What I'm Doing at This Exact Moment

Hurtling down the Northway (going South, but it's not called the Southway..go figure) just North of Albany. Snow...mmm...trying not to give into my feeling of impending snow doom.

Peter and the Wolf was okay, but not stunning. I have some rehearsal on mp3, which tells me that I'm projecting like gangbusters. The Kitty had good articulation.

Concerts this Weekend

Oh yeah, gotta couple of concert you can attend this weekend if you'd like:

Peter and the Wolf in Glens Falls, NY

2/9/08 4pm in the GF High School Gym. I understand that there will be a instrument petting zoo starting at 3pm. Please, I tell you, please do NOT pet any other animals you might run across there. Especially if said animals look feral or are elementary school children. Both types bite, I assure you. Oh, and there'll be dancers. I'm not sure if their vaccinations are up to date.

On a related note, I took a cue from something a teacher said to me years ago about this piece. I hauled out a friend's cat and took a look at the way the little guy (actually, he's a lardo) walks around. It's so smooth. Let's see if I can get my cat the same smooth articulation.

Okay, next concert:

Bach Chromatic Fantasy (arr Stanley Hasty) in Chestnut Hill, MA

2/10/08 3pm at the Chestnut Hill School

There's no link there because there's no other advertisement available. You've got it. I'm going to play this particular little ditty after a few of my students and a number of other violin and piano students play. This is a concert representing 3 studios of area musicians, my own included. I'm particularly proud of my students and the job they're doing. Ta da.

My Trip to the Museum

An out of towner told me that the Museum of Fine Arts in here in Boston was free on MLK Jr. day. So, we went to the Museum...I, of course, only took a few pictures. Enjoy.




So, this pics are of a 5-keyed clarinet. Any ideas on what the band is above the register key and below the barrel? Some kind of extension?

This is easily the most awesome clarinet ever. It's a bass clarinet. All the funky tone hole locations are explained by the fact that one plays them with the under-knuckles of the fingers. Neat, eh? Of course, I'm sure that would lead to me having horrible tendonitis.
A pretty neat basset horn. It's not as neat as the previous bass clarinet, but the tin bell certainly makes it a close second. I want some of these for concerts.

My lovely companion tried to buy a copy of the book they had in the instrument room, a tome dedicated to just the the keyboard instruments at the MFA. When we made it to the book shop, they claimed that the book didn't exist. Geniuses....Well, instead she found it at an outside vendor online. Score one for the non-lazy.