UVYSO and a Dose of Perspective Pt. 2 Play-A-Thon

Continued from my previous post about my experience with UVYSO. (Utah Valley Youth Symphony Orchestra)

Yesterday was one of those days where my lips were trying to sign a petition to disown me. I put them to work and they're still having a hard time forgiving me. Adding up my playing time here's how much I played: Symphonic Band 1 Hour + After school Symphonic Band Rehearsal 1 Hour + 4pm-10pm UVYSO Play-A-Thon 6 Hours = 8 Hours of horn, Horn, and HOOOOOOORN BABY!

I just want to talk about the Play-A-Thon. We played in the Summerhays Music Center on State Street, so we pretty much owned the store. It started out we played our Mozart piece Cosi Fan Tutte, Overture which is from one of Mozart's 20 Operas. Then we worked on Namensfeier Overture by Beethoven which is even cooler because it starts with a French Horn Duet (it's really a quartet, but we only have 2 Horns so it's a duet for us, heh).

We also worked on Howard Hanson Symphony No. 2 Movements 2 & 3. These 2 are my favorite. A cool story about these pieces really quick. When the movie "Alien" was released, it was so gory and violent that creators were afraid that people who saw it might go crazy, or go into the streets and start riots and cause chaos. So for the end credits of the movie they used Howard Hanson's Symphony No. 2 to calm the viewers. Pretty awesome, huh? Anyway, I love these pieces because they're such a challenge for me and I really get to play because of the many Horn solos and moments. They were made for Horn if you ask me.

I don't want to get into the nit and pick of the rehearsing itself, but to summarize I want to say that contrary to what you think would happen after playing your Horn for 8 hours in a day; I actually developed a stronger love for my Horn than ever. I'm sure it's like some unhealthy narcotic, you need it but you just can't stop! I definitely iced my lips afterward and begged forgiveness from them. Overall it was a very emotional experience hearing this music come together and being an influential part of it.

Now for the "Dose of Perspective" and one of my favorite parts of the whole event. After the Play-A-Thon ended I started talking with Dr. Hill like I usually do after a UVYSO rehearsal. Some tidbits on him now.

Dr. Hill was actually the Orchestra teacher at Timpview when Timpview was founded. He did a lot of really good things to make the program so good. He even left the school with 8 Holton 179 French Horns (a similar model to mine, one of the best) along with one of the best Bassoons in the world, tons of Timpani's and many other high quality instruments. Mr. Allred took over his spot.

Here's the good part:
Anyway, he's full of amazing stories, in rehearsals he often goes off on some tangent about a Horn player he once knew, a professional orchestral group he once conducted, or a trip to some amazing place. He's got a story for every occasion. Really, he does. Well, I've gotten to know him really well and he's gotten to know me really well. I love this man. He's changed me so much from just a few conversations with him! Sometimes I talk to him about the Horn stuff in the music and I talk about it in a humble way. Well, he tells me I'm making it happen, that I'm rising up and that I'm a good Horn player. Now most of you reading this will probably think that I either already know this, or that it's a given of some sort. Well, I'm here to tell you that all people need validation. Some reason to justify why we pour so much time into something like music. We spend so much time practicing, criticizing, correcting, analyzing, and overall we never really acknowledge the progress we've made. No one has ever really said, "You don't suck bro." and so continuing is often really hard. French Horn is one of the hardest instruments and without a sense of validation it is really an emotional ride of ups and downs. He encourages me, tells me I'm doing well, his overall sprinkling of praise really makes me feel good about myself. As if all this work and time is worth it.

I feel so comfortable with him that I even told him about how I'm adopted, the whole shabang. I really opened up to him. He said one thing that really stuck out to me. The gist of it was, "You're here for a reason. Because of how you got here shows that you have something here for you to do. You have a purpose to fulfill." Think about that in an eternal perspective. I really do have a lot of things that are fairly unique about me, I mean come on, I'm a weird kid. What he said was so impactful to me. I really do have a reason to be on this earth. How I was born wasn't typical, my life isn't typical, and I'm not your Average Joe. I'm not boasting at all, on the contrary, it's very humbling that Heavenly Father has given me these opportunities. The gift of life, the amazing place I live in with amazing parents who love me, a ward that's out of this world cool, a school where I can get a very high-quality education, where I can learn about music, and most importantly develop long-lasting relationships with so many friends. I love you guys so much! I'm not the best at showing it, but I really do love you all.

We talked a lot about things. It's impossible to really give justice everything we talked about, but he left me with a feeling of confidence, hope, strength, capability, competence, desire to do better, and overall joy. I see him as a bit of a mentor for me. I'm thankful to know him.

I'll be impressed if anyone actually takes the time to read all of this, but if you did then THANK YOU. It means a lot to take time to read my gibberish :)

 The Amazing Mozart We're Playing

 The Even More Amazing Beethoven

 Howard Hanson Symphony No. 2 Movement 1 is posted on Part 1 and highly recommended.
Movement 2 Gorgeous, Sonorous Beauty


Movement 3, if you listen to any of these, this is the one.

UVYSO and a Dose of Perspective Pt. 1 Intro

It's been awhile since I posted, so now it's time to repent. Instead of focusing on more abstract things, I'm going to talk more about my life.

Since last year when Zach Giddings convinced me to do Utah Valley Youth Symphony Orchestra with him, I've changed so much. It's an amazing group and Zach used to always say, "UVYSO is Timpview's real Phil Orchestra because all of Timpview's best string players go and play there." Which is pretty much true. This group is compiled of a phenomenal string section, a kick butt woodwind section, and a sexy brass section if I do say so myself (one trumbone, two horns which is usually one, referring to me, and a trumpet, all of which are phenomenal)!

Anyway, I won't expound too much on last year's experience (which was amazing) and rather focus on this year's experience and yesterday's 6 hour rehearsal. Yes, I did just say 6 hours.

This year I've had the pleasure and honor of playing Horn 1. It's hard for me to even comprehend now how much I have grown playing with this group. They set a high standard and expect you to meet it, and we have the people to meet the standard. Playing with so many good musicians rubs off on you a bit. We had a concert in the early Fall in the Covey Center which was really cool, but the next day's rehearsal we played THE HARDEST PIECE I HAVE EVER PLAYED. I was sight-reading Howard Hanson's Symphony Number 2. Now to put this rehearsal into perspective. The day before (a monday) we had a symphonic band rehearsal, then we had ~ 4 hours of rehearsing BEFORE the concert, and then a 2 hour concert playing in roughly 9 songs. THEN I go into a rehearsal on Tuesday (4pm-6pm) and play THE MOST DEMANDING PIECE I'VE EVER PLAYED.

When we started the piece I was so bad. It was pretty dang high and the intervals were unlike anything I've ever heard. So, after the conductor (Dr. Terry Hill, my new idol pretty much) restarted the piece 4 times because a certain Horn player (ME :) was sucking, something magical happened. It all started coming out. My ears adjusted to these unique intervals, I got used to being a soloist literally the whole piece, playing my one horn with the volume and fullness of 6, and an overall change in me that hasn't ever gone away. That rehearsal changed me as a Horn player. I've never sight-read such a hard piece so well. I felt accomplished. This really set me on track. My playing has matured immensely since then.

Now this is where I have to make a point. Don't get me wrong, Timpview Band/Orchestra are both amazing groups. We have an awesome program going and fantastic players, but to go to a group like UVYSO where all the players there are some of the best from their school and put together a piece like that is something you can't get anywhere else.

My story with UVYSO, to be continued...

Here's the piece that I've been raving about that you should all listen to forever and ever.

Click Here for Happiness