Monday
Royalty recording 6 - 12 am
Tuesday
Royalty recording 6 - 12 am
Wednesday
Royalty recording 6 - 9 pm
Royalty show @ Zeppelin's
Thursday
off
Friday
7 - 9:30 Messiah rehearsal
Saturday
2 - 4:30 Messiah rehearsal
7 Messiah concert
Sunday
10 am Messiah concert
Tuesday, December 18, 2007
Saturday, December 8, 2007
Michael W. Smith w/ EPSO
On Friday, the EPSO accompanied Michael W. Smith for a concert at the Don Haskins Center, which is the gym at which the UTEP Basketball team hosts its home games. For those of you know who may be unfamiliar with Michael W. Smith (as I was before Friday), he is a pretty big deal in the Christian music scene, having won a bunch of awards and such.
I'd never played this sort of a gig before, in a back-up orchestra for a band in a large venue like this, so the entire experience was sort of new and exciting. I got to the Don Haskins about 10 before 4, unpacked quickly, got up on stage. There seemed to be some confusion amongst the tech crew, as the rehearsal didn't really get underway until about 4:20. Even at that point, not all of our stand lights were functioning and there were still some seating issues to work out amongst the woodwind and brass.
None of us saw the music prior to showing up to the rehearsal, and it all went along pretty smoothly. Most of the music for the concert was "the whole band," with full orchestra, Michael and the singers, etc, all out. A few pieces were for orchestra only, and the band played a few songs without the orchestra.
A lot of the music was in 5 and 6 flat key signatures, which the string section wasn't too happy with. Other than that, the music was not difficult. Another thing that the entire orchestra wasn't too happy about, is the fact that we had been told the rehearsal would end at 6 pm, and it in fact ended at 6:30. There was a lot of discussion about this during the dinner break, and at today's Holiday rehearsal we were told that it would be discussed at tomorrow's morning rehearsal. I'll let you know what happens when I go to work tomorrow.
I'm sure that many of you have seen the commercials on TV for "top Christian hits," etc, where they show the full venue, all arms up. This is exactly what the show was like. Granted, for the most part, the audience was totally in the dark, so we couldn't actually see the audience, but that's how I pictured it. For a couple of songs, the orchestra didn't play, so I was just observing the whole situation.
It was, to say the least, a bit strange. Michael W. Smith is a great performer, and the music was tolerable, but the feeling of being in one of those commercials didn't sit well with me.
One of my violin colleagues, during the dinner break, stated, "This is one of those gigs, where you show up, go through the motions, do a lot of faking, take the money, and run." Words of wisdom.
I'd never played this sort of a gig before, in a back-up orchestra for a band in a large venue like this, so the entire experience was sort of new and exciting. I got to the Don Haskins about 10 before 4, unpacked quickly, got up on stage. There seemed to be some confusion amongst the tech crew, as the rehearsal didn't really get underway until about 4:20. Even at that point, not all of our stand lights were functioning and there were still some seating issues to work out amongst the woodwind and brass.
None of us saw the music prior to showing up to the rehearsal, and it all went along pretty smoothly. Most of the music for the concert was "the whole band," with full orchestra, Michael and the singers, etc, all out. A few pieces were for orchestra only, and the band played a few songs without the orchestra.
A lot of the music was in 5 and 6 flat key signatures, which the string section wasn't too happy with. Other than that, the music was not difficult. Another thing that the entire orchestra wasn't too happy about, is the fact that we had been told the rehearsal would end at 6 pm, and it in fact ended at 6:30. There was a lot of discussion about this during the dinner break, and at today's Holiday rehearsal we were told that it would be discussed at tomorrow's morning rehearsal. I'll let you know what happens when I go to work tomorrow.
I'm sure that many of you have seen the commercials on TV for "top Christian hits," etc, where they show the full venue, all arms up. This is exactly what the show was like. Granted, for the most part, the audience was totally in the dark, so we couldn't actually see the audience, but that's how I pictured it. For a couple of songs, the orchestra didn't play, so I was just observing the whole situation.
It was, to say the least, a bit strange. Michael W. Smith is a great performer, and the music was tolerable, but the feeling of being in one of those commercials didn't sit well with me.
One of my violin colleagues, during the dinner break, stated, "This is one of those gigs, where you show up, go through the motions, do a lot of faking, take the money, and run." Words of wisdom.
Dec. 3 - 9
EPSO:
Michael W. Smith
Holiday Afternoon w/ EPSO
UTEP:
GRIEG Symphonic Dances
FRANCK Symphony no. 1 D minor
Monday
off
Tuesday
off
Wednesday
6:00 UTEP dress rehearsal
Thursday
7:30 UTEP Concert
Friday
3:30 - 6 Michael W. Smith rehearsal
8:00 Michael W. Smith concert
Saturday
10 - 12:30 EPSO rehearsal
Sunday
10:30 - 12:3o EPSO rehearsal
2:00 EPSO concert
As you can see, I'm posting this schedule on Friday, after the Michael W. Smith concert, which I'll talk about in another post when I have some more time. Also, if you'll notice, we have an early rehearsal tomorrow for the EPSO Holiday Pops concert. This is my first time playing the EPSO Holiday concert, and I'm sort of excited about it. Definitely NOT because of the early rehearsal, but because crowds always really enjoy holiday concerts. Also I have a thing for sleigh-bells.
The UTEP concert was last night, and I left the flute concerto off of the program above because the name of the composer escapes me at the moment. I thought the concert went well, and the bass section played exceptionally well. It might interest some of you to know that our orchestra currently has 4 cellists and 7 bassists; strange numbers for a university orchestra and a good indicator of what kind of recruitment is going on in our string department.
I will post soon about the Michael W. Smith concert, which was an "interesting" experience, to say the least.
Michael W. Smith
Holiday Afternoon w/ EPSO
UTEP:
GRIEG Symphonic Dances
FRANCK Symphony no. 1 D minor
Monday
off
Tuesday
off
Wednesday
6:00 UTEP dress rehearsal
Thursday
7:30 UTEP Concert
Friday
3:30 - 6 Michael W. Smith rehearsal
8:00 Michael W. Smith concert
Saturday
10 - 12:30 EPSO rehearsal
Sunday
10:30 - 12:3o EPSO rehearsal
2:00 EPSO concert
As you can see, I'm posting this schedule on Friday, after the Michael W. Smith concert, which I'll talk about in another post when I have some more time. Also, if you'll notice, we have an early rehearsal tomorrow for the EPSO Holiday Pops concert. This is my first time playing the EPSO Holiday concert, and I'm sort of excited about it. Definitely NOT because of the early rehearsal, but because crowds always really enjoy holiday concerts. Also I have a thing for sleigh-bells.
The UTEP concert was last night, and I left the flute concerto off of the program above because the name of the composer escapes me at the moment. I thought the concert went well, and the bass section played exceptionally well. It might interest some of you to know that our orchestra currently has 4 cellists and 7 bassists; strange numbers for a university orchestra and a good indicator of what kind of recruitment is going on in our string department.
I will post soon about the Michael W. Smith concert, which was an "interesting" experience, to say the least.
Friday, December 7, 2007
First Post
I've decided to begin blogging about my experiences as a free lance double bassist here in El Paso, Texas and the surrounding area. A few years ago I was not really gigging enough to have "experiences," but lately there are some stories I feel are worth sharing.
If all goes according to plan, I'll post a weekly schedule with my engagements and the like, and every once in a while I may have an interesting story to post. In a few minutes I'll post this past week's schedule and get the ball rolling...
If all goes according to plan, I'll post a weekly schedule with my engagements and the like, and every once in a while I may have an interesting story to post. In a few minutes I'll post this past week's schedule and get the ball rolling...
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