Session 4 in Full Swing

As I lay in the grass under the big tree this afternoon, I thought about how great this year has been. I've had so many amazing opportunities, and they seem to keep on coming. I've been asked to stay for Session 5 to cover for someone who dropped out, which is really exciting! I've never done three sessions before and it will be a challenge.

This session seems to be a bit more relaxed than session 3, but it's a little early in the week to tell for sure. So far, my groups have been really fun. My first rehearsal starts at 8:45am and it's becoming more and more difficult to get up early enough to have breakfast beforehand. That being said, the rehearsals are always a lot of fun, even if it takes us all a bit to fully wake up. The next rehearsal is for a modern piece that is based on tongue twisters- the idea is that we're all reciting tongue twisters while playing tricky music. It's a really fun piece, and the composer is our coach so it's great to get his input (and occasional corrections..).

Being here is still such an amazing experience- this time with a new group of musicians. The weather has been nice for the most part, although we had an unusually cold night over the weekend. This is possibly the cause of the cold that seems to be making its way though the camp... so I've been extra careful to wash my hands and drink lots of water, the last thing I want is to be sick at Apple Hill.

Once again, the internet here won't let me post photos, so I'll see if I can fix it (and take some more photos since I've been slacking since Session 3 ended....)

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.

Last Week in Sweden and Trip Home

My last week in Sweden was a lot of saying goodbye to all my friends. We had a few BBQ's, one of which was rained out. It was really great to hang out with everyone and a little sad to know that I was leaving so soon.
The orchestra packed up all the instruments and flew to the United States! The flight went really well, I slept most of the way. Once in Washington D.C. we went to the hostel, and then walked around for the evening. I met up with my friend Federico (a pianist from Apple Hill) for a drink that evening and he offered me a place to stay while I was in D.C. It was great to catch up with Federico, and so awesome to be able to stay with him instead of in the hostel.

The second day in D.C. we went to play a concert at the House of Sweden for the Swedish National Day. Then we packed up all our gear and moved to the Swedish ambassadors house for dinner and another concert.
That night I took a bus to New York, which was an experience. The overnight bus is not the easiest place to get some sleep. But I made it! And I had a great time there, exploring Central Park, and just walking through the city. I stayed with my friend Holly, and I also got to hang out with my friends Alexandra (friend from work) and Leila (violinist from Apple Hill). I also saw a broadway show called Promises, Promises which was really good!

Back in D.C. we took a bus to Delaware to play a concert at the University of Delaware, which was poorly attended. It was fun, but a little discouraging to only have 23 people in the audience. We stopped in Baltimore for dinner before going back to D.C.

We had one last concert at the Kennedy Center, which went pretty well. It was fun to play there, although the stage was far too small for our orchestra. The concert was a lot of fun, and it was sad to say goodbye to all my Swedish friends after.
The picture above is of me and my friend Anna-Cecilia, another bass player.

My flight back to Los Angeles was a little bit crazy. I got to the airport in plenty of time, but the baggage rules have changed since I flew to Sweden. I had to repack a bunch of stuff because both my bags were too heavy. Because of that, I was running late, and then the security line took forever. So I got to the gate just as my plane was pulling away.... which was a big bummer. Then I had to run to another terminal to try and get on the next flight to LA. I made it there just as the agent was leaving and she was able to put me on the standby list. I managed to get a seat and made it back to Los Angeles only 2 and a half hours later than I planned. But I made it home!!

It has been great to be back, and I plan on keeping the blog going for my time at Apple Hill starting soon!

Vårkonsert!

Today the Lund University orchestra (Akademiska kapellets) played our spring concert -Vårkonsert. It was in the main hall, and there was a good sized crowd.
The hall is great a great space to play in, the sound is huge! The last chords ring for several seconds after the release.

For anyone who remembers what the music building looked like back in January, here's what it looks like now! So beautiful!
My friend Andrew and me out in front of the mail building before the concert. Andrew is from North Carolina and plays trombone in the orchestra.
After the concert, we had a BBQ with all the orchestra members outside the music building. It was so much fun to get to hang out with all the people from the orchestra. We grilled burgers and had a roasted marshmallows. I'm getting really really excited for the orchestra tour to Washington D.C. next week!

Lundakarnevalen 2010!

On the second day of the carnival, there was a parade with lots of marching bands and floats devoted to this years theme- Right vs. Wrong.....


The volcano, and the chaos it caused was a common theme....
This was a pirate ship (pirating music.... I thought it was clever, the ship was called the Napster)
After the parade, we all went to the circus! It was such a great show, and all the performers and organizers were students- I recognized a few from orchestra.
The show was complete with live music (orchestra above the circus sign...) featuring arrangements of Mozart and Bizet operas, as well as other classical works and several pop songs. There was a storyline (mime falls in love with clown, evil woman steals him away and mime searches for her lost love....) that went through the whole show.
And they had an electric violin player, which was cool. Overall it was such a great show, we were all really glad that we got tickets early (they had to get extra benches out to make room for all the people who came).

The festival basically shut down the city for the weekend, the streets became public walkways and there were more police officers there than I've seen in my whole 5 months here in Sweden. There was a lot of energy in the city, and it was great to see all the people who came from all over to experience karnevalen.

Lundakarnevalen 2010, Musical Acts!

Every four years in Lund, there is a big carnival in the center of town. One of the big attractions is the main stage where they have concerts all afternoon and into the evening. I got to see some great bands and I thought it would be good to do a separate post about it. The first night (after I had taken a nap to recover from my 8am flight back from Scotland), I met up with some friends for dinner and then we went to see Rufus Wainwright play.
His set was really good, but it was kind of more mellow than the crowd seemed to be feeling, and there were a lot of people talking and laughing during his set.
The next day, we all went to the fairgrounds, and heard a band playing that sounded pretty good. We went to listen and they were a really great band! It was a band from Iceland called Retro Stefson, and I bought a CD after their set (two of them signed it for me, which was cool). The band is made up of high school students who formed the band when they were in middle school.
Later that night there was a Brazilian/Swedish singer named Simone Moreno, and her set was a lot of fun. She had dancers and a great band, and the crowd was loving it.

The last day of the carnival, a singer named Pauline performed, and I loved it! She is a R&B singer from Sweden and her songs were smart and fun to listen to.
They set up these risers around the fountain so people could stand or sit there and see the main stage.

Earlier on the last day I saw a woman named Lisa Lövbrand did a great jazz set. I felt bad for her because there was a really small crowd. She had a great voice, and her band was very good. I wish there had been more people there to support her! We tried to cheer as much as possible....

Scotland: Day 5

After much debate, we decided to go to the beach for the day. It was so great to got to the beach, it was so warm! The sun was out, and Helen and two of the girls who live on her floor went swimming in the sea. I didn't have my swim trunks, so I only went in up to me knees- but it was freezing!!
For lunch, we had fish and chips on the beach. We got a whole fish!
We made a sandcastle and then ran and jumped into it.... lots of fun!

Proof that I was actually in the water!! It was much warmer that we realized and when we got back, we realized that we all had gotten a little sunburned.

That night, Helen and I went to Dave's flat for dinner. It was really fun, and Dave made a great meal for us!

Scotland: Day 4

In the morning, I figured out that I could call the travel agency using skype, and I sat on hold for over 2 hours before being connected to the Danish airline that I had originally booked with. After a few minutes talking to the representative, she was able to re-book my flight without any hassle! It was great to have it that easy after all the time and money I spent on the phone just trying to talk to a live person. Having that out of the way, I was free to fully enjoy my extra time in Scotland!

We took the train out to a small town called Queensferry, a nice little town by the sea. We got off the train, and walked through the town and down to the water. Since the tide was out, we walked along the tide pools looking for shells.
We walked across the Forth bridge to the other side, stopping for lunch in the center. It was so cool to look out over the water and see for miles. When we got all the way across, we hiked up a hill looking for the train station.
At the top of the hill we found a playground and had a great time pretending we were still 8yrs old! The picture below is of by far the most fun piece of playground equipment I've seen in a long time.
After the playground we stumbled upon the train station and took the train back into Edinburgh. In the evening, I went to hang out with Dave for a few hours. It was so great to catch up with him, there was so much to talk about since we hadn't seen each other in four years. When I got back to Helen's dorm, we watched Braveheart to fill out my Scottish experience!

Scotland: Day 3

In the morning, Helen and I walked up Aurthur's Seat. From the top, there you can see the whole city. It's such an amazing view, and it was nice to take a hike.

We met up with Dave for lunch on the Royal Mile. We went to a fairly touristy restaurant, and I tried haggis which I liked quite a bit.

Dave and me on the Royal Mile.
Helen and I walked down the Royal Mile tot he palace, where there was a rehearsal for the arrival of some kind of government official the next day. It was so great to see them all marching along to the bagpipes.
That night, we went to what's called a Ceilidh (pronounced kay-lee) which is a traditional Scottish dace. It was so much fun! There was a live band, and everyone danced. It reminded me a lot of contra dancing in New Hampshire, a hot stuffy room with lots of people running around. There was one dance where we did a step called the "basket", where there are two couples and the girls put their arms over the guys shoulders and the guys lift them off the ground and spin in a circle as fast as they can. It was a really fun night, and Helen said that at that point I had experienced pretty much every Scottish thing.

Scotland: Day 2

I got up at 5:45am and took a taxi to the airport, only to find that they had shut down the entire airport for the morning. I waited in line for almost an hour before someone came by and told me that there wasn't anyone from my airline there to re-book, or even talk to. Since my flight was canceled, I took a bus back towards the city center. I got off the bus when I saw the view of the castle below. It was such a nice day, and there is a nice park under the castle that I walked around for a while.
I spent the rest of the afternoon napping and trying to figure out my flight... basically I sat on hold for extended periods of time and used up all the money on my phone without talking to anyone. The next flight out on the airline wasn't till Friday, so there was the possibility that I would have an extra four days in Scotland.