She Did It Again!

That Girl - I tell ya. We went to Austin for the All-State solo & ensemble competition Saturday and once again, she nailed her solo - Perilhou's Ballade - to rave reviews from the judge, Helen Blackburn, who is a pretty big name in flutes around here. After the performance, Helen clapped and said, "Brava! Excellent job! Do you take lessons?" The Girl said yes, and named her flute teacher, a friend of Helen's through their work with Texas Flute Society. Helen said, "Ohh! THAT explains it! Flute players from Fundietonfieldvilleview just don't get THAT good!" The feedback sheet was covered in lovely gushy praise as the icing on the cake. (That she has effectively written her own scholarship check to just about any music school she chooses is the candles on top.) Of course we're not proud of her at all...

This video is naturally not of The Girl's performance, because she never lets me into those performances with or without a camera, but it's the same music. The thing is our Girl performed it equally flawlessly and entirely from memory.


Next year, she's taking on Prokofiev's Sonata for Flute and Piano in D - a piece smuggled out of Soviet Russia during the 1940's that is so hard and so famous that it's known only as "The Prokofiev" in flute circles. It's also so hard that there's no memory requirement for the competitions. Her flute teacher, who has a doctorate in flute, is excited that The Girl is taking it on. She's had the music a week and already has the first page down. Here's a clip of the greatest living flute player Sir James Galway playing it:


Rock on, flutey girl, rock on...

A Monday Well Spent

The Girl and I traversed to our beautiful state capitol this weekend so she could compete in the Texas State Solo and Ensemble Competition today. Per the rules, she played the third movement, the Rondo (Allegro) from Stamitz' Flute Concerto in G (scroll down to Stamitz and click on 3. Rondo (Allegro) for a pretty crappy MIDI file that will at least give you the general idea of what she did). This is same solo she played at the Regional competition back in February but this time she nailed that tricky run that's bedeviled her since she started working on it last summer. The adjudicator wrote glowing happy gushy things on the feedback sheet and for her near flawless performance, The Girl earned herself a Division 1, which entails a gold medal and another entry on her already kick ass high school resume. Oh yeah, then there's the bonus: she just wrote her own ticket for a full-ride scholarship to any university in the state. Funny thing is that although she's excited and proud of her rating, she's even more pleased that she nailed that run.

To ice that cake, she received a phone call from a potential employer 5 minutes later asking that she come in for a job interview tomorrow. All's right with the world.

She Got It!

Okay so (Queso? I love queso!) for the next two years, if you ever come to our little town of Fundietonfieldvilleview, Texas or any of a number of other tiny Texas towns on a Friday night during football season, the girl on the podium - you know - the cute blonde one wearing the cape and directing the band? That will be my very own Girl. That's right. The Girl got drum major and when the announcement was made, she received a standing ovation from the band she'll be leading for the next 2 years. She's worked very hard to earn it, but while she was learning the music she was to conduct for tryouts, she was also helping the other kids who would be competing against her with their conducting skills. She's so amazing. I want to be like her when I grow up.

A Beatbox Flute - Who Knew?!

We had the joy of watching Greg Pattillo and PROJECT at the Texas Flute Society's annual festival today. What a talented group of musicians! They were just as much fun to watch as they were fun to listen to. We liked them so much that we bought their new CD online at CDBaby.com. I recommend it highly.

Speaking of the flute festival, The Girl performed her solo for a clinician in preparation for next week's All State Solo & Ensemble competition. The clinician was impressed with The Girl's style and playing ability - especially for her age. I tell ya' the kid's a rock star!

Way to Go Band!

Man, oh man, our band kids here in Fundietonfieldvilleview, Texas are an amazing bunch. They competed in the UIL concert & sightreading contest Wednesday and earned straight first divisions in both. That, coupled with their straight ones in marching back in the fall, earned our little ragtag bunch of band nerds the much-coveted Sweepstakes Band award for the first time since the 2002-2003 school year. As "the mom that goes to stuff," I had the privilege of witnessing both events. From my seat at the back of the auditorium during the concert event, I watched 2 of the 3 judges bobbing their heads and appearing to really be enjoying themselves. During the sightreading event (where the kids have to perform a piece of music they've never seen before after their band director talks about it for 4 minutes), they didn't sound like they were sightreading at all. It was flippin' awesome.

Soooo, the party will ensue at my house next Saturday. It's going to be a blast they've worked hard to earn. This coming week is Spring Break for The Girl. Hopefully, we'll have the pool ready to go by then.

The Girl Is a Rawk Stah!

The Girl racked up yet another musical accomplishment yesterday. She earned a first division on her flute solo, the 3rd movement from Stamitz's Flute Concerto in G, played from memory. If you get a minute look the piece up. It's fun to listen to & The Girl says it's way fun to play. Earning that first division means that she gets to advance and compete at the All-State solo & ensemble competition in May. This is amazing considering that it's like pulling teeth to get her to practice - ever. Woohoo! Go Girl!

Never Judge a Book By Its Cover

Here's cellphone salesman Paul Potts from Wales who's always wanted to sing opera getting his big chance on "Britain's Got Talent." The reactions of the judges are priceless. All I can say is wow. Enjoy

The Audition

The Girl auditioned for the All-District Band yesterday and made 3rd chair out of about 40 high school girls who tried out. The two girls ahead of her were both seniors and everyone below her until the girl in 9th chair (a freshman who is one of my former students, thankyouverymuch), everyone who made the band was either a junior or a senior. All things considered, The Girl made an excellent showing so she can't really complain. The clinic and concert will be next Saturday, then she can work on improving the music for the All-Region Band tryout December 1. The competition will be stiffer then because now that marching season is over, they actually have time to work on the honor band music. At any rate, she was 7th chair All-Region last year with only seniors and 2 juniors ahead of her - yep, you guessed it - the 2 girls who are ahead of her in All-District this year. Taking that into consideration, we expect her to go to Area this year. We'll see. If she doesn't pass Geometry she will be ineligible to compete, and all the work she's done since January will have been in vain. Send her some positive math energy to pull her through.

March-O-Rama

Yeah, that would be the dads' routine at the marching band gigs ;o)

So the kids did an outstanding job and came in 14th in the area. Since only the top 4 bands advance, this means our kids don't get to advance again. They also don't get to even try again for 2 more years, unlike our athletics teams, who have the opportunity to advance every year. In a way that's a good thing - it means that those pre-dark-thirty marching practices have officially ended until next fall. It also means the kids can concentrate on their honor band audition music. The first audition - at the all-district level - is next Saturday, hosted at our local high school. At least we don't have far to drive to get them there.

Are YOU Tough Enough?

The Girl bought a t-shirt at the marching competition Saturday that really sums up the high school marching band experience.

If you think it's hard to:

Carry 45 pound of dead weight on your shoulder and stand up straight

Practice in the heat and perform in the snow

Get along with 200 people you really love (No, really!)

Stand in close proximity to 20 guys hitting drums with everything they've got while bopping your head like you're into it

Blow until your lungs explode

Wear an 80-pound wool uniform in 110 degree heat

Watch your music and the director while exhaling, moving your fingers, coordinating that with your tongue, tapping your foot, while continuously listening to the other players around you so that you can make one of a thousand adjustments

Learn several foreign languages (some of which are completely made up)

Maintain good posture while holding a horn and running the 100 yard dash (some players occasionally faltering, thus making it the 100 yard hurdles)

Understand the subtle difference between "as loud as possible" and "just a little bit louder than that"

Ride the yellow dogs while the football team rides the greyhound

Ask your parents to buy a new horn when they really want to buy you a pig and sign you up for the local chapter of Future Farmers of America

Sell band candy in order to fund your trip to some strange and exotic (often not so strange and exotic) and perhaps not so far away, in fact, it may be better to just eat the candy and stay home

Wear those 1930's q-tip hats we call shakos and chill in public

March for 10 miles in a local band directly behind "The Mighty One Hundred" equestrian team

Play Michael Jackson's Greatest Hits on an oboe

Listen to a bad tuba section - Listen to a good tuba section

Pay more for your instrument than you did for your car

Wear those monkey suits while your parents make it a Kodak moment

Remember to show up to a performance with all the little things that you might need like white gloves, valve oil, YOUR HORN - you know, the little things
Then MAYBE you're not tough enough to be IN THE BAND!

Woohoo Band Nerdz!

So The Girl's band competed at the big march-off today and earned themselves a first division. This means that they get to advance to the All-Area marching competition next weekend. I'm so proud of them. Very tired, sunburned and windburned from sitting in a stadium with no shade, but very very proud. Our little band hasn't advanced to area in about 5 years and hasn't advanced to state in about 10, which was the last time they had new uniforms. Supposedly the school district has promised new uniforms if they make it to state. Send loads of positive energy their way so they can get some decent new gear. Gotta go shower off the sunscreen and sweat & head for bed, but I thought y'all might like to know.

And Now For Something Completely Different

I'm off to take mom to Central Market today but I wanted to leave you with this. I've had a weird version of "The Lumberjack Song" rolling around in my head.

It goes:
I'm an atheist and I'm okay
I get to sleep in on Sunday...

That's all I got - can you help me finish it?

...And Then the Bikers Showed Up...

Well, one thing's for sure. We know how to throw a party around here. After spit-shining the place for a week, everything was good to go.

The margarita machine was delivered around 1.

We really put the machine through its paces & went through nearly 25 gallons of margarita. Not only did they drink all of the tequila Suz bought, but they went through the 3 big bottles I'd bought in preparation for our 4th party! The cool part though is that since I've done business with the margarita machine guy for years (and dated him briefly in high school), the machine will be camped out in my sunroom until sometime after my 4th of July party at no additional charge. Besides, it saves him a trip. We won't be able to leave the house! --Well, we won't be able to leave the house once I procure more Cuervo & margarita mix... ;oD~~~

The wedding was to start at 5pm but folks started showing up around 3.


We ended up with around 100 people, who were all happy to be here. The mood was relaxed, fun and we made loads of new friends.

The band (the groom's brother & his crew) got there around 4.

The Man was so impressed with the hardcore blues, Southern rock & country that he hired them for our 4th bash. Even cooler - we got the family rate! I'm soooo jazzed!! These guys are great, and the more we drink, the better they sound.

The cake & kegs arrived around 4:30.

After many a keg stand, the folks floated the Bud Light keg but there's over half a keg of Coors Light left so we're keeping it iced until the 4th since that's the brand most of our crew drinks. Some 'tard at the liquor store put the cups UNDER the ice & we didn't find them until this morning. Of course they smelled of stale beer water but rather than waste them, I rinsed them all out & plan to use them in a few days. Soooo while they dry, I now have a countertop covered in white plastic DART cups...sigh.

The 5-minute wedding that was 25 years late happened around 5:50, 6-ish...then we all ate. My new brother's best friend made the brisket & sausage (which were flavorless and dry - making me jones for the to-die-for brisket The Man makes). I made my legendary baked beans and other folks brought macaroni salad, cole slaw, and other BBQ fixins. It was quite the spread and if anyone left hungry it was their own damn fault.

Then around 8, the bikers showed up.

To my astonishment, The Man invited them back for the 4th. That's so kewl. I love those guys - salt of the earth & all, but that's a post for another day.

My Latest Earworm

Everybody sing: "Elbows up - side to side...El-Elbows up - side to side - I lean like Cholo..."


And the remix:


*Shakin' my groove thang off into the sunset...*

From the Galway Masterclass in Dallas

These videos offer up a tiny tasty morsel of the Galway Masterclass The Girl and I attended Saturday. We're still basking in the glow of the awesomeness of it all.





Man, I dig YouTube.

Wowed.

My daughter and I had the opportunity to attend a masterclass in Dallas this morning with the preeminent flutist alive today, "the man with the golden flute" himself, Sir James Galway. Oh. My. Gawd. Becky. The man is truly phenomenal. I have enjoyed many of his recordings over the years and shared them with my students, but they don't do him justice. Even the Girl, who at 15 often bears the title "Miss Way Too Cool For The Room," was impressed.

Sure, the man is a true virtuoso in every sense of the word. His 50 plus years of dedication to the instrument shine through in his impeccable tone and technique, and he was all too willing to share his secrets with us. I got chills when he began Debussy's "Syrinx" and gracefully and seamlessly segued into "Danny Boy," before we knew what hit us.

It wasn't just his incredible flute playing that got to us though. It was Galway's charm, grace, sense of humor and ginormous heart that won over every person in that hall today. Consummately funny, we laughed at the stories and jokes he told throughout the class. The Girl confessed to me at intermission that she was expecting "some boring old flute guy," not a good time. She added that she only agreed to go along because we would be in Dallas, within a couple of miles of Herrera's, our favorite Mexican food restaurant and knew that if we were anywhere near, we would go there for lunch afterwards. At least we know where her priorities are.

The first student performing in the clinic was a high school sophomore from Houston. The boy's flute wasn't functioning quite properly, so what did Sir Galway do? He carefully inspected the instrument, mumbled something to the effect of, "Oh, that will never do," and without hesitation handed the kid his brand new (as in just acquired yesterday) solid gold handmade Nagahara flute to use instead. That unflinching gesture of kindness and generosity to a child earned him a spot in my heart.

We learned so much today about embouchure, technique and tone and how most of us (myself included) have received incorrect instruction on, as he so aptly phrased, "how to do it," from those who received incorrect instruction from those who received incorrect instruction & so on... It will take a little practice to do it his way but the reason we practice is to get better, right? I'm always game for a good distraction. The most important lesson we came away with though was to play from the heart or it's not music at all. Of course, that's similar to what I've been trying to tell my students all along ("Do it like you mean it!"), but it sounds so much cuter in his lilting Irish brogue talking about playing from the heart, not the head.

The Mexican food afterwards was out of this world, too. It was a guuuud day.

(Yes, I know the picture, taken at the Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center is really way past crappy but it was taken with that gawdforsaken Treo since I was too much of a spaz to remember to take a real camera.)

Golden Ticket, Baby

As it turns out, I did go to my daughter's competition today. Her band director, upon learning that I was not planning to attend, flipped out because apparenly in the last four years he's come to depend on me as a chaperone if I'm not judging at an event. He told her point-blank that he needed me there whether she liked it or not.

She played a Grade 1 solo: 3 movements from Bach's Suite #2 in B minor. For those unfamiliar with these types of events, Grade 1 is the most difficult level and if the student plays one of these from memory and gets the highest rating, Division I, then they advance to the all-state solo and ensemble competition held in San Marcos at the end of May. As of this morning when I dropped her off at the band hall she was not going to attempt to perform the piece from memory, per the advice of her private flute teacher, who is a professional flutist and holds a doctorate in music, so her word is usually golden around here. Somewhere between the kiddo boarding the bus and my arrival at the place where the competition was held, she changed her mind and spent most of the day working on the memorization component. Since I stay out of her way, I wasn't even aware of it until it was time for her to play and I showed up at the room where she was to perform to find her bug-eyed and blowing across the headjoint while fingering madly through the piece with no sheet music in sight. It was her gig so I didn't even think to try to talk her out of it. Kids have to learn by the consequences of their actions, right?

So I waited outside the room and listened through the door instead of going in like I've always done in the past. Toward the end of the last movement she froze but recovered and came in at an appropriate spot, keeping up with the accompanist. My heart sank. She's been working on that piece for nearly a year. She came out of the room dog-faced and said, "Guess what? (long pause...looking at floor...) I'M GOING TO STATE!!" Apparently the judge took a liking to her and told her that if she performed like that at the state competition she would probably receive a Division IV, but that she had plenty of time to finish polishing it between now and then and deserved another shot (maybe she's related to Paula &/or Randy?). She gave my daughter the Division I rating anyway and told her that she's looking forward to hearing her play again. The kid has the most amazing luck.

Oh, and now that it's all said and done, my sweet girl just told me that she's really happy I was there to share it with her after all.

What's a Mom to Do?

My daughter, a high school freshman, is a very talented flute player. I'm not saying that just because I'm her mom either. She has the awards to back it up, going all the way back to beginning band. She told me that she would prefer I not to attend her solo and ensemble competition tomorrow. As long as she's been in band I've attended her events, not only in support of her, but of my other flute students as well. While I am truly saddened that she doesn't want me to go (with the exception of her performances, she goes her way & I go mine at these things because I don't want to interfere with her socializing), at the same time I want to respect her wishes. From a developmental standpoint, the next few years are all about her preparing to leave here and make a life of her own on her own terms. That knowledge doesn't take the sting out, though. Sigh. I need to write a test this weekend, anyway.

Hit me! Good Gawd Y'all. AAAAAAAAAAHHHH!!!

James Brown during a concert in Shanghai, China, this year. (image from Boston.com: Eugene Hoshiko/ Associated Press)

Damn. James Brown - the Godfather of Soul - died yesterday. Granted, in a way I'm surprised he made it to age 73. At the same time I figured he was just too damned ornery to die despite all the party hardy abuse he put himself through over the years and would outlive us all. Get down James, go 'head, get down.

On the home front all's well. The house has been stripped of all the Yuletide Pagan symbolism that people have come to accept as Christian symbolism - the lighted tree with the 5-pointed star on top, the mistletoe, candles, the magic flying toy-delivering elf et cetera. Interestingly, most folks don't realize that merry-making was not part of what the early Christians did at Christmastime at all. Au contraire! Their idea of celebrating their myth wasn't celebratory at all. Instead the pious would fast and pray (prostate on the ground no less) for a couple of weeks in the dead of winter. Oh what fun it is to ride. Sooo, in order to convert the Pagans to Christianity, the early church had to allow them to keep their Yule festivities, which Christians today interpret as their own. Ignorance is not necessarily bliss. Enjoy your tree.