#29

So, you might have notice my fancy blog title. Yes I'm learning. Click on it for a pic I took in the plane. (btw. the legroom was actually quite good, I was just bored. :D)

So I'm back from San Francisco and what a trip it was!

I've been on more public transit than ever before.

Did you know that SF is a haven for pastries and other baked goods?

Everyone is super polite.

Too many people.

I love China Town!

Alcatraz has it's own swim team that "Swims for it's life"

Cable cars are too cold to ride.

Watch your step, or you might find yourself on a quick trip to the wrong end of town.

What idiot invented a machine that spews nickles? Give me quarters at least!!! you need 30 of the blasted things just to get a muni ticket. Can you imagine standing with a long line behind you as you carfully put 30 nickles into a tiny opening at the top of the gate?

SF is a place for everyone. The incredibly lazy to the filthy rich. There are so many different characters that I now question my own sanity.

SF looks better overcast, which is good because that's how it usually is.

A quick shout out to Angelito at the Hyatt hotel. Stay cool!

Colors everywhere.

If you get the chance, some of the best jewelry you will ever buy comes from the little stands on each corner. Don't forget to haggle!

Everything goes up not out.

The Golden Gate is actually Red.

That's San Fran.


"So how did the audtition go?" you say.

"I think it went well." I respond.

First I had a lesson with the principal bassoonist of the SF Symphony, Stephen Paulson. I played etude no. 11 from Milde Etudes Op. 26, Mozart B flat Bassoon Concerto, and Ode to a Toad by Ray Pizzi. He really liked Ode to a Toad and I enjoyed playing it so it was a fun lesson. :D
So for the audition I played Telemann and Scheherazade.

It was fun and a good experience but I'm glad to be home.

Next stop: New York

Catch ya next time!
Katie

Just a fun little story here;

So it's after my lesson with Stephen Paulson and my mom and I are walking back to our hotel. On the way, we meet a homeless guy on the street corner making candleholders and other miscellaneous items out of copper wire. I saw he had made images of a few musical instruments, so I asked him if he could make a bassoon. He informed that he could and I offered to show him one so he could look at it as he made his design. Well we stood there in breezy 40-ish degree weather at night as he made the copper bassoon. While we were standing there mom pulled out Ode to a Toad so I picked up the bassoon and started playing on the street corner. It attracted a small crowd that listened until the light turned green on the corner. I got a few mystified stares, but no one stays put for long in busy SF.

See the copper bassoon!

As you can tell there is a treble clef on the left and a bass clef on the right and a bassoon in the middle standing up. And he only used pliers. Way to go David!

#28

So a lot of stuff has been happening, and I've been to busy to blog it. I should be getting ready for tomorrow as is. So to keep it short:
SDYS did a Side-by-Side rehearsal with the San Diego Symphony, which was awesome. I'm sorry I didn't announce this before so that y'all could come but it totally slipped my mind.

Anyways the Side by Side was incredible. I got to sit next to my awesome teacher Valentin Martchev and he even let me play some of the solos. It was so exciting! However, even better, I think I made him proud in front of all his colleagues, except for that bit at the end where I couldn't tell what the conductor was doing and got a little off from the strings. Other than that is was a smashing performance! :D

Last item:

I have my first audition coming up soon (scary ;). The other day I got my finger caught in the beater while I was trying to insert the mixers into the sprockets. Little did I know that the stupid thing was on and bent my finger backwards for about 8 seconds. Not long enough to break, sprain, rip, pop, or tear anything but still long enough to cause serious pain and anxiety.
I had to drop all the sports I was involved with to protect my fingers and now I am being attacked by kitchen tools. *sigh* Since then, mom has banned me from the kitchen. This is the second beater incident. The first time the beater attacked me was when I was mixing dough with it, when suddenly it grabbed a stray wisp of my hair and before you knew it was holding 75 percent of the hair on my head in a vice grip- dough and all!

Ok I really should go now; I will tell you how it all goes when I return. Wish me luck!

Well, I had my lesson with Mr. Beene who is a really nice guy, and a great teacher.
Colburn itself is amazing! It's convenient, clean, asthetically pleasing, and the people are lovely! I thinks it is definitely an awesome place. And it's right across from Disney Hall.
Highly cool.

Note;
I am just loving more and more every day this reed he made for me! It's crazy amazing!

More next week, the parents are cracking down on bedtime... lol.