When I first found out that I'd been accepted to NYO, I hadn't really done a lot of research. Actually about as much research as I'd done on my eighth grade bridge project. I won honorable mention. Fourth out of four. So really, I did no research. None. The only thing I knew about NYO were the audition requirements and the dates I needed to turn everything in. And the reason I was even able to get them in on time was because I forgot the dates and instead planned for them to be a week earlier. I call it procrastinating in advance.
When I did find out about it though, I tried to look it up the best I could. But, It was kind of like trying to find out information about the United States' NSA plans. It's almost imposs--oh wait...Well it's like trying to find out information about the NSA without Edward Snowden. That's a better description. Since it's the inaugural year, no one knows anything about it. No photos, no fun stories, no reviews on Yelp. Nothing. And it was kind of hard to explain to family and friends. All I really knew were the faculty who would be coaching. But to my family who associated Beethoven with the dog more often than the composer, this had no significance. They probably would have been more impressed if I told them that the horn coaches Lady Gaga and Beyonce would be working with us side-by-side under the direction of Oprah Winfrey.
So, when I presented my uncle with this complete lack of information, he thought it was some gigantic April Fools joke. We were gonna all pay for plane tickets and arrive to a giant PUNK'D banner in front of the dorms. We would be the laughing stock of the nation.
I cannot tell you how glad I was that when I pulled into the Purchase College campus. There were no banners in sight. I anxiously checked behind every corner just waiting to find a film crew to catch all 120 orchestra kids crying because they'd been duped. If it had been a joke, at least it would have made quality television. But there was no camera crew and I begin to think that this was a real thing.
But all those fears were rekindled when preparing for Valery Gergiev to arrive. It'd been something that everyone had been talking about for the past week. What he would think of the orchestra, how he would conduct, how cool his accent would be. We were really excited. And when we arrived at rehearsal, there were all sorts of things commemorating the occasion: film crews, more people in the audience than usual, an insane amount of sweat coming from all the staff. And so we waited. And waited. Rehearsal was supposed to start at 2:30pm. And I watched the minutes creep by. 2:31. Maybe he is talking to his old friends backstage and needs a minute to finish his conversation. 2:32. He probably dropped a pencil or something and needed someone else to pick it up for him. 2:33. He might have gotten lost on campus and could just be looking for the right door to go through. 2:34. You know what, he probably had to stop for gas on the way here and that's why he's late. 2:35. It's probably just the effects of jetlag from the US to Russia. 2:36. Maybe he locked his keys in the car and AAA is on the way right now.
By 2:37, I was starting to take the hint. This was the big joke. He wasn't coming. That's why all the film crews were here. Instead of Valery Gergiev, someone in a clown suit was gonna come bursting out, balloon animals in tow, squirting us with his fake flower and the cameras would turn to face the orchestra as we all sat flabbergasted for about five seconds while we realized that we were the victims of the Carnegie Hall's most elaborate hoax ever. Oh, this must be priceless to my uncle at home. I'll never be able to live this down.
And just as I was preparing to cast my horn across the room to distract the cameras from the distraught look on my face, Gergiev walked in. And the orchestra members, almost as if they were all thinking the same thing I was, collectively let out a gasp and started to clap. And with a quick introduction from Clive Gillinson, we got straight to rehearsing.
It was incredible. He wasn't a man of many words but every word he said was important. Unlike a lot of my textbooks, you couldn't just pick up on every third word and understand the majority of American History. We were all completely focused and because of our preparation throughout the week were able to make all the small adjustments he asked. And I was completely blown away by them. He would ask for one small minute thing and it would completely change the character of the piece. Just by asking for longer notes, he would double the support given by the orchestra to the melody and everything seemed capable of sustaining the profound depth and weight of the music we were playing. Now that I think of it, maybe I should have asked Gergiev for help on my bridge project.
So, I'm definitely looking forward to all the time we have to spend with him. I'll still probably be counting the minutes but hopefully for a different reason this time. But, don't think I'm not onto you, NYO. I know this must be a giant prank. And I'll be ready. I'll be checking behind every door in Russia just to be sure that I don't run into some giant painted canvas announcing that this isn't real and we are just on the set of some elaborate movie scene in California. Nothing will get by me, NYO. In fact, I'm already prepared.
смущенными. That's how you say embarrassed in Russian.
No comments:
Post a Comment