En"lightening" experience

So I've no doubt that anybody who actually reads this is sick to death of me talking about music.. but, well.. what else should one write about if not their passions?

So, although I slept through symphonic band on Tuesday (meh) I went to the last open rehearsal of the orchestra tonight.. now, while last week I was overwhelmed by the experience of playing with a sea of strings for the first time, this time I was overwhelmed by the guys sitting next to me. Overwhelmed as in *jesus christ you can sure play the hell out of that thing* Anyone who can sight read a 1st clarinet solo and sound like they were born playing it (like the guy next to me) deserves to have a goat sacrificed in their name. He's 21, he took an orchestra course at Juliard. Kind of explains the jaw dropping awesomeness doesn't it?

The sound was slightly less impressive because we didn't play in the Great Hall again, but.. but the conductor has his back to windows.. and its like the 3rd floor so you looked straight out and just saw sky.. and it's U of T so the architecture is still old and fancy.. and so.. the violins are screeching away and the tension is building in the strings and the conductor is going on like you'd see the conductor on Bugs Bunny and Tweety going, all over-exaggerated, and all you see are these crazy ass forks of lightening streaming out behind the conductor and there's all this crazy rumbling of thunder. It was the pretty damn cool, and it completely complemented what we were playing. Pathetic fallacy much eh, the heavens were so moved by the music that they just couldn't help but play along :)
---> you loved that pun in the title didn't you

Ever heard anyone joke about "making love to the music"? Well, if anyone's ever done it, the guy conducting was. The movements strained with the exertion, sweat and gritted teeth, an expression of effort and joy and determination. It was slightly amusing but quite impressive.. I've never seen a conductor so emotionally involved with (sight read!) his music.

Everyone and their cousins and their kitchen sink has an A clarinet except for me! Or even an Eb clarinet as well! I was the only clarinet (there were only 5-6 of us tonight) that didn't have an A clarinet with me alongside the Bb.. So, wouldn't you know that the majority of the music we played tonight was in A, not Bb.. well actually I did a LOT better tonight at transposing while sight reading.. It actually started making sense that I need to drop all the notes a semi-tone and also take into account the key signature and drop the notes according to what they were made by the key signature! lol I actually sight read a lot of it tonight in A, I was very very pleased with myself.. it means I actually AM capable of learning and improving such alien things. Hell, a few times I even starting transposing and getting it right without thinking about it.. not a lot of times mind you, but it did start to happen :D

You know what rocks? When people think I'm older than I am haha the guy to my left guessed me as 19 and the girl to my right thought I was a graduate student tee hee :)