Ouch! Too Much Practicing!

Friday, MYA's Honors Wind Symphony played a concert with the Newington College Symphonic Winds, an Australian band on tour in the United States. 

Friday morning when I pulled out my clarinet to practice, my forearm really hurt!  It was hard to practice, and suddenly I found that I couldn't play the fast sections at full speed.  This was bad because I was supposed to play in two concerts this weekend!  I called my clarinet teacher, but he didn't answer the phone so I called my piano teacher Barbara.  She said, I had probably hurt myself, because I was practicing too much this week and tensing my arm while I was playing.  She told me to get Aspercreme and a heating pad and not to play my clarinet.

My teacher Dileep called my mom and told her that he would neck strap for the concert that evening.  He said repetitive injuries could be really serious and I had to take it easy.  I put the Aspercreme on my arm and rested with the heating pad until it was time for the concert.

When it came time for the concert, I was feeling a bit better after using the Aspercreme, heating pad, and advil.  I went to the MYA building in Highwood and warmed up in a practice room.  I had forgotten my mouthpiece, so I borrowed one, but it was really hard to use.  The day was not going well.  I was hurting a bit, but it was much better than the morning.  Sandra Wu, the organizer for HWS, told me it was time to start the dress rehearsal.  I went in and sat next to the principal clarinetist of the Newington College Wind Symphony.  He introduced himself to me.  He was really nice and he had a really nice tone on his clarinet.  It was fun rehearsing with the Australian band.  They were really good.  The Newington Wind Symphony left the hall so our Wind Symphony could practice their chamber piece, Old Wine in New Bottles.  It was hard to play with an unfamiliar mouthpiece and my arm was starting to hurt more.

After the rehearsal, we got dinner.  MYA had brought in food for both ensembles.  I ate some food and talked with my friends.  I was a little nervous to meet the kids from the Australian group, because I'm always a little nervous about meeting new people and many of them were a lot older than me.  After dinner, I went and got my tux on, which took me a long time, because it was hard to get the little metal buttons on right.  I went to the concert hall, and I got warmed up.  Dileep, my clarinet teacher, rescued me with a neck strap, because the neck strap would take some of the clarinet's weight off my arm.  My mom came in with my normal mouthpiece, so things were better.

We started the concert.  I played better than earlier in the day, but the neckstrap restricted my movement, making it harder to phrase.  I didn't think I played as well as I could have played.  That made me upset, because I felt like I had let my ensemble down, especially with my big solos in the third and fourth movements.  The rest of Honors Wind Symphony played really well. 

After we finished, the Australians took the stage.  The Newington Big Band played really well.  I especially liked the trumpet solos.  Then the Newington Wind Ensemble played.  They had a nice sound, and they performed really well.

Finally, Honors Wind Symphony and Newington Wind Ensemble joined together to finish the concert with a piece called Variations on a Korean Folk Song by Chance.  I played much better in this piece than in our earlier piece, because I was getting used to the neck strap.  By the time we finished the concert, I was in a lot of pain.  Still, it was a fun concert, even though I had to stay until 10:30 that night because my mom was loading the MYA truck for the Symphony Orchestra Performance tomorrow.  I couldn't help, because my arm hurt so much.

It was fun to meet the Australians in spite of all the problems I was having.  I'm hoping it will heal soon enough that I can play in the Walgreens compeition in 9 days.

Martin Fröst Plays the Lincoln Center

It’s not every day that you get to meet one of the best clarinetists in the world, but last weekend I got to do just that.

On Sunday, I went to see Martin Fröst play a solo concert with pianist Shai Wosner at the Lincoln Center’s Walter Reade Theater. Martin Fröst is a clarinet superstar from Sweden. I had been looking forward to this concert for weeks. He launched the presentation with an amazing performance of Premiére Rapsodie by Debussy. I loved his movement while he was playing; it was like he was dancing.

Next, he played a sonata by Poulenc with such wonderful phrasing, it was like he was singing. He seemed so excited while he played, that it was fun just to watch him.

The next piece really captured the day. Fröst played the Theme with Variations by Françaix with unbelievable grace. The pianissimo notes were so astonishing that they could be heard throughout the hall. The expression of his body movement was so interwoven with the music; it was like he became the melody.

After the Françaix, the clarinet virtuoso executed the Brahms Sonata in E-flat major, No. 2 even more impressively than the piece before. His phrases were superb and his tone was just marvelous, like a flowing river. He just throws himself in the music, making every note gorgeous. He persuaded me that there was for that hour nothing else in the world besides his enthralling playing. Martin Frost has his own ostentatious style which no one could ever replicate.

Finally, he received such an ovation that he ended the morning with an encore. He played an animated klezmer-like piece called Csárdás from his album Frost and Friends which woke us up from his lulling, beautiful Brahms. He jumped right into it, and played all the technical parts with such enthusiasm. As the piece became more exciting, he played with even more eagerness. It was a grand ending and he pulled it off with virtuosity almost unknown to the clarinet.

There was a coffee reception after the concert where everyone got to meet Martin Fröst and Shai Wosner. Martin Fröst’s agent had given me and my mom his comp tickets when we found the concert had sold out, so we had to thank him, and I really wanted to meet him. I was really nervous while I was in line to meet him. When it was our turn to talk to him, I was so nervous that I couldn’t speak coherently. My mom and I thanked him for the tickets, and my mom asked him if she could take a picture of me and Martin Fröst. He said yes and my mom took a picture. She said that I looked terrified, and Martin Fröst was so nice that he said, “I looked terrified too, take another one.”

It was a spectacular performance and I hope I can watch him play his clarinet again soon even if he is Swedish and not Norwegian.  (The Bakkes come from Norway.)

Seeing the New York Philharmonic

I'm from Chicago.  I know what a world class orchestra sounds like, because we have one right here, conducted by Maestro Muti, when he gets back from Italy that is.

I was excited to see the New York Philharmonic.  I went to a concert they gave at the Lincoln Center on Saturday.  The program was Beethoven's 2nd Symphony in D Major and Twelve Songs from Des Knaben Wunderhorn by Mahler. 

I wanted to see how the famous New York Philharmonic compared with my hometown Chicago Symphony Orchestra.  Unfortunately, I couldn't really hear the New York Philharmonic, and I could really see them either.  The hall they performed in was Avery Fisher Hall.  First, I noticed that couldn't see anything, in spite of having reasonably close seats in the first tier.  The angle of view to the stage was blocked by big black metal railings.  Also, you couldn't really hear the low voices very well. 

The acoustics problem was a big issue in the second piece.  The Mahler piece was a collection of songs sunch by two singers.  The soprano, Dorothea Roschmann, I could hear.  She sang quite nicely.  The Tenor, Ian Bostridge, I couldn't really hear!  I could hear his high notes, but not his low notes.

When I got home, I did some research on Avery Fischer Hall.  It turns out that the Hall does have acoustical problems.  It wasn't Mr. Bostridge's fault that I couldn't hear him.  The Hall was made too big, and the acoustics for the low voices aren't very good.

Also, the hall was ugly.  It was all brown.  The seats were brown.  The stage was brown.  The walls were brown.  It was like watching a concert in a big brown box.  On the walls, a bunch of brightly lit exit signs were glaring.  It was unpleasant.

When the Mahler was going on, they had a projector flashing a translation of the german up.  It was hard to concentrate on the orchestra, because the words were always distracting you.

On a postive note, I really liked principal clarinetist, Mark Nuccio, who had a lot of solos in the Mahler.  The horns stood out too, especially in the Beethoven.

Another problem was the audience.  At the end of the performance, while we were applauding, about one fourth of them got up and left.  How could they do that?!  The performers were trying to come back for their ovations, but it was awkward with all the people leaving at the same time.  I'm glad Chicago audiences don't act like that!

I would like to see the New York Philharmonic play in Carnegie Hall or the Chicago Symphony Center so I can actually hear them perform.  I'm sure they're great.

Risor Chamber Music Festival at Carnegie Hall

On Friday, I went to see Martin Frost in the Risor Chamber Music Festival at Carnegie Hall. The Risor Chamber Music Festival is yearly chamber music festival in Risor, Norway.


First, they opened with a string sextet by Richard Strauss. They played very beautifully. I really liked expression of the cellist, Audun Andre Sandvik. His playing throughout the evening was really memorable.

Next, there was an amazing performance of Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 14 in Eb Major by pianist Leif Ove Andsnes. I loved how he conducted the orchestra as he played, just like Uchida does. There was only one problem with this setup: I could only see the pianist from the back from where I was. I couldn’t see his fingers and his face while he was playing. Still, it was a sensational performance. Also, in the performance, the principal first violin, second violin, and viola played a trio together separate from the piano. It was like a piece within a piece, and they communicated so well, it was almost like they were one person.

The last piece before intermission was Gustav Mahler’s Lieder Eines Fahrenden Gesellen, starring Measha Brueggergosman, a leading soprano. She was accompanied by an odd group of two violins, a viola, a cello, a bass, a flute, a clarinet, a piano, a harmonium, and a percussion player. It was a stunning execution of this collection of songs. Brueggergosman was very inspiring. Whenever I tried to watch Martin Frost, who was my whole reason for being in New York that weekend, she irresistibly drew my attention back to her. I felt like she was singing to me personally. She was amazing!

After intermission, Martin Frost played Aaron Copland’s Clarinet Concerto. His first, flabbergasting pianissimo blew your mind away. It was so quiet but he still got a beautiful tone and his sound filled the entire hall. His physical movement during the first section, slowly and expressively, was very interesting. It was like he was dancing, as he played. He had his own ideas about how to move while playing the clarinet that aren’t quite like anyone elses. He played the cadenza that linked the two movements marvelously, executing all the difficult turns and twists perfectly. In the last movement, rather fast, Frost became very excited, and the expression of his body became even more thrilling. I loved how he played with the cellos and basses. I enjoyed this last movement even more than the first one.

For an encore, Martin Frost played a klezmer piece called Lets Be Happy for an encore. He said it was his own brand of Scandinavian klezmer, because it was arranged by his little brother. He got so animated during this piece that I think he liked it better than the Copland. It was a fun piece with a lot of fast parts and I think he played it better here than at any other part of the concert.

They ended the night with an incredible performance of Béla Bartók’s Divertimento for Strings. I especially liked the violas and cellos. The lower sections of the Risor Festival Strings really stood out. All around, it was a great performance.

Lesson with Anthony McGill

Yesterday in New York, I had a lesson with Anthony McGill.  Anthony McGill, if you don't know, is the principal of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra in New York City.  He played at the Inauguration with Yoyo Ma and Itzhak Perlman.  He is one of the best clarinetists I've ever listened to.  The piece I am playing for the Walgreens Concerto Competition is the Weber Concertino.  I chose it, because in the spring I heard Anthony McGill play it with the Chicago Clarinet Ensemble, and it was very inspiring, because he has a very serene, emotional and expressive tone.  After hearing Mr. McGill play it, I really wanted to play it too.

I was supposed to meet Mr. McGill at the stage entrance of the Metropolitan Opera which is part of the Lincoln Center.  We got there early and waited until 2:15 which was when the lesson was scheduled.  Mr. McGill came out at 2:15 and told us that his rehearsal was running late and it would be 15 or 20 minutes more.  I was very nervous.  I had been a little nervous about playing for him for days and days, and having to wait a little longer made it even more scary.  I was really worried that I would embarrass myself in front of somebody I think of so highly.  I had to get up at 4:30 that morning to catch a plane to New York, and so I was also quite tired!

Finally, Mr. McGill finished his rehearsal and came out to meet me.  He took me to one of the practice rooms that is under the opera house.  It was a very small room with foam on the wall.  There were two chairs and a music stand in the room.  My chair was a spinning chair with wheels, like a computer chair.  Mr. McGill was very nice and friendly and he was always smiling.  That made me feel a little better.  There was a trombone playing in a nearby room.  Mr. McGill joked that we would have a trombone accompaniest for the lesson and he laughed.

First, he told me to take out Etude #2 from the Rose 32 Etudes for Clarinet.  It's a fast technical piece in 3/8 time.  I played through the piece once, and then Mr. McGill told me to play it again, but this time pay more attention to subdivision and make the phrases longer.  I played about half of it through, and he stopped me and told me I needed to project more.  Whenever I articulate a note, I need to sustain the breath as I am slurring, even though I am tonguing the notes.  Then we started taking the piece apart and working on it section by section.  After that, we moved on to the next Etude.

Mr. McGill told me to take out the next etude, which was #18 from the Rose 40 Studies for Clarinet.  This is a slower, more expressive piece.  I played the piece through once, and then he told me to play it again.  He stopped me after the first measure and told me that if I am playing a long note, I should either swell or fade away to make the note more interesting.  Then he had me play the entire phrase, and he told me to play it with more breath not to divide the phrase up the way I was doing it.  He had me play it from the beginning again, and he stopped me after the second phrase.  He told me to play the phrase with more expression, so I played the phrase again more expressively, and then he stopped me in the middle and said, "During the section with the triplets, you have to swell more, and fade away more."  He demonstrated.  I loved the way he played it.  We worked on the rest of the etude taking it apart phrase by phrase.  His advice was really useful.  He said to focus on playing with more breath support, emphasizing the dynamics, and playing longer phrases.

Then we moved on to the Weber Concertino.  First he had me play the entire piece through.  I was nervous, and I messed up on the runs at the end of the piece.  Mr. McGill told me to play the Adagio part at the beginning again.  He stopped me after the first note, and he told me to play the first note with more breath.  He said I was playing note too quietly, and not projecting enough sound when I played it.  I tried it again, and he said I had it that time.  That made me feel really awesome!

We worked a little longer on the first phrase, and then we took apart the entire Adagio section and worked through it phrase by phrase.  When we got to the Andante section, he told me to get a more singing tone, and tongue the notes more lightly.  He worked with me on changing the air speed when I changed registers.  He demostrated by blowing air.  Whenever I didn't play with enough breath, he blew to let me know to use more. 

After working on the first two sections, we moved on to the Poco piu vivo part of the piece.  This is where the piece gets technically difficult.  He told me to work on getting a more singing-like tone, even with the really fast, difficult parts.  We also worked on the phrasing.  When we got to the staccato runs, he showed me a way I can get a much sweeter sound on the staccato runs, and he made it much easier.  He showed me that when I was playing staccatos not to tongue so heavily, but to use my lightly against the reed and play the runs as if they were slurs, but with tonguing.  This helped my sound enormously.  I was surprised and pleased by how much better it sounded when I played it that way.

Then we worked on the triplet section.  He told me that I needed a sweeter tone on the slurred staccato parts.  I think this is called portato, but I'm not sure.  We worked on the phrases, and then we moved onto the next difficult passage.  I played it too fast at first.  He said to slow down and not to stop the phrase with my staccatos, but to keep my breath moving through each note to the next.  He had me use different amounts of breath.  The higher register needs more air.  We worked through each phrase like that, and then we moved onto the slow part that ends this middle section of the Concertino.  We worked on the phrases here, because it's a very slow and beautiful part.  That makes it harder to play.  Mr. McGill said to not play the sixteenth note after the dotted eigth note too fast, among many other things.

Finally, we moved onto the last section of the piece, the Allegro.  Mr. McGill demonstrated how to keep an internal beat going as I played through the passage by sniffing on the beat.  He didn't mean that I should sniff while playing, of course, but he demonstrated how to feel the beat as I played to keep the notes more even.  This section was a little out of control, so we worked on how to get it in control. 

We reached the first of the difficult runs at the end of the piece.  We worked on slowing them down so you can get all the notes in, and we practiced only one register at a time so we could practice the register alone without transitioning.  I skip notes sometimes when I transition between registers on these fast runs, and doing it this way helped me be aware of each note.  It's hard to get 13 notes in on one beat!

Next we worked on a slower sweeter part that divides up two fast technical sections.  We worked on the expression here.  He demonstrated on his clarinet, and it was amazingly beautiful.  He told me to play the part where it transitions into a minor key more expressively than the part before, because this makes a very good impression.

Finally, we reached the last section.  He got the music out, so it would be easier to do the twisty section.  I had been playing from memory up to this part.  We worked on slowing down the twisty section and getting it more in control.  Then we worked on the last three big, fast runs at the end of the piece.  We worked on slowing them down and dividing the parts in different registers up.  We were finally done. 

Before taking me back to the stage entrance where mom was waiting, he showed me the orchestra pit.  He pointed all the way to the top balcony which was really far away!  Mr. McGill said that I had to project my sound all the way up there even in pianissimo sections.

Anthony McGill is a fantastic clarinetist, but I also found out this weekend that he is a wonderful teacher.  He had a way of being friendly and positive even when he was correcting me.  His advice was incredibly useful, and it was great to have the opportunity to play the Concerto for him before doing it for the Walgreens.

Thank you, Mr. McGill!

IMEA District VII Junior Concert

Last Saturday I attended the District VII Junior IMEA concert. Early in October, my sister Eowyn, who is in 6th grade, and I tried out for IMEA and made it. I didn’t know what chair I made until the concert. When I got to Wauconda High School where the concert was being held, my school band teacher greeted me and told me I made first chair.  I was so excited! I went to the band room and found my chair.  It was crowded with young musicians.  Leah, a clarinetist from my MYA orchestra, was second chair, and Steven who is also in my MYA orchestra was there too.

This is my sister who plays the horn.

After a few minutes our conductor got to the band room. She started us with a fifteen minute warm up. It was very interesting and I learned some things about breathing that I didn’t know.  She demonstrated how to breathe efficiently.  First you breathe out, and then you breathe in, and then you breathe in again a little extra in a slightly different way.  It's hard to describe, but it was very helpful with breath support. We worked on Cenotaph by Jack Stamp, then Shenendoah by Frank Ticheli, and lastly the first three movements of Suite Provencale by Jan Van de Roost.  After that we had a break.

During the break we had lunch. I sat at a table with a bunch of Midwest Young Artist wind players who made IMEA.  Being in MYA is like being a part of a family.  When we go to places outside of MYA, we are really nice to each other, and we hang out, and I like that.  After I finished eating, I went to the band room ten minutes early and played my clarinet. I was having a really fun time. When the conductor got back to the band room we worked on the last movement of Suite Provencale and all of Seventy Six Trombones. The conductor kept telling the clarinets that we were playing too loud a lot, and I agreed with her.

After that we tried out the gym that we were going to perform in. We practiced for about thirty minutes in a dress rehearsal. Finally it was time for the concert. The IMEA orchestra and choral came in and found their spots in the gym. We were going first.  It was really fun being first chair. After the band played, the IMEA choral and orchestra performed. They sounded great! It was a really exhausting day but also really fun. I can’t wait until next year when IMEA comes again.

MYA's Fall Concert

Dr. Dennis and me.

I had a Midwest Young Artists concert at Pick-Staiger last Sunday. Midwest Young Artists or MYA is my youth orchestra. We got to dress up in our costumes during the concert. It was very fun. There were two concerts, the first one at 1:30 and the second one at 7:00. Both of my ensembles played in the second concert.

I got to Pick-Staiger at 9:30 because of my sisters, who are in Concertino Orchestra, which had its dress rehearsal then. Afterwards, I went to a restaurant with my mom, my sisters, my friend Katie, my friend Nathan’s sister, and Nathan’s mom, Ms. Goldin. We got back to Pick-Staiger at about 1:00, and I sold raffle tickets until my friend Nathan got to the theater, and I went with him to get a seat in the audience for the first concert. I like watching the younger kids. They are adorable, but they play very well.



Mr. Pearson



The order of the first concert was Cadet Orchestra, Jazz Ensemble, Concertino Orchestra, Jazz Orchestra, intermission, Philharmonia, Voices Rising, and Choral. Cadet was conducted by Patrick Pearson, who dressed up as Michael Jackson. They played The Weber Suite by Carl Maria Von Weber, Dragonhunter by Richard Meyer and Boogie Man Boogie by Patrick Pearson. Jazz Ensemble was conducted by Jarrard Harris and played Moanin’ by Bobby Timmons and Carpetbaggers by Dean Sorenson. Concertino Orchestra was conducted by Patrick Pearson and played The Sorcerer’s Apprentice by Paul Dukas and March from Carmen by Georges Bizet. Cadet and Concertino sounded great, so did the Jazz Orchestra, but I’m not so keen on jazz, so I’m never a good judge of a jazz concert.

After intermission the Philharmonia Orchestra played. Philharmonia was conducted by Patrick Pearson and played three of the four movements from Peer Gynt Suit, І. Morning Mood, П. The Death of Ase, and Ш. In the Hall of the Mountain King by Edvard Grieg. I loved the way they played it. The first movement was really nice, the second movement was heart breakingly beautiful, and the last movement was really cool.

Concertino Orchestra.  The principal cellist is my sister Rowena.

The next group that performed was Voices Rising who were conducted by Benjamin Gray. They they sang Kyrie by Greg Gilpin, Song for Mira by Allister MacGillivray, and Fireflies by Adam Young. Voices rising then sang with Choral for an amazing performance of Zion’s Walls adapted by Aaron Copland. Last but not least Choral were conducted by Gordon Krauspe and sang Frobisher Bay by James Gordon, Make Them Hear You by Stephen Flaherty, and What’ll I Do By Irving Berlin. I especially loved Frobisher Bay. It was such a beautiful peace, and they sang it perfectly in tune.

At 7:00, after two dress rehearsals, it was time for my concert. Dr. Ripley directs the Honors Wind Symphony, where I’m currently principal clarinet. We played the first and fourth movements of Old Wine in New Bottles by Gordon Jacob, and we played Chester, and When Jesus Wept by William Schuman, not to be confused with Robert Schumann. It was really fun to go first, and I really enjoyed playing in this performance. I had a lot exposure with a number of solos, which was a little nerve-wracking, but very exciting. Michael Cox, the euphonium, had a big solo part and duet with Avery DeMaria who is the principal trumpet. I loved their solos, they played some of the most beautiful music brass music I’ve ever heard. Tamara Winston, our oboeist, also nailed her solos. She has such beautiful phrasing.

Big Band, which is conducted by Chris Madsen followed us with another stellar performance. They played Coda by Garling, Self Portrait of the Bean by Duke Ellington, and Stompin’at the Savoy by Edgar Sampson. They have a big sound, and they don’t sound like kids. They’re quite professional and enjoyed their performance quite a lot, in spite of my renowned lack of enthusiasm for jazz music.



Concert Orchestra

 After intermission, Dr. Dennis’ orchestras performed. Concert Orchestra, where I’m 2nd clarinet went first. We played the first two movements of Dvorak’s 8th Symphony. I love this symphony. There are a lot of A clarinet parts, and I loved the sound of an A clarinet even more than a Bb clarinet. In the first movement, the piece transitions from relaxed and lyrical and beautiful, to insistent and exciting. The 2nd movement is really beautiful, and the ending is very dramatic and energetic, until the last few lines where the tempo slows down and Dvorak introduces a new theme – at least I think that’s the case. In February, we’ll play all 4 movements of the symphony. I can’t wait.



Finally, the Symphony Orchestra took the stage. This is what everyone waits for. My brother plays viola in this orchestra. They played Bartok’s Concerto for Orchestra. This is really hard piece. It’s very demanding of all of the sections, and Symphony played it amazingly. I was very impressed. It seemed like the principal clarinet had solos running through the entire piece, and Sam Mattenson played them with astounding musicality. All the soloists were wonderful, but I pay close attention to the clarinets.  My favorite movements were the third, which started with a bassoon part, followed by the clarinets. It was stunning. The fifth movement was real show-stopper to end the concert. The audience was on their feet.

I can’t wait to play with this orchestra!