Sydney Life

Comprising the most hours of all my subjects (6 hours a week), adjectives such as “serious”, “hefty”, or “very very time-consuming” may spring to mind. Orchestral Studies teaches one extremely valuable skills that will be useful throughout one's musical career. Social, business, economic, and time-management skills all stand to be gained by the penultimate eight semesters of Orchestral Studies required of a Conservatorium student.*

* Disclaimer: this blog isn't anywhere near as serious as the opening paragraph makes it sound...

To summarise briefly, under an extremely pretentious-sounding heading -
'Skills that Stand to be Gained through the Illustrious and Noble Pursuit of Orchestral Studies Excellence' :

* The social aspect kicks in when you realise that if you’re not friends with the person you’re sitting next to by the end of the first rehearsal, orchestra rehearsals can get really really boring.

* The business side of things develops when you’re trying to convince the conductor and orchestral staff that you physically cannot get out of missing a particular rehearsal. Diagrams are drawn, festering skin diseases are formulated, death certificates are produced and lengthy case reports are written. Forget our Music Degrees – present us with a certificate entitling us to practice law!

* A common misconception that musicians don’t require a general understanding of mathematics, which brings me to economic awareness. Those that do not very quickly run out of money after buying one – or sometimes two – hot chocolates from the Music Café during every rehearsal. Six dollars a week people, it adds up! The more astute, city-savvy students head across the road for the $1.50 coffees available between 3 and 5 pm.

* Time-management: Just how much can one cram into a twenty minute break? Depending on the student, twenty minutes is generally quantified by either coffee, a trip to the secret cold-water fountain in the high school, or cigarettes. I have even been privy to one desperate violist who managed to sprint to Maccas and back for a cheeseburger in one of our much-anticipated twenty minute breaks.

And now, in a segue by no means worthy of Anna Coren status, a little about each ensemble!

SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA:
Symphony Orchestra is the largest ensemble you can be in for Orchestral Studies. In my first program this year, I was in “desk eight” of the first violins, meaning I was practically out of the Verbrugghen Hall in the corridors for rehearsals, combining my love of music with large-scale and necessary improvements to the household telescope. I exaggerate maybe slightly, but the Con Symphony Orchestra is fairly massive.

As would be expected of such a mammoth orchestra, the Symphony Orchestra plays fairly epic works. This year has already included Mahler's 5th Symphony, and Dvorak's 8th Symphony. Next on their agenda is Bruckner's 4th Symphony, to be performed at 6.00pm, Friday 26 October and 4.00pm on Saturday 27 October if you're interested!

CHAMBER ORCHESTRA:
Still got strings, woodwind, brass and percussion, but it's considerably smaller than the Symphony Orchestra, and tends to contain people who are ridiculously good looking (bet you can't guess which ensemble I'm in at the moment). The Chamber Orchestra also doesn't do as many programs per semester as the Symphony Orchestra. At the moment, they are playing for the Opera student's production of Haydn's 'La Vera Constanza'. It's being performed this Tuesday and Thursday at 7pm, and this Saturday at 4pm. It's worth a squiz, but unfortunately due to production costs tickets are a tad more pricey than for most other con concerts ($20 for students, although I heard a rumour that it's been cut down to $10...)

Early Music Ensemble:
Affectionately known amongst its exclusive brethren as 'EME', there will be no lollipops given to the person who deduces what style of music this group tends to perform.

From what I hear, EME tends to be more of a commitment than the other ensembles, largely because most members must borrow and insure a period instrument. Period instruments don't bleed or anything, rather they are created in the style of a particular era. They're an interesting group to watch though, and sort of fierce in their ensemble-pride. If rampant patriotism (or ensemble-ism) excites you, get down to watch their next performance at 4pm on the 6th of October.

Now we move on to ensembles that I know relatively little about, but I'll do my best to inform you with my [mis]informed perceptions...

Modern Music Ensemble
Last time I checked in with someone from this group she was stressing about her "whispered murmurings". From this, one can assume that to be in the modern music ensemble one must:
a) have slightly less shame than the stock-standard orchestral players
and
b) be good at multi-tasking. This girl not only had to whisper random words, but learn a very tricky violin part as well.

Choir:
An ensemble I can pretty happily claim to knowing only two things about.
1. This is where most of the guitarists, minor students, and singers end up, and
2. They are performing with the EME at 4pm on the 20th of October

Last, but perhaps not least, depending on which side of the strings-are-better-than-any-woodwind-instrument-you-could-mention debate you fall on, is Wind Symphony.

Displaying my limited knowledge once more, I can only say that they rehearse later than the Orchestral folk on a Tuesday night, and I am therefore glad not to be a woodwind, brass, or percussion player.

If you're still reading, congratulations on making it through what's probably my longest and actually informative blog so far. For better concert information, go here and check out all the links on the right hand side of the page. As for me, I'm off to practice my opera part (clearly a bid for extra credit - Maestro are you reading this?), buy a hot chocolate and forge my own death certificate.

Farewell for now!