Go Duke!

It's nice to see Duke seriously back in the hunt for the title. They have a good team this year and have as much chance as anyone else. The game last night was a bit rough because it was a defensive struggle. Purdue played them really well but Duke turned it on in the second half. Hopefully tomorrow will be a better offensive performance against Baylor....

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Ben Folds with the NC Symphony

I got to play with the NC symphony last night while they accompanied singer Ben Folds. It really was a fun show even though the music was lame. He is all about making up random lyrics and putting them with good melodies. Even though he doesn't sing well he does put on one heck of a show. He absolutely had the crowd going, getting them clapping and singing. It was a great confidence booster for me to show up and play well. I felt really great about how I sounded. It wasn't perfect but still really good I think. Hopefully I'll be lucky enough to get more work in the future. NC really is a great orchestra.

Well, it's back to work......practicing all day!

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Brass Band Rehearsal #15

Rehearsal last night was just okay. Lisa Burn, principal cornet in TBB, came and did a sectional with my cornets which was much needed. They just need to hear things from another person sometimes. We can play one of our pieces, Canticles, very well. I feel comfortable putting that in front of people now. As for the other piece, Haydock Variations, I am not quite as comfortable. There are about 40 measures that are just not gong well for us and it's because it's hard. We only have 2 more rehearsals to get it together so we'll see what we can do. I'm really impressed by how much the kids have improved though so I'm confident it will get better.

Off to do some practicing. My next audition is in June for the Milwaukee Symphony. Hopefully it goes better than Buffalo. Peace out.

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Long weekend

This past weekend was a long one with the Platinum Drum and Bugle Corps. The hornline is starting to really come together and at times is playing pretty well. The technique book is learned and about half of the show is memorized, which is pretty cool. Hopefully we have our battery percussion situation worked out, now we just need some pit people. All in all things are slowly coming together with this drum corps. If you are a trumpet, mellophone, or pit player and are interested in marching please contact me ASAP!

This week is going to be a long week as well....I have lots of lessons and Brass Band rehearsal with the adult band on Wed. Thursday will be fun but stressful. I am playing with the NC Symphony on a concert with pop singer Ben Folds. It should be a fun concert but there are a lot of tunes to learn. Hopefully I can pull it off. Anyways i'm off to practice. Later.

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Getting slack.......Hey I'm busy, get off me!

A few people have been complaining that I haven't been blogging as often as I should be so here it is again. A ton has gone on since the beginning of February. I had an audition for the Buffalo Philharmonic, I played a Tar River Band gig, and my students auditioned for All State this weekend. Oh, I also went to see the NC Symphony play the Planets this weekend which was AWESOME!

First the audition, HORRIBLE, HORRIBLE, HORRIBLE. I could not have played any worse. I just got spooked when I got on the stage and fell apart. Oh well, it was still a learning experience. This has taught me to expect the unexpected and be ready for anything. Next time I'll be ready. Second, the Tar River gig. I at least got to play Holst's Second Suite for Band which is almost a Euphonium Concerto. I feel like I played well and it was really good to see some friends that I don't get to see much. That's all I enjoyed about the gig. I know I will get in trouble for posting this but we have to get a new conductor. It's just that simple. The person doing the job know is well........ you get the idea.

Third, All State auditions were this past Saturday. I had 3 out of 4 make it including two 1st chairs. The middle school euphonium and 9/10 trombone 1st chairs come from my studio. I am super proud of all of my students! Lastly, the NCS concert Saturday night was Incredible. The orchestra sounded great including the brass. Andrew Litton also was amazing. I got to hang with Demondrae after the concert which was awesome. I don't get to see him often so it was good times.

This week Allen Vizzutti comes to solo with the Triangle Brass Band and it should be amazing. Too bad I won't be able to play or watch because I'll be playing with the Wilmington Symphony this weekend. BUT.......EVERYONE SHOULD GO SEE ALLEN VIZZUTTI!!! He is the best trumpet player in the world!

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