While the Classical Beaver makes it seem like we in the Oregon Symphony are doing keg stands, beer bongs, wet t-shirt competitions, and slathering sunscreen all over each other’s bodies during spring break, it’s often quite different for some of us. Yes, there are some lucky musicians who have scraped together the funds to head for a sunny clime for a much-deserved getaway. But for others there are obligations at home to take care of, and for others of us, like me, there are chances to perform out of town that otherwise would not be possible. Continue reading
Tag Archives: viola
some days are harder than others
This week we’re rehearsing a piece that has two of the most difficult technical passages that I’ve run across thus far in my playing career. Unsurprisingly, it’s a symphony (No. 6) by Carl Nielsen. The last time I gnashed my teeth and rent my garments this much was for Nielsen’s Symphony No. 5. That one might still take the cake for most difficult (the passagework is much longer) work I’ve ever had to perform (in orchestra, at least). Here are the two places that are tying my fingers in knots – enjoy!
The first two pages are from the last movement – the tempo is dotted-quarter = about 90 – 100 beats per minute.
The last two pages are form the first movement – the tempo is quarter = 120 beats per minute or so.
shreddin’
There are some clever people in this world. Do you remember the “Yo-Yo Shreds at the Inauguration” vid that popped up on YouTube?
Then there was the “Perlman Shreds Winter”:
Now, there is the “Berliner Philharmoniker Masterclass”:
I was in tears for the last one – it’s a great job of dubbing over what the violist does, here’s the original, before this nefarious violist “ms200shred” got his golden fingers all over it:
local violist makes good
David Lau - Photo: Facebook profile
David Lau, who was a member of the Portland Youth Philharmonic and a winner of the Young Artists Concert competition, has won an audition to the august ensemble, the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra. You may have heard of one of their earlier music directors: Felix Mendelssohn. David studied at the Interlochen Arts Academy, the Juilliard School, and the Musikhochschule Lubeck, Germany.
new musicians join symphony
We had a spate of auditions at the end of last season, and the results netted us three new musicians who are all now settled in Portland and playing with the orchestra. They are Principal timpanist Jonathan Greeney, oboist and English hornist Kyle Mustain, and violist Silu Fei. Here’s a little info about each:
Jonathan Greeney
Jonathan Greeney, principal timpani – Greeney earned a graduate degree in percussion performance at Cleveland State University following undergraduate study at Johns Hopkins University’s Peabody Institute in Baltimore. From 2006 to 2008, he was assistant principal timpanist for the Orquestra Sinfonica de Xalapa in Veracruz, Mexico. Greeney also has performed with the Cleveland Baroque Orchestra and the Youngstown and Toledo symphonies in Ohio.
Kyle Mustain
Kyle Mustain, oboe and English horn – Mustain, a Virginia native, earned his master’s degree in music at Yale University and bachelor’s at Philadelphia’s Curtis Institute of Music. Before winning the Oregon Symphony’s audition in spring 2010, he played English horn for two seasons with the Philharmonic Orchestra of Minas Gerais in Brazil and had been a member of the Indianapolis, Richmond and Houston symphonies. Since 2004, Mustain also has performed each summer with the Santa Fe Opera orchestra.
Silu Fei
Silu Fei, viola – Fei holds an artist diploma from Colburn School Conservatory of Music in Los Angeles and an undergraduate degree in viola performance from the Shanghai Conservatory of Music in China. He joins the Oregon Symphony following a decade of experience with both symphony and youth orchestras in Asia and the United States, including the San Francisco Symphony.