Hi all,
Welcome to my first blog post! Here I'll be keeping you updated with what I've been working on, listening to, and participating in along my musical journey.
For two weeks in July, I was in Door County, Wisconsin, which is in the upper peninsula of the state. I was participating in the Birch Creek Symphony Session in Egg Harbor, a two-week program including seven concerts. Prior to this, I had been out at music camps and clinics for two weeks, so I figured this wouldn't be too different. However, this experience shaped my musical experience in a way I had never experienced.
The first week began with meeting 66 Symphony students, where we immediately started on our concert cycle for the next day, a July 4th concert. Each day began at 7:30 with
breakfast, and we started playing instruments at 8:30 and only stopped for lunch and small breaks until 3:00. All of our playing included standard orchestral works such as Mahler 1, Sibelius 1, and Schumann's 1st Symphony, as well as chamber music, where I was the violist of a string quintet. Each section of musicians had a coach, and ours happened to be Amanda Grimm, principal violist of the Portland Symphony (pictured on the right). She is incredibly talented, and her hard work shows every day that she plays. Later in the camp, she would perform as a soloist with the orchestra, playing Bruch's Romanze for Viola and Orchestra.
So many talented musicians came together at the camp, it simply was incredible and inspiring. I began my day with stretching and warm-ups in practice rooms, and the music that was already starting that early in the morning was incredible. One of the tuba faculty included some yoga exercises which kept us in good shape for all the time we were playing.
Birch Creek featured a chamber program that I thoroughly enjoyed. I was placed into a string quintet,
where we performed the first and third movements of Dvorak's 2nd String Quintet, the first movement of which can be found in the music section of my website. I grew so close to the members of the quintet, and it really was a special bonding experience for everyone.
About four days into camp, I participated in their concerto competition with Der Schwanendreher, Paul Hindemith's Viola Concerto. I signed up for the audition, gave the pianist my music, and signed up for a rehearsal time of 10:00... pm. Little did I know, the sign-up times were for a Sunday (the one day we had off from rehearsals) at night. So, at 10:00, I walked over to the rehearsal space, only to find that the schedule was behind by half an hour. I went to bed at midnight.
If there's one thing to know about Der Schwanendreher, it's that the orchestral part and piano reduction are very difficult. There are lots of polyrhythms and awkward entrances for both the violist and the pianist. Though we only had two rehearsals, the pianist and I made it through and we finished the audition together.
On the final day of camp, we had one final concert, where we performed three movements of
Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake, Wagner's Tannhäuser Overture, and the 4th movement of Mahler's 1st Symphony. During the intermission, there were awards for the symphony that were announced, and the director of the Symphony Program announced that I was the winner of the Outstanding String Student Award, and the winner of the Birch Creek Concerto Competition!
It was an amazing experience to be part of such a talented group, and I'd like to acknowledge some of
the greatest friends I have ever made. Trista, Owen, Jacob, Philip, and Libby were all people who helped me through the intense two weeks and became friends I will forever hold near and dear to my heart.
Best Wishes,
Charles Kritsch
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