rediculous

I hate it when I get excited about an audition, and then I discover I can't take it. For instance, I just found out about a second/Eb audition in Boise, ID. I was like sweet! Time to get back in to the audition game. But then I discovered a plane ticket to Boise would cost me $500. FAIL.

Also, a couple weeks back I sent in my resume for the Central City Opera audition in May, and not even six hours after I emailed my resume, I got this response:

Dear Sandy,

Thank you for your interest in Central City Opera. Unfortunately, due to time constraints, it is impossible to hear all applicants. After reviewing your resume it has been decided not to extend an audition invitation to you.

Wishing you the very best in your future musical endeavors,

Mr. xxxxxxxx, Orchestra Manager and Assistant to the Music Director

Seems a little too fast of a response for me to believe that anyone actually looked at my resume. Whatever, they don't know what they are missing out on!

Speaking of downers, I applied for an audition with the LA Chamber Orchestra. Here is the list (if you can believe it):

1st movement exposition from the Mozart Clarinet Concerto K. 622 Entire
2nd movement of the Mozart Clarinet Concerto K. 622

Beethoven Symphony No. 4, op. 60 , II. Complete, IV. measures 297 - 300
Beethoven Symphony No. 6, op. 68 I. measures 474 – 492, II. measures 69 – 77, III. measures 114 – 133
Beethoven Symphony No. 8, op. 93: III. trio
Brahms Serenade No. 1 in D, op. 11: I. measures 12 – 23 and measure 550 – end, II. measures 9 – 28, III. measures 7 – 16
Copland Appalachian Spring (13 instrument version): 5 measures after # 6 – 2 measures after # 9, from # 17 – 3 measures after # 18, from # 23 - # 28, from # 38 – 1 measure before 42, pickup to # 55 – 3 measures before 57
Haydn Symphony No. 99 in E flat : complete
Mendelssohn A Midsummer Night’s Dream: scherzo
Mendelssohn Symphony No. 3, op. 56: II. complete
Mozart Symphony No. 39, K. 543: III. Complete, IV. complete
Rachmaninoff Symphony No. 2, op. 27: II. 6 measures before # 46 - #47
Schubert Symphony No. 3 in D: I. measure 10 – 36, pickup to measure 178 – measure 186, II. measure 37 to measure 69
Strauss Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme: No. 4. # 42 - # 44, pickup to # 48 – 5 measures after # 51, No. 8. beginning to # 61, # 64 - end

2nd CL Brahms Serenade No. 1 in D, op. 11: I. measures 550 – end, II. measures 9 – 28, III. measures 9 – 16
2nd CL Mendelssohn Hebrides Overture: measure 206 – 217
2nd CL Ravel Rhapsodie Espagnole: cadenza
2nd CL Strauss Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme: No. 4. # 42 - #44, No. 8. beginning – measure , # 64 – end
2nd CL Tchaikovsky Symphony No. 5, op. 64: I. beginning to measure 37

E-Flat Copland Music for the Theatre: I. complete, II. complete
E-Flat Ravel Piano Concerto in G: complete
E-Flat Ravel Bolero: solo

Bass CL Schoenberg Chamber Symphony No. 1: 2 measures after #28 – 2 measures before #31, #34 – 1 measure before #35, 1 measure after #62 - #63, 1 measure before #78 - #79, 1 beat before #91 - #92, 2 measures after #101 – 2 measures before #102, 2 measures after #105 – downbeat of #106
Bass CL Shostakovich Violin Concerto No. 1, op. 99: II. # 23 – 13th measure of # 24, III. # 26 – 8th measure of # 26
Bass CL Stravinsky The Rite of Spring: #11 - #13, #48 - #49, #140 - #142

2nd CL Mozart Divertimento for 2 clarinets and bassoon K. 229
Beethoven Quintet in E flat for Piano and Winds, op. 16, I. complete, II. complete

Keep in mind this is a chamber orchestra with only 14 performances a year. I'm not sure the job would be worth all the effort that would need to be put in for the audition, but that's my opinion. The main reason that I'm not taking the audition is because of the bass clarinet stuff - don't have one, and don't have time to learn the exerpts even if I did have one. I was a little bummed.

I also recently applied for the Cleveland Opera audition, and I can't take that one for the same reason: bass clarinet excerpts are required! Boo for that. Makes me wish that I could afford to buy a bass! I was extremely bummed when I discovered I would not be able to take this audition, mostly because it would be an easy one to take. Cleveland is only a four hour drive away from Rochester!

I'm still hoping for a good audition to come along soon, I'm definitely feeling the itch to get back in the game. And who knows, maybe that Navy thing from my previous post will work out!

Update and a possible opportunity...

Lately its been hard to motivate myself to practice clarinet. Its not that I don't want to play, its that I have so many other things that I have to do. Like work...I've been working about 50 hours a week lately and it doesn't leave much time to do anything else. Unfortunately, I really don't have a choice about the work thing because I need to pay my bills! And until that day when I have enough private students to sustain a living or a win a full time performance job, I will have to accept the fact that I need to manage a 9-5 job. Also, I'm trying to be more committed to exercise. I feel (and play) so much better when I am in shape (ish), so I'm trying to put in the time. But it is so tough! I am trying to squeeze in an half hour workout, at least 2 hours of practice, lessons, AND work every day, while trying not to totally depriving myself of sleep. Oh yeah, and I have a husband that I want to spend time with too! Needless to say, sometimes things that I want to do don't happen.

When I do get into the practice room, its been good. (If you don't want to hear about my daily practice routine, you can skip down a couple paragraphs - I won't be offended!) I've been really focusing on fundamentals. I do about a half hour of long tones everyday, focusing on different aspects like sound, fingers, breath, etc. I then do a key out of the Didier scale book, which focuses a lot on scales in 3rds, 4ths, 5ths, 6ths, 7ths, and octaves in addition to various types of arpeggios. I've been doing them slowly (eighth note = 72) with a focus on air support and relaxed fingers (especially that "pop" sound that us clarinetists sometimes get when we are going from little to no fingers to all or many fingers! So hard not to do!!) Last "required" thing that I do is what I call the "articulation scrubber". I base it on a practice technique that my teacher at CSU introduced me called "the scrubber":

I adapted it by playing it tongued, in a "key of the day" in all registers. I repeat each part 3 times before holding the last note in a femata. I focus on light tongue with fast air, which is hard, especially when you get to the altissimo register!! Hellooooooooooo scheherezade practice LOL. (most clarinetists will know what I'm talking about there) Recently I've gotten to quarter=55, the 32nd notes are little bit of a struggle at this tempo, but I can do it...most days.

After I've done this, I usually do some sight reading (I have been taking music off of free-scores.com, not always the best music, but its something), and then I've been practicing the Neilsen concerto, or Weber concerto No. 1. Which one I do depends on which clarinet I'm playing that day. Depending on what I have planned for the day, I sometimes don't even get to this part, unfortunatley. I've been trying to get my Eb chops back into shape, so sometimes I just move on to Eb practice after the scrubber. I do about 15 minutes of long tones on Eb, the articulation scrubber, and then usually I'll do a few excercises in the Kroepsch scale book. Then I usually work on the Bolero excerpt for as long as I can stand....usually only 5 to 10 minutes haha.

(for folks who skipped my boring play by play of my daily practice routine, you can start reading here)
Some developments have transpired in the last few days...last Friday I got a call from my best friend who just got out of the Navy. She ran into the assistant director of the Southwest Navy Band in San Diego, and mentioned that I am a clarinet player from Eastman blah blah blah, and he ended up giving her his contact info to pass on to me. The regional bands are a little different from the premiere bands, in that you don't get permanent assignment in the regionals like you do in one of the premiere bands. Also, where you end up is not guaranteed. I want to be able to live with Ben, so probably the only way that would work out is if he went to UCLA and I was in the band in San Diego. I did contact him, and he really wants me to audition for him. I need to talk it over with Ben (and we need to figure out his school situation also - we haven't heard from anyone yet!!), and talk it over with some other people - get some advice. The prospect of music being the focus of my life is extremely tempting! Even if it is in the military.

I've been really depressed lately, and I think its because for the first time in many years music is not the primary focus in my life. I really thought that I would be doing something by now, but I'm not and that is extremely disheartening. But this whole Navy thing has given me a little bit of hope for my future. Someone's gotta want me to play clarinet!! I think I have mad skills, its just hard getting people to notice.

Dying sucks

This post doesn't have anything to do with clarinet...or music on the other hand. This morning I waltzed into work, excited that my boss was off today (not that I plan on doing anything different, ha). I open up my email, and open up the university bulletin that we get every day (which I always read, sometimes there are interesting things in it). Today through that bulletin, I found out that the senior clerk in the ESM registrar's office passed away suddenly on Sunday.

Now, I was a work study student in the financial aid office for a year and a half, which is basically in the same office as the registrar, and this particular person was one of my favorite people there. She was always asking me how I was, and if I was doing anything new with clarinet, etc. She always showed a genuine interest in my life although she barely knew me. I always enjoyed chatting with her, she was one of those people that I felt like I had known my entire life. I was absolutely shocked and extremely saddened when I found out about her death.

I just recently (last week) applied for a job in the ESM registrar's office. One of the many many many things that attracted me to the job was the possibility of working with her. It makes me so sad to think that I won't get that chance, and that my friends in that entire office will be faced with a hole in their daily lives that can never be filled. She was such a wonderful person to be around, she will be sorely missed.