WHEN AN ORCHESTRA PLAYS, MAGIC HAPPENS

Several years ago when I envisioned taking a sabbatical, I imagined that the months leading up to it might feel like an easier time, with a break from the orchestra schedule on the horizon. I also imagined that I might feel like coasting along and not practicing very much in the last few weeks before it began, in anticipation of the free time. Surely, I thought, a year in which I would have six months off would feel like an easy year.

Well, pretty much the opposite of that has happened. We went through a lot of repertoire through the winter and spring, and it didn't feel particularly easy! More than that, though, as the beginning of the sabbatical has come nearer and nearer, I have found myself savoring the moments in the orchestra, because such magical things happen there. Tonight's concert had Brahms' Third and Fourth Symphonies on the program, and since the contrabassoon only plays in two movements on each of them, I had the luxury of sitting pretty much right in the middle of the action and listening to the interplay of the melodic lines, the cross rhythms Brahms sets up, and the delicacy as well as the power of the orchestral writing, for essentially half the concert. Words cannot really describe the experience of sitting in my spot of the orchestra and listening to everyone around me playing full out. It's magic.

I suppose it has helped that I scheduled myself to play on a recital (along with my sister Barbara) at the International Double Reed Convention on June 15th. And that I will be playing for the live-recorded sound samples that we will analyze in the research project in Australia. Preparing for a recital (or an audition for that matter) is one of the best ways to not just be engaged, but to actually get enthusiastic about playing. The good side effect of exploring new playing territory for myself is that it makes me better appreciate all the great playing that happens on a regular basis all around me in the orchestra.