I want to thank everyone who offered a word of encouragement and prayer for me after my last post. I'm very grateful for you all.
It seems like such a long time since last week, as I have played three major concerts, one worship concert, CHOPs, four chapels, one session of "jazz on the beach," and in one recital concert since last Saturday. But more than that, I'm feeling very different than I did last week when I wrote. God showed some amazing faithfulness and gave me an extra measure of grace this week--so much, in fact, that I hardly know where to begin.
Last Saturday, we had our first concert. Although I spent a good amount of time practicing for it, I wasn't really sure of myself. I thought I would be scared, nervous, and shaking the entire time. But I wasn't. I felt relaxed and determined to nail every last rhythm, note and fill. Before one tune I remember sitting at my kit and literally staring at my hands, wondering why they weren't shaking. The concert went by in a blur, but somehow during that hour and a half I found myself actually having fun and enjoying the music.
Since then I have felt much better in rehearsals. I feel more comfortable around the other music staff people as I have come to know them better, and found some really amazing people in this group. I have also received some very meaningful encouragement from Dr. John, the director, as well as several other music staff people regarding my playing. I'm beginning to relax and realize that I actually know what I'm doing and can be an asset to this staff of musicians.
Last Thursday night, we had our weekly recital concert where music staff members play solos, duets, small ensemble pieces (we had a string quintet and a brass quintet play). And of course, every recital concert ends with an offering from the jazz combo. I was sitting back during the recital listening to this incredible music being played by some of the most talented musicians I have been around and thinking, "Wow. I'm getting paid for this." Then it was my turn to play with the jazz combo, and we did a fun rendition of a Thelonious Monk tune called “Well, You Needn’t.” I actually felt like I belonged on the stage. It was a good time.
On Friday, we had our first impromptu "jazz on the beach" session. This is where the jazz combo sets up on a beautiful stone patio that overlooks the beach and call out tunes to play for an hour. Of course, I don't know as many tunes some of these players, I have found that God again has been preparing me for I need to do. I have my trusty Real Book, and through the hours and hours of playing piano, guitar, bass, and my good ol' sightsinging/eartraining classes, I have found myself being able to look over tunes quickly and hear a rough version in my head before I play. I'm really excited for this part of my week, as I will be learning a huge repertoire of jazz tunes.
This week at "jazz on the beach" we had the pleasure of having Walt, an elderly guest join us on keys. He had been asking when we were gonna play all week, although he was worried that he wouldn't know any of the tunes that we play, because he was "two generations behind us." But we let him call the tunes and he had a blast. Every time it was his turn to solo, he would usually just comp and sing the melody as loud as he could. He knew every word. At the end, he was so thankful to us for playing with him. It was obvious that this is a big reason why he comes to camp.
Now I am sitting here having completed my first Friday/Saturday consecutive concert weekend, and I feel really good about the way I played. At this weekend's concerts, I played on every song but one (that's eight of nine pieces, including one suite of excerpts from seven selections from the musical "Camelot"). I'm exhausted, but really excited about playing here for the rest of the summer. Tonight my fellow percussionist, our bassist, and I did a really cool version of "Black Orpheus" for vibraphone trio. Tyler, the vibes player, is AMAZING. I'm really hoping to get some free informal lessons from his this summer. I think I've learned more in the past week about playing jazz than I have in my entire life before this. I remember earlier this year longing to play with some really amazing jazz musicians that I could interact with and could teach me to interact with more sensitivity and musicality. God has not only met that need, but surpassed what I ever hoped for.
Right now I'm incredibly thankful to the Lord for the way he has allowed me to get comfortable with myself here and given me the grace I need to relax and stop thinking about myself. Right now I am just praying that he will continue to sustain me and help me to continue improving for the rest of the summer.
Friday, June 27, 2008
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
Some phone pics for y'all
sunset from the camp beach
view of tibbitts auditorium from my kit (my home for the summer)
and my other home
a stop on the way up
view from the camp beach
ahh... Lake Pleasant: home of Camp-of-the-Woods
the nearby Sacandaga River
more Sacandaga River
view of tibbitts auditorium from my kit (my home for the summer)
and my other home
a stop on the way up
view from the camp beach
ahh... Lake Pleasant: home of Camp-of-the-Woods
the nearby Sacandaga River
more Sacandaga River
Sunday, June 22, 2008
first week in NY... well, speculator, NY
NOTE: I actually wrote this entry before our first concert on June 21, but didn't post it until the 22nd.
Well, my first week in New York is coming to a close and I was thinking that I should jot down a few notes about how things are going. A lot has happened this past week so forgive me if this gets long. This first week of the summer season for the camp is called "challenge week." It's a good name for it, I'm not gonna lie. There are no guests, only intense training for every staff member. It's a big operation to get everything ready for a summer season at a camp where there are over 250 summer staff members and a capacity for over a thousand guests at any point in time. Being "music staff," our challenge week meant rehearsals. and more rehearsals. We rehearsed everyday this week from 8:30 am until about 4:30 or 5:00 in the afternoon, with about an hour break for lunch. I don't think I've ever done so much reading in my life. I hop around from drum set to xylophone to timpani to concert snare, reading pieces from Copland's "Hoedown" from Rodeo (for which I am playing xylophone, by the way) to a medley of Richard Rogers tunes (I play drum set on this one) to the big band standards Take the A Train and Corner Pocket (obviously drum set tunes). I spent like 2 hours of personal practice time (which I cram in during the evening) studying a video of Sonny Payne playing Corner Pocket with the Basie orchestra to try and really make the piece pop, but I'm just not happy with my playing yet. I'm going to be exhausted by the end of the summer, because as the only drum set player, I'm playing for not only the orchestral pieces, but every worship tune, big band tune, many choral features, instrumental worship features, small combo jazz pieces, and CHOPS, the pep band that plays once a week. I have some sort of event to play for every morning and evening of every day of the week except for Tuesday, which is my day off, and every other Saturday morning. Fun little fact: the music department here at Camp of the Woods plays an average of 90 different pieces every week. (granted, some of these are solos, quartets, etc. - but most of the pieces I play for.)
To be perfectly honest, I feel a little out of place here. I'm surrounded by people who are highly accomplished and highly educated, and I feel pretty intimidated a lot of the time. I feel especially out of my league when I play the small combo jazz stuff. The guy that leads the big band and small combo has a master's degree in jazz performance on sax and can comp on piano in complete darkness better than I can when I try. (Literally, we had a rehearsal in the dark one night this week.) The bass player also has a master's and went to the Manhattan School of Music, so I know he's played with some pretty heavy players. Needless to say, I've really been humbled this week. I would really appreciate your prayers, as this first week has been a real challenge. I know God will use this, and that he has put me here. (Seriously, all of the timpani, orchestral percussion, and mallet lessons I took in high school I thought I would never really use. Now I can't imagine how lost I'd be here without it!) Anyway, I've felt uncomfortable here pretty much all of the time so far, and my playing has been pretty tentative. I'm having a hard time being myself and playing the way that I play, out of the fear that people will hate my playing. I really need the Lord's help right now to just be myself and know that he has always had his hand on me and my training. I need to start having fun when I play and leave the rest up to the Lord. Thanks for taking the time to read this guys. I would love your prayers.
Well, my first week in New York is coming to a close and I was thinking that I should jot down a few notes about how things are going. A lot has happened this past week so forgive me if this gets long. This first week of the summer season for the camp is called "challenge week." It's a good name for it, I'm not gonna lie. There are no guests, only intense training for every staff member. It's a big operation to get everything ready for a summer season at a camp where there are over 250 summer staff members and a capacity for over a thousand guests at any point in time. Being "music staff," our challenge week meant rehearsals. and more rehearsals. We rehearsed everyday this week from 8:30 am until about 4:30 or 5:00 in the afternoon, with about an hour break for lunch. I don't think I've ever done so much reading in my life. I hop around from drum set to xylophone to timpani to concert snare, reading pieces from Copland's "Hoedown" from Rodeo (for which I am playing xylophone, by the way) to a medley of Richard Rogers tunes (I play drum set on this one) to the big band standards Take the A Train and Corner Pocket (obviously drum set tunes). I spent like 2 hours of personal practice time (which I cram in during the evening) studying a video of Sonny Payne playing Corner Pocket with the Basie orchestra to try and really make the piece pop, but I'm just not happy with my playing yet. I'm going to be exhausted by the end of the summer, because as the only drum set player, I'm playing for not only the orchestral pieces, but every worship tune, big band tune, many choral features, instrumental worship features, small combo jazz pieces, and CHOPS, the pep band that plays once a week. I have some sort of event to play for every morning and evening of every day of the week except for Tuesday, which is my day off, and every other Saturday morning. Fun little fact: the music department here at Camp of the Woods plays an average of 90 different pieces every week. (granted, some of these are solos, quartets, etc. - but most of the pieces I play for.)
To be perfectly honest, I feel a little out of place here. I'm surrounded by people who are highly accomplished and highly educated, and I feel pretty intimidated a lot of the time. I feel especially out of my league when I play the small combo jazz stuff. The guy that leads the big band and small combo has a master's degree in jazz performance on sax and can comp on piano in complete darkness better than I can when I try. (Literally, we had a rehearsal in the dark one night this week.) The bass player also has a master's and went to the Manhattan School of Music, so I know he's played with some pretty heavy players. Needless to say, I've really been humbled this week. I would really appreciate your prayers, as this first week has been a real challenge. I know God will use this, and that he has put me here. (Seriously, all of the timpani, orchestral percussion, and mallet lessons I took in high school I thought I would never really use. Now I can't imagine how lost I'd be here without it!) Anyway, I've felt uncomfortable here pretty much all of the time so far, and my playing has been pretty tentative. I'm having a hard time being myself and playing the way that I play, out of the fear that people will hate my playing. I really need the Lord's help right now to just be myself and know that he has always had his hand on me and my training. I need to start having fun when I play and leave the rest up to the Lord. Thanks for taking the time to read this guys. I would love your prayers.
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