Oh, London is not a city that deals well with snow. This was my back garden on Monday, and I've been battling transit to get to work since… no trains, trains too full of people, signal failures, etc etc etc. I could say something here about being Canadian, having grown up in the snow belt no less, and knowing how to deal with these things but that's not very helpful really.
A few 11-hour days at work and the above travel chaos has left me exhausted and without the will to get out the cello much. Orchestra has been thrilling and I have to say, punching above your weight in the technical ability stakes is not such a bad thing. Last rehearsal we were without our young professional section leader, leaving three of us to hold the fort, as it were. I was sight reading the first movement of the Mendelssohn first symphony and I held it together. I mean, every A-flat was not quite there, but what I'm noticing is it's much more important to be in the right place and with the right rhythm in the early stages, then it is to be fussing over the intonation. We're all trying to make it hang together… and coming in confidently and on time made the rest of my section do it too, and at least one of us was bound to get the note right.
Which reminds me of what one of the conductors at the adult beginner orchestra used to say were the four critical bits of orchestral playing, in order of importance:
1. Playing at the right time
2. Playing at the right volume
3. Playing the right rhythm
4. Playing the right note
Words to live by, I think.
