I've been stateside for almost two months now! Tomorrow I'll head back to Piteå to complete what may be the final chapter in my Swedish adventure. Nothing is certain, but I am looking for some new opportunities come next fall. I have projects lined up until June, and a potential tour with BYP in August, but after that....who knows! NYC? Chicago? Cincy? another city somewhere in the world?
It's been fantastic spending so much time at "home" (I use quotes, because I feel more like a nomad than a person with a real home base right now) because I was able to check out what is happening over here, spend time with lots of friends and family, and brainstorm what my future back on American soil could be like. But, there will be many more opportunities to write about the ideas that are floating around in my head career-wise later...for now, I'd like to share pics and stories from the shenanigans while I've be in here at "home" :)
PASIC 2011 proved to be a lot of fun...jet-lag and all :) After the whirl wind trip from Sweden to Alaska to Germany to Indy, I wasn't sure which way was up...but I did know I was surrounded by thousands of percussionists and some of my best friends in the world, so it was no time to be sleepy! It was great to reconnect with people and learn about what else is happening in the percussion world. It was also a lot of fun to share stories from my adventures with the group and various projects. There was never a dull moment and the four days were, per usual, action packed with great concerts, clinics, and hangs.
It's been fantastic spending so much time at "home" (I use quotes, because I feel more like a nomad than a person with a real home base right now) because I was able to check out what is happening over here, spend time with lots of friends and family, and brainstorm what my future back on American soil could be like. But, there will be many more opportunities to write about the ideas that are floating around in my head career-wise later...for now, I'd like to share pics and stories from the shenanigans while I've be in here at "home" :)
PASIC 2011 proved to be a lot of fun...jet-lag and all :) After the whirl wind trip from Sweden to Alaska to Germany to Indy, I wasn't sure which way was up...but I did know I was surrounded by thousands of percussionists and some of my best friends in the world, so it was no time to be sleepy! It was great to reconnect with people and learn about what else is happening in the percussion world. It was also a lot of fun to share stories from my adventures with the group and various projects. There was never a dull moment and the four days were, per usual, action packed with great concerts, clinics, and hangs.
Ensemble Evolution was representing! Happy that we were able to experience the convention together!
Lunch with some of my favorite people after Bob's concert, featuring Jamie (fellow Eastman alum and friend) as the vocalist
So happy to have the chance to spend time with Evaristo!!
After Indy, we headed to Cincinnati to spend one day at my parent's house, and to refuel on sleep and comfort food as much as possible. We really needed at least 3 days to do so, but I planned a packed tour...so there was no such luck :)
Mom would have loved to have us longer as well...but duty calls! We drove 2 hours up to Columbus, Ohio to give our first concert/masterclass at The Ohio State University (where I got my Bachelor's)
Although everyone was in the post-PASIC percussion overload lull, the performance went well. We performed 3 of the pieces from "Compose. Perform. Inspire. New Voices in Percussion Music" along with the suite of Swedish Folk songs with Anna and Charles.
It was wild to play at OSU again, but really great to see Susan and Joe! How time flies!
Directly after the performance, Jake, Anna, and I drove to Cleveland! We arrived at Kristen's (our wonderful friend who organized our northern Ohio visit) around 1am...thank goodness Jake was willing to drive, because I was out in the back seat the entire time!
Kristen is amazing, and planned a great day for us...a visit to the Professional Percussion Products showroom and she took care of ALL the logistics for our performance at "The Happy Dog" for Cleveland's Classical Revolution. It was a super cool gig...
We performed the folk songs, Casey's piece (yes...on the sticky bar floor....but it was awesome because it was the only piece in which all bar conversation practically ceased!) and Skidmore's duo for drum sets. After performing we enjoyed the venue...and ordered some hotdogs :)
The next day was a travel day....8 hours on the back roads of Pennsylvania, thanks to google maps. The gig the following day at Kutztown University was great though! We owe Frank and the studio a lot...they were our biggest donors for the Kickstarter project!
It was a lot of fun playing all of the commissions and hanging with Frank and his students.
Since this gig was in the morning, we were able to make it to upper state NY that evening to stay with our friend Amy. She is the teaching fellow at Bard College, and was able to put together a concert for us.
By this time, we were in the "groove" of the tour and really happy with the performance, and to have the opportunity to spend time Amy!
Then...the moment that Anna had been anticipating the entire trip....we went to New York City!! It was so much fun to see Anna's reaction to everything in the states, but especially to everything in the big apple. We were tourists for 2 days before having to perform one last time at New York University.
Still great friends, even after over a week in a car together
The final gig at NYU was a success! Everyone loved learning the hand motions for Casey's piece "Plato's Cave"...it was a big hit at all the schools!
On Tuesday morning, November 22, we made the 11 hour drive back to Cincinnati, Ohio. Highlights from this leg included me getting us lost twice, constant heavy rainfall, and a pitstop that included both Dunkin' Donuts and Taco Bell. The following day Jake and Anna drove the rental car up to Chicago (which happened to be the second one we had for the tour...we were pulled over in the first one, a Chrysler 300, because it was unregistered and uninsured by Avis! AH!) where Jake hopped on a plane to Texas, and Anna returned to Sweden.
The rest of the week I barely recall. There was Thanksgiving...and I know I was thankful and pinching myself for the 3 weeks of intense travel/performances/adventures...but I barely did anything else for days and days! It was good to have time to relax, but hard to adjust to the sudden change of pace.
My focus soon turned to the upcoming performance I was to give at the Midwest Band and Orchestra Clinic with my old school, Lakota West High School. The director, Greg, invited 6 alumni players to come back and solo with the band for the convention (their third invitation! I was in the first group that was invited in 2000...needless to say, it's a great program!) It was an honor to be asked, and a great experience to solo with such a high-level band.
We gave a send-off performance at Lakota West. It was crazy to be back on that stage again, that's for sure! I definitely never predicted that this is what I would be doing in 8 years when I was standing in the back of this stage playing some timpani, cymbals, xylo and what not! It was great to work with Greg again, and the other fabulous soloists.
The overwhelming positive response after this performance really gave me a lot of motivation and confidence that I'm on the right path! It also gave me an itch to stand in front of the ensemble as opposed to behind it more often :)
After the convention I stayed in Chicago a couple more days to spend time with Aunt Betsy, and soak up as much of the city atmosphere as possible! We had some great chats, and some great meals! I love this city!
Because there wasn't anything keeping me in Cincinnati, I decided to fly to NYC from Chicago to spend some time with friends and check out Make Music NY Winter. I did not regret my decision at all!
I stayed with Marilyn...and it was just like we were back in Rochester! Here we are at Chelsea Market meeting Angela for lunch! If I had it my way, I would be able to see these girls much more often!
The Make Music NY event was really cool. Amy was involved in a lot of the events, and it was fun to "tag along"! A fellow percussionist, Doug, created an event that had two drummers walking the entirety of Broadway (yes....from 225th to the end of the island) while playing Christmas Carols slowed down 128x. I joined in for about 100 blocks...it was pretty wild! Check out the final product here: http://youtu.be/G2kUWJ1pKyQ (after the rhythms have been sped up, and sound kinda like holiday tunes!)
Amy and I strapped the drums on and played a a bit...this photo was in the New York Times
(Ari Mintz for The New York Times)
After the long walk, and an additional percussion parade that Amy's group organized, I headed back to Time Square to meet up with Damien (coached percussion section for Baltic). He wrote the book, and plays for The Addam Family.
I had never been in a Broadway pit before, so this was a real treat!
After another great visit to another great city, it was time to head back to mom and dad's...Christmas was upon us! Amy and I drove back to Cleveland...and had many, many deep conversations about anything and everything. I'm lucky to have a friend like her, who shares similar ambitions and struggles. We hashed through all of our ideas for the future...we are both just so eager to do great things! We could have probably talked all the way to California if we needed to!
In Cleveland, I met up with my brother Jim and his fiancé Amy F. We drove down to Columbus and met mom and dad to have our immediate family Christmas (since Jim and Amy wouldn't be in Cincinnati for the holidays.)
Our lovely gift exchange in the car! Love my family!
On Christmas Day, my mom's side of the family spends the day at our house! It's been like this for as long as I can remember...but now there are a lot of little ones running around!
For New Year's I, once again, spent some time with Amy in a car...and we drove back up to Chicago!! We stayed with some percussion friends, and it was a big reunion for percs from Eastman/Northwestern! Megan even came back from her teaching gig in Amman, Jordan! It was the perfect way to ring in 2012...and all it's uncertainties!
Happy 2012 everyone! Let's see what this chapter has in store....
