Last night, hostel friend Will and I went to a concert at St. Martins-in-the-field. I had looked at the wrong day, so I thought we were going to hear the Haydn trumpet concerto and other things. Instead, it was the Creation. It was alright- nothing to rave about, but not a loss of £6. There was a guy playing alto trombone, though, which was pretty cool.
Today was my hostel friend Brian's last day in London. We met for breakfast downstairs, but the line was insanely long. Instead of waiting around for cereal and tea, we wandered down the street and found a full English breakfast for £5. Much tastier. After a little walking around, we both headed to the tube station. He went to Heathrow, and I went to the Barbican. At 2:30, there was an LSO Discovery Family Concert entitled "Global Express." I felt relatively awkward, as I was not with children ages 7-12 or, well, with anyone, for that matter. I just sat and read my Berlioz book until concert time. I ended up sitting next to a woman, her son, daughter-in-law from America, and 4 grandchildren. She told me I wasn't alone- "Look at all the people here with you!"
As the orchestra began to come onto the stage, I saw Matt, the bassist I ran into in Chicago. I caught him afterwards. He had me go backstage, where he found a schedule and told me when the next few rehearsals are. Starting Wednesday, I have 9 straight days of LSO-related events. I am not complaining.
On my way out of the backstage area, I introduced myself to two of the trumpet. I asked if I could possibly get a lesson sometime this summer (they asked which...I'm not picky). "Well, since you're giving us such a long time frame, I think it would be cruel of us to say no." We'll talk sometime later in the week to discuss further details. I told them where I was from. One of them actually had been to Bowling Green to teach some workshops several years ago! He is the only person I have yet spoken to who knows of BG.
The concert itself was quite fun. The orchestra played several pieces written by famous composers about/from different parts of the world. One piece included was the Ode to Joy...with words written specially for the occasion by the presenter. The audience was invited to sing along.
I realize that it is sickeningly lame to say, but hearing the LSO play music from Harry Potter is quite a magical experience.
2 comments:
You sure don't let any grass grow under your feet..you're always on the move. Glad you're having so much fun!
Now, if they could have just played it in the dining hall. How magical would that have been?
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