update!

So Shenandoah Performs is well underway. Today is the third day of the festival, and it's a freakin' blast! I've met some really cool people from all over the country (well, all over the world, really). One guy that I really like is the first violinist in my quartet. His name is Arturo, and he is from Mexico City. He'll be a junior next year at Columbus State in Georgia (he's presently at Central Michigan University, but he just got offered a hella good scholarship from CS so he's going there in the fall).

My quartet is really cool. It's Arturo and me on violin, Andres (from the same city as Cynthia, my friend from school) on viola, and Taylor on cello. I've been working pretty hardcore on my Spanish because I'm the only one in the quartet who isn't of Hispanic descent. They're all really nice, cool guys, and we play really well together. We have fun in quartet. We're playing Shostakovich's 8th string quartet. It's 5 movements dedicated to people who died in Germany during Hitler's reign in World War II. It's a beautiful, somber piece of music. Our coach is Mr. Fredericksen, who also happens to be the concertmaster of the orchestra. He's a fantastic coach, and is only doing two quartets at the festival, ours and the guest artists, the Young Danish String Quartet. Needless to say, our group got really lucky to have him coaching us.

The wire grip on my bow sort of ate it last night while I was practicing. Fortunately it's not an ESSENTIAL piece of the bow, but now I've got a bare spot that I really need to get regripped. It almost makes me think that I should've bought a new bow. But oh well, this'll make sure I get a new bow this summer. The crappy thing is, though, that I can't send it off to get regripped until after the festival, when I'm playing viola for the pit. Fortuantely I'm playing viola because otherwise I'd have to wait until August to get it regripped (because I refuse to use my crappy fiberglass bow if my nice bow is in any sort of working condition). So I think I'm just going to get ghetto and put a little piece of black electrical tape over the wire hanging off so it doesn't unwravel anymore.

Today Stef is picking up an Equity actor from Union Station in DC. I unfortunately couldn't accompany her because I'm in rehearsals practically all day (save for when I'm on lunch break between 12 and 1). Hopefully she found someone to go with her because it's a sucky drive to have to do on your own, and kind of confusing coming out of Union Station. Then after she gets back she has to get ready for the opening gala for Pirates... tonight, then go to the show. So, pretty much I won't be seeing her until late tonight, if I don't pass out at like 10pm. I'm so exhausted I can't wait for Saturday to sleep in past 7:30am. I've been hardcore drinking coffee lately just to keep my wits about me.

Well, I ought to get back to the ol' salt mines (i.e. back to more practicing and rehearsals starting at 1).