We have now completed 10.5 days (about 40 hours of rehearsal) of our time together, as the Gustavus Wind Orchestra prepares for a magnificent tour to East/Central Europe. Of course, there remains a great deal of learning to acquire and to internalize, all of it based in intensive study.
To be sure, the schedule is rigorous. It must be, if we are to be properly and thoroughly prepared for the tour. The GWO musicians will tell you that I have often referred to this preparation time as “boot camp.” Every musician must be “in shape” mentally, physically, emotionally, and most of all–musically! Touring is wonderfully exciting, fulfilling, and life-changing. The best news is that the life-changing nature of the tour lasts a lifetime.
I feel very honored to be in preparation for my seventh International Tour with GWO. There is something about preparing for a tour that always takes my breath away. The overwhelming “sense of possibility” that fills each rehearsal, each conversation, each question, each glance between the musicians and between the musicians and the conductor, the smiles, the occasional “glassy” eyes, or even full-blown tears–these are the moments that bring the entire enterprise to life.
To the parents who may be reading this –
Please know that I consider it a high privilege to stand before your son or daughter each day, engaged in serious and thoughtful study and performance. To use slang, I like to say that we are about the business of doing stuff that matters, that makes a true and lasting difference in their lives–and mine.
Woodwind Sectional begins in fifteen minutes, when we will work to clarify the many dramatically challenging issues of articulation in Leonard Bernstein’s Symphonic Dances from West Side Story. What an incredible piece! (Thank you, Mr. Bernstein, for giving that piece to us!)
Please stay tuned,
Douglas Nimmo