Welcome to my blog! Over the next eight weeks I will be documenting my time at the Aspen Music Festival in Aspen, Colorado. I’ve been selected to participate in the orchestra of the American Academy of Conducting at Aspen (AACA), a program that trains aspiring professional conductors in a very rigorous setting. The orchestra is of very high quality; the students are all fellowship recipients, having been granted free tuition and a living stipend based on an audition screening process. The orchestra rehearses and gives professional quality performances of some of the world’s most famous repertoire on a weekly cycle.
The schedule for AACA – putting together high quality concerts on a weekly basis - is very comparable to that of a professional orchestra, which is one of the reasons I am excited to be a part of this program. I am obviously looking forward to working with great conductors and playing great music, but I am also greatly looking forward to getting an idea of what a career in orchestral playing would be like. As a student, I perform in only two to three concerts per quarter, or about one per month, with only three short rehearsals per week. In high school I had a few experiences with putting together a program in a weekend orchestra workshop, but that process did not have to be repeated week after week, and the level of playing was certainly not that of a professional orchestra. In other words, no program I have been involved with to date has given me a sufficient preview of a career in orchestra playing.
I have been involved in music for my entire life, and continuing it in college seemed natural. However, I have never been completely certain about whether I want to pursue it as a professional career. I love music, but would I love it enough to make it a full time job? My fear is that I will stop enjoying it if it becomes too much like “work.” My hope is that at the end of this eight-week session, I will have a better understanding of what music as a “job” is like, and whether or not I can picture myself in this type of setting on a full-time basis.
This blog will include reflections upon not only practice, rehearsals, and performances, but also on my personal accomplishments and struggles as I wrap my mind and body around some of the mental and physical aspects of full-time orchestra playing.
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