Category Archives: Performing

Performing

No creative juice left for blogging!

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I always think summer is going to be more relaxing and less busy…so I end up taking on too many projects! And by too many, I mean, just enough that I am insanely busy at times and just busy enough at other times. I have been firing on all cylinders for weeks now, with play rehearsals, practicing for my upcoming concert with my friend Jen, preparing for and entertaining overnight guests, and having a 4th of July party…on the 11th because that’s the when the fireworks in the neighborhood were.

Sometimes I have a million blog posts I want to write. Not lately. Which is crazy because I’ve been doing a lot of stuff and having loads of fun, but also I’ve been stressed out and overwhelmed, and wonder why other people seem to have time to have lives and see friends and clean their houses when I can barely stay on top of all my projects and students, practicing and bills, and phone calls and so many people impatiently wondering if I can fit their child into my fall schedule!

I sound a little overwhelmed*, but I’m also just REALLY looking forward to vacation. And it’s not been all work. *arguably I could spend my time much more wisely than I do, so perhaps I’m overusing the word overwhelmed.

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Fun times at the zoo with my parents. We enjoyed the polar bear the most!

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From our preview performance of The Runaway Cupcake. Two performances down, four to go! It’s been a great experience putting music to the show and working with a wonderful cast of hard-working actors and actresses.

It’s been a lot of work though, between rehearsals, practicing, and working on memorizing all my cues and figuring out what to play when! I’ve been having a lot of fun playing a real role in a play (Basically I play various themes that we came up with that either are in the background, as transitions, or to introduce or re-introduce characters. My role is “The Fiddler” and I keep the action going!)

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This morning Louie and I were able to get out into the woods for a hike. We went to Greensfelder County Park and hiked a trail that we think was the DeClue trail (based on my book, 60 Hikes within 60 Miles of St Louis.) It was great to get our hiking boots a little more broken in…and muddy. The hike wasn’t super scenic, but there were lots of bugs and mud. Wait, the good thing…hmmm…it was lovely and green and we got to practice going up and down hills. Also, the park is located right next to Six Flags so as you are hiking you can hear the screams of people on the roller coasters, and the machinery! If I didn’t know better I’d be concerned it was the Smoke Monster from Lost.

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I feel more confident in my hiking boots, which was important to me, so that in two weeks when we are on vacation and doing hiking in REALLY scenic places (Boulder, Rocky Mountain National Park, Yellowstone, and Grand Tetons) I will be ready! And I’m ready to hopefully leave some of the humidity and bugs behind…

On tap this week and next:

Chartreuse is performing and visiting! My youngest sister Carrie is coming to town to visit and play a concert with her modern music trio. I’m very excited to host them, to see her play, and to get to hang out for about 20 hours (the approximate time that my family members like to visit, evidently! 🙂 )

And then the last event before I hit the road—playing Messiaen, Ravel, and Franck with my friend Jen on piano. In the future I need to remember that summer should be more relaxing!

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More of THIS and less work!

But then again, if I weren’t busy working, I’d be pretty bored, I think. Balance is overrated—who needs work AND life when you have great colleagues and an awesome understanding boyfriend, even when it means he has to go to social events alone sometimes…

July is going by really fast but I’m having a great time (did I say that too many times? I do mean it, I swear!). Even if the next 13 days are a ton of work, it’ll be all worth it when we head out on our road trip and don’t look back for over two weeks. Keeping my eyes on the prize while trying to live in the moment IS a challenge though 😉 (Did I use enough clichés? I also said today that life is in the journey, not the destination, so there’s another one.)

And I get to see my niece Athena soon, so be prepared for some cute baby pictures then! Until then, here is Chloe about to drink a can of sparkling water.

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Performing, Travel

Is it Monday already?

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The weekend was stressful and busy but fun. Saturday was needlessly stressful due to some weddings and things, but the evening was super fun, and Sunday’s quartet concert was fun too. Friday night we went to the symphony with my friend Jen and her husband Chuck and went to Small Batch afterwards for drinks and a snack.

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We had awkwardly close seats as usual. I wasn’t super impressed by the Rachmoninoff (Piano Concerto no. 3) balance wise, but I blamed where I was sitting, but our friends had better seats and they said the pianist was hard to hear as well. I find so many times I’ve been to symphony concerts (not just in St Louis) and don’t hear enough of the soloist. I don’t recall that from ushering back in the day in Cleveland, but it’s possible my standards are higher these days, who knows!

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Saturday night at the Tavern of Fine Arts with my Irish group. We had a good time. Olivia, the flute player, is moving away in a few months so we won’t be able to reprise, but it was a lot of fun and I’m glad we were able to play the show again.

Sunday afternoon the quartet (Perseid Quartet) played in Edwardsville at the First Presyterian Church. It was a small crowd, but a good one, and I was tired but had a wonderful time performing. Two of my students attended, and I have to say: I LOVE when students come to my performances. It really makes me feel honored and appreciated, and I also hope that I inspire them!

I didn’t take any photos but I stole this one from our quartet facebook page. Most of my “in performance” photos are from my good friend April who is never shy about taking photos during a performance.

This time of year is just busy, isn’t it? I do feel like this was a particularly stressful weekend to “cross off” and the next two are not as bad. We’ve finished all of our scheduled quartet performances so now we are back to brainstorming and planning (if you would like to offer us a spot on your concert series or a place to perform we would definitely consider it!) and that’s always fun. Planning means new possibilities, and that’s one of my favorite things. And honestly I think until fall, things truly have settled down a bit. (Famous last words, I’m sure, and I shouldn’t forget about July’s piano-violin recital, but there’s nothing to MEMORIZE on there at least.)

Speaking of planning. Italy. I’m just so excited, though it doesn’t seem real! I’ve got the Rick Steves book on Rome, since he was my lifesaver in Paris, but I have barely looked at it yet. (Plus most of the planning isn’t really up to me, and that’s fun too, but we do have some decisions to make). I have 3 more concerts left, a gig, and a student recital in addition to my regularly scheduled activities (teaching mostly). It’s been a wild ride this spring, but as I was driving to a 9 am rehearsal in Edwardsville I was thinking, yes, I’m a little tired, but I’m managing, I’m having enough time to exercise, eat well, and occasionally see friends, and more importantly, I’m having a blast performing! It took me a long time to get to this point in St Louis, and I’m pretty happy about it. And what’s funny is that I’d LOVE to play even more, and I still try to figure out how to squeeze more into my life, even as I come here to the blog and complain about my lack of balance and how busy I am. I might be crazy?

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We decided to go out for Vietnamese food last night. We tried a new-to-us place called Linh Mi Gia and were NOT disappointed. The food you see pictured was delicious (I have such a weakness for the broken rice/pork type dishes). This is one of my new favorite restaurants for Vietnamese, and I definitely will go back and try a few other things.

Performing

Good Review

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I don’t normally get reviewed, so this was super exciting for me!

“Concertmaster Hannah Frey played exquisitely in Beppe’s lyrical offstage violin solo.” 

From: Miller, Sarah Bryan. “Opera Review: ‘L’amico Fritz’ Is an Enjoyable Production of an Operatic Rarity.” St Louis Post-Dispatch 27 Jan. 2015.

This might be in fact my first mention in a review! Anyway, I’m thrilled and my friends seem to think I’m famous now. I don’t sign autographs though.

Other than the opera I had a wonderful weekend. Louie and I went up on Saturday to visit friends who live in Spanish Lake. We did some hiking around Fort Bellefontaine. It was a really nice day for it.

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The view from their house.

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Part of the men’s bathhouses?

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The Fort? We got a little confused in places as to what was actually going on, and the “ranger” guarding the entrance was less than helpful. It was however a beautiful day to wander around outside and nice to have a day off to relax with friends.

In the evening Louie and I went to the Sheldon to see Angel Romero play a guitar recital. It was great! I didn’t really care for the soprano he played with, but his guitar playing was fantastic. It was also a treat to see a friend and colleague on piano, Peter Henderson, who is just fantastic all around. I really mean that too. It’s hard sometimes when I run into people from my previous life with my ex-husband—some ignore me, some are awkward, and others are just the same. I get that people feel awkward and don’t know how to act. Other people can’t imagine that I could even survive on my own as a musician, so there’s that awkwardness…I mean, what, freelancer? You don’t have a full-time job? How does THAT work? Okay, maybe I’m overreacting…perhaps my reaction there is the same when people ask me why I don’t have kids of my own. Perhaps it all comes from a position of curiosity and caring and not rudeness and failing to see how other people could be different.

SPEAKING OF KIDS. So I have this wonderful niece in Arizona that I have only seen once. She’s growing and I thought I’d share a picture of her since she is simply the cutest.

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I am going to see her for a week in March. I’d hoped to try to get out earlier but my schedule and affordable plane flights just didn’t add up.

Better go dry my hair now! I went for a run immediately pre-lunch, ate lunch, and then showered, and now I had better get in gear to get ready for teaching. Being self-employed SURE is hard!

Deep Thoughts, Performing

Deep Thoughts on Self Promotion

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Not really deep but…

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As a self-employed musician who wears many hats, self promotion is a big part of my job.

But it’s not always just about ME. I have to promote my different groups. I am not alone…if I don’t promote shows and concerts I’m letting down other people too. It can feel like a lot of “me me me”. But I also believe in what I’m doing and think that people will enjoy seeing my groups play!

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(especially when we play with a white piano! from Thursday’s Perseid Quartet concert…)

Now I am self-promoting a CD my friend and colleague Jen and selling to raise money for the St Luke’s Life and Hope Fund. Granted, it’s a bit of ME ME ME because we are selling a CD of us playing the concert in October, but it’s for a good cause!  At this time we are accepting preorders and hope to have the CD’s to you by mid-December. Is anybody interested in more information? Bach, Brahms, Prokoviev, Vierne, a live recording, it’s like being there! ($15/$5 shipping/handling if you can’t get it from me in person.)

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But the self-promotion never ends, does it? I have band concerts coming up… http://www.theprophecyshow.com/tour-schedule-the-prophecy-show.html, a choose-your-own-adventure style concert appropriate for children of ALL ages (meaning adults too) with the Illumine Ensemble… and then in the spring there will be more and more. I guess this is why bigger groups have marketing departments!

Anyway I apologize if you feel overwhelmed. On the one hand, I want people to know so they can attend if they want! On the other hand, I want to be more than just a marketing department!

Then again, this is a blog about my life, isn’t it?

Unrelated to my upcoming performances: We went to dinner and a concert Friday night. It was an unexpectedly free evening (rehearsal got canceled) so I was thrilled to see Alex Klein perform with the Arianna String Quartet out at the Touhill Performing Arts Center. Louie gets free tickets on occasion so the price was just right.

I’m finally recovering from my cold, so I’ve been running again. Running is hard, isn’t it? I am publishing this post and then heading out again. Good to get a run in before spending all day rehearsing.

Is it December 27 yet? That’s when my vacation really begins 🙂

Performing, Running

Where DO the weeks go?

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I am quite certain yesterday was Tuesday, right? It can’t be Tuesday AGAIN??

As a violin teacher, I’m very aware of the days of the week, as each Tuesday has a similar schedule, as does each other day, other than weekends. I see the same folks every Tuesday, and honestly, this fall is just flying by! It might be that I’m busy practicing and teaching and trying to squeeze in all that fun stuff that makes life more special, but honestly the days are just whizzing by and I’m worried before long I’m going to be old and need to retire, and frankly, just won’t be ready for it 🙂

I went to Trader Joe’s for grocery shopping this morning. I’m mentioning this because the checkout person and bagger commented that I hadn’t bought anything pumpkin flavored, when the store was full of stuff. WHAT KIND OF BLOGGER AM I? I pointed out that really it was a kind of sham, that pumpkin doesn’t have much flavor at all. And I didn’t admit that I considered getting a pack of pumpkin sweet rolls that you pop out of the tube and bake, but decided I could wait on those, or maybe bake my own over Thanksgiving break or something.

This Sunday is the MO Cowbell Half Marathon. I’m looking forward to it, and I’ve already planned out my post race meal location, I think. I’m anticipating being very slow but finishing well. I’ve been training well enough to maintain a 4:30 run/1:30 walk for the whole thing (I hope!) which means it should take me about 14 hours to finish (slight exaggeration) but I should be able to finish well and walk properly the next day too. That’s the plan. I’m not concerned about time, but I’m hoping to feel good (well as good as one does during a long race) and like I said, finish strong. I’ve run the race before, (twice actually) in a different life, and had a great time.

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I’m working really hard practicing Bach’s Sonata no. 1 in G minor for Solo Violin for my concert with my friend Jen on October 12.

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(from our concert flyer!)

I haven’t performed such a substantial piece from memory since I was in school and I’m both kicking myself and patting myself on the back for undertaking the task. Memorizing is hard work, folks! I am better appreciating how my students feel and how terrifying it is. You take a piece that you know well and can play really well with the music and then there is this new dimension of well, failing at it. I find that it works best to push through. You have to try to play the piece from memory and MAKE mistakes, and find your way through. If you give up and continually check the music you will never gain that confidence and make the connections in your brain on how to make it through without the music. I’m finally at the point (well, I was yesterday) where I really do know it from memory, and I know the chords are there in my fingers and my brain, and I just have to be careful to not rush myself. I’m having a blast, honestly. I’m terrified and horribly stressed out, but I generally know how to manage those feelings and I’m also really proud of myself for pushing past my fears and doing this. In my mind I’m planning to perform all 6 of the Bach Solo Sonatas and Partitas over the next few years (probably 6 or more years) and I think it’ll be a wonderful project and challenge for me. One at a time, to be clear. Not all at once. I am hoping also that I am offering my audience a nice performance as well as a personal challenge. I like to think I have something to say on the violin and I hope that people will enjoy it!

I tried to get out and enjoy a few recreational activities over the weekend. I went on a hike with Louie and his brother. I recently got the book “60 hikes within 60 miles: St Louis” with the idea that getting out of the city and into the woods would be a good idea. We did the Al Foster Trail and the Stinging Nettle Trail loop that is #1 in the book and it was a nice walk. The drawback was that there were lots of bugs still and lots of bikers that we had to yield to, but it was shaded, fairly easy, and did have some nice views of the Meramac River.

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We hurried from our hike to a concert at the Tavern of Fine Arts. Two of my wedding colleagues were performing a cello duet concert and I made a goal to attend more of my colleague’s concerts when I can, and this fit the bit. I was eager to hear them play something other than Pachelbel’s Canon, and I was not disappointed. They put on a great show and really made the cello duets seem like a ton of fun! They were also hilarious and had great onstage banter. Louie and I sat at a table with a couple who had recently moved to St Louis from Portland and we had some nice conversations with them as well.

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Our view. Sadly not our bottle of wine—that was the table in front of me.

Saturday I played a few weddings, as usual, and then we went to the Symphony Concert. The comp tickets we got put us in the fifth row which was fairly nervewracking for me, since I presumed that the entire orchestra was staring at me and judging me (my ex is a member of the string section) but luckily I had a decently obstructed view. It was a great concert. I didn’t know the first two pieces at all (Sibelius’s Swan of Tuonela and John Adams’s My Father Knew Charles Ives) so I enjoyed hearing them and should probably learn them more, and the second half was one of my favorite pieces, Prokofiev’s Symphony no. 5. Post concert we went with friends who are members of Blood and Sand and had a few cocktails there. Sunday was busy with running, rehearsing Schumann Piano Quintet, and finally relaxing after a nice dinner and catching up on some Mad Men.

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Please excuse the shoe. This is the best picture I found on my phone at this time. As you can see, my cat is doing well and is not too terribly stressed out.

Performing, Random thoughts

May already?

Last week was a whirlwind. I was so busy! I had my divorce hearing which was very difficult emotionally and took up time, and then the rest of the week was filled with totally random but fun work activities. I want to fill you in on everything, but it seems overwhelming, so I’ll just do a few pictures with descriptions!

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I was in a video last week with my friend Joe directing. I got to wear this awesome dress with my favorite red shoes. There was a professional make up artist and everything, so I felt like I looked amazing. One problem: it was REALLY cold outside, where the video was being shot!

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Lots of action! It took all day for what will be a 4 minute video. Such is show biz, I guess.

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The blanket helped tremendously. Obviously I had to remove it for actual filming. My partner (a singer, who was holding the violin case as a prop) at least had a jacket to wear. But the day was great fun and a nice change!

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I went on a bike ride on Friday and you can see a bird pooped on me. I was sad, but at least I was wearing the helmet, right?!

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One of my weddings was at Pere Marquette Lodge. I was totally surprised to see a cake there, and naturally needed a picture. It is a long drive to get there (over an hour, and slow…) but a beautiful drive along the river. I want to go back soon but with my bike!

 

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And then band practice. That’s my purple violin on the floor there, and my binder full of music that I’m finally feeling good playing and now need to memorize. If you don’t remember, I’m in a band that plays Trans-Siberian Orchestra music. We have a tour in Nov/Dec (mostly local-ish places) but we also have a weekend of shows this July in Chicago so we are working hard to make everything sound fantastic. It’s been a lot of fun so far and I’m looking forward to becoming a rock star.

So there you have it. Between practicing, teaching, trying to exercise and cook, and all of that stuff…I’ve been feeling pretty tired and run down, but I see a light at the end of tunnel. March through May are often crazy busy months, but the summer is usually much freer.

Okay, friends, I’d better get ready for the rest of my day. I’m so behind on my to-do list due to all the above activities, so I want to try to do a few things on it today…or at least this week. And of course quality time with the fatness…

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