Advent Calendar V

 

Like most Brass players this is a very busy time of years for me, I am already wondering how I used to have time to go to work, even though as a gardener December is not the busiest month. This week I have already had three rehearsals and I still have one more rehearsal and three performances to go, but tonight I am taking time out from playing and will be attending a concert I am not playing in!

Sometimes I find it easy to get so tied up in the hectic run of playing that I forget why I am doing this, I can forget that what is driving me is my love of music, well, tonight I hope to be reminded of that! A few years ago I arrived at a TransPALS meeting a bit late following a performance, the (adult) daughter of one of my friends was there and we started chatting, she asked me what type of music I liked? I started to explain about Russian Romantic and modern music, the emotion, the grandeur, and the energy, but she looked at me quizzically and said "NO, I meant what do you listen to for fun!?"

At that point I realised that I couldn't remember the last time I had listened to music for fun! I had been listening to what I was going to play or conduct, I listening to what I was arranging or copying, I had forgotten to listen just for fun. Ever since then I have been trying to go to more concerts that I'm not playing in, and so far I have never been disappointed.

In the mean time I still have to practise plenty as this weekend my three performances are on three different instrument.