that that is one of the things that I love most about Apple Hill. It is so amazing to see all of these people from completely different backgrounds come together, and by the second day they have already started to build a community.

In the past few days, the camp has been really busy getting ready for the beginning of session 3. I drove to Boston to pick up three cellists, one from Syria, one from Jordan, and one from Egypt. I also did a few other pick-ups around New Hampshire. Friday the 16th was the official arrival day for session 3, so we were all really busy that day signing people in and showing them around. This is the first year in the history of Apple Hill that every session of the summer is at full capacity for participants, which is great! In the afternoon, I went with a few of the other CW’s (camp workers… or counselor workers…) to Silver Lake for a swim. It was really nice to go for a swim because of how hot it was. Silver Lake is a 15 minute drive from Apple Hill, but is much nicer than the pond where we usually swim. That night we had introductions and sang some madrigals as a group activity, which was fun.

Today was the first day of coaching, and both my groups are really great! I am playing the “Trout” Quintet by Franz Schubert, and “Shaker Loops” by John Adams. I really like my schedule because I have rehearsals all morning starting at 8:45am, and then I have the rest of the day free to practice and laze around.

There will be pictures and more stories very soon!

Apple Hill!!!

7/14
My trip to Apple Hill this year was much easier and quicker that the epic road trip Stephen and I went on last summer. Traveling without a huge bass flight case was a breeze- I checked in on time, with all the other passengers (instead of an extra hour and a half just to get the bass checked in), got through security with no problems, and had an uneventful flight to Boston. We landed in Boston 40 minutes early, which was great because I was able to walk downstairs and catch the bus to Concord, NH within the next five minutes.

The drive from Concord to the Apple Hill campus is really beautiful, with the tree-lined highways that are so characteristic of New Hampshire. I get the same feeling every time I get close to Apple Hill, an excitement that builds as we get further away from the city. The air feels clean, and it is so nice to see nothing but trees as we drive along. By the time we reach Apple Hill Road, I am practically bouncing in my seat with excitement. The rustic road has a quality that I can’t explain- maybe it’s because I know what it leads to, but it feels like there is a peacefulness that surrounds the whole area.

I arrived at Apple Hill right before the weekly concert, with just enough time to have some dinner. The concert was a Turkish string quartet along with a clarinet player from Cypress. It was an amazing concert, in part because you could tell how much fun they were having. A while after the concert, they started up a dance- and Apple Hill dances are unlike any others, there are no expectations about skill level, and everyone is welcome (and encouraged) to dance. During the dance, it started pouring rain outside and somehow the dance suddenly moved out into the grass. They turned the speakers outwards and everyone started running and dancing in the rain- some people started dancing up on the picnic tables. It was such a great experience, with everyone enjoying life and the rain… it was such a memorable Apple Hill moment. After a couple hours I took a hot shower and went to bed- it was just about the perfect first night at Apple Hill.