After Music Camp

Wow. I'll just put it out there--music camp was WAAAAYYY better than last year, by far. I ended up making 3 times as many friends and getting a boyfriend (we'll get to that part later), and I loved ALL of the music rather than half of it. These are the pieces the Blue Junior Band (the one I was in) played:

1. "Prelude and Fugue in B Flat Major" by Johann Sebastian Bach


2. "March of the Irish Guard" (I only know who the Prelude and Fugue was by, the others I forget.)


3. "Shenandoah Valley," and


4. "Jefferson County Overture"

I started out with a second trumpet/cornet part, but then my brass instructor (not the conductor) bumped me up to the First Trumpet part!! There were only 3 of us doing those parts, and the rest were Second and Third parts. Yippee (; Unfortunately, the first trumpets weren't at the front section of the band, like a traditional set-up would be. We were at the back, where the Percussionists were. Nothing against them or anything, but generally first trumpets/cornets are at the front.

At first during rehearsals (which we had 3 times a day, 1 hour each), I thought they were too hard and boring. Probably due to the fact that I was lacking practice since April (sweat, sweat). . .so that meant my note range went down. If you're musical and play a Treble Clef instrument, you'll know what I mean when I used to be able to play a high G and it went down to a high E. But, as we rehearsed, sometime in the middle of the week, I could reach back up to at least an F, which is a major improvement, seeing how normally it would take me a month to build that back up.

I ended up having the same Musicianship teacher as last year, so it was just as boring. However, unlike last year, I paid more attention and we played a Jeopardy game yesterday to remember what we learned. My team was called, "That Team." I know--very original (; By the way, Musicianship class is basically about the history and theory of music, composers, and culture. Sounds boring, but some of it is pretty cool. Did you know that a Balalaika is a Russian version of a triangular acoustic guitar? Look it up! See, I learned something. . . gosh, I am such a band geek!! And orchestra students are called "Ork Dorks," since band people are called "Band Geeks."

My roommate was pretty awesome. I was friends with her last year, so it was a funny coincidence that she became my roommate ^o^ Remember the family friends I told you about in the previous post that were staying with us? Well, my roommate and I hung out with my then-un-boyfriend, who was part of that family, and his roommate. It's a lot of trouble to NOT mention specific names in this blog, and it'll only confuse me if I give them fake names. So I will refer to my boyfriend as "H" (without the quotes), his roommate as "K", my roommate as "L", and my sister as "A". (phew) That's easier! Anyway, we wandered around campus during free time and/or went to Tate St. (a street near campus we were allowed to shop on within the boundaries) and met up for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

After lunch one day, L had to go to an orchestra private lesson early, so me, H, and K were all goofing around outside the Caf entrance. I had my trusty little ipod nano with me, so I took videos of them acting crazy and K sliding down the rails and burning his butt and walking around holding it (you had to be there!!). It was pretty much 100 degrees outside, so of course the rails were searing hot and K didn't stop and think XD

On Monday night, H called me an hour before lights out at 11:00. He asked me to be his girlfriend. I was like, "Are you for real? Or are you just testing your limits?" Because sometimes he doesn't mean what he says, or doesn't think things through enough. However, during that moment, I was holding my breath. He said he wasn't serious. I asked him again and he said "Maaaayybe. . . ." Then H finally said, "Yes, I mean it." I had to call him back later because I needed to check in with my councelors so they knew I was there, and then I said yes. I mean, H and I have know each other for a few years now, and he's my best guy friend. He still is. And always will be. I had liked H before he came down, and I was praying to God that something would happen. It was a miracle that H became my boyfriend ^__^ Unfortunately, he left today to go back up to Pennsylvania :'( We're going to try a long-distance relationship. . . .

Since H was in the Red Junior Band and K and I were in the Blue Junior Band, we couldn't see each others' concerts. L was in the orchestra, so we couldn't see hers anyway. H, A, and C, A's roommate/friend who also came down to visit, were all in Aycock Auditorium, while K and I were stuck in Taylor Theatre. I must admit, we did really well. And my lips didn't give out halfway through a high whole note like it did in rehearsals!! Everyone was on tempo, played most of the right dynamics, and, oddly enough, I never heard a woodwind crack or squeak on a note. This has been the highlight of my summer.

Now, I must survive a heartbreak and prepare myself for marching band camp this week, and Saturday is my 14th birthday. Please continue to comment, and thanks for reading this super-long post!! Been working on it for an hour. . . . by the way, I put the Tang orange juice picture back up, since my stupid background decided it wanted to abort my blog T__T Meanwhile, I am searching for a cool enough background with a black blank so my font can be white.

Red Beans and Ricely Yours (that's how Louis Armstrong signed off all his letters),

<><><>Kristen