Mars, Jupiter, and other heavenly things

Earlier this month I was blessed with a great opportunity! I played on a symphony concert! I played the 6th horn part on the very famous piece The Planets, by Gustav Holst. It was a lot of pressure, out of my comfort zone, and also very rewarding. It was a really great week of rehearsals and performances. The conductor that week happened to be the conductor of the Dallas Symphony when I was growing up in Fort Worth. I heard Andrew Litton's name on the classical radio station a lot in my youth so it was extra special to me that he was conducting. And while other members of the orchestra I'm sure found him controlling, I really liked and thrived under his specificity. I can appreciate someone who knows what they want, musically, and demands it of those under his direction. He wasn't afraid to stop and tune things, one by one. I even had to play a note by myself for the orchestra when we tuned a weird, stopped chord in the lower horns! Eek!

I've played the more famous movements of the piece, arranged for band, several times before, but I underestimated how awesome each movement of the piece is. One of my favorites was the stark contrast the conductor achieved between the 1st movement, Mars, which depicts war and the 2nd Movement, Venus "the bringer of peace." Oh and the happy tingles from a unified sounding Jupiter, the joy movement. Rewarding.

Also special that week was my Mom came! She helped with the kids so much that week and came to one of the performances! When was the last time my mom was able to see me perform? Sheesh, a while ago. However, it was so weird to not be the one putting my kids to bed, 4 nights in a row.

While it felt like 'take your wife to work week,' I was reminded of how intense Brian's work life is. So much focus required and so much risk involved. While a musician doesn't clock as many hours at work as someone with a normal job, those hours sure are stressful. At least for those with little experience, like me.