Guess what? Turns out I didn't come out on top thsi year. I take it as gracefully as I could. I kind of knew that he'd be ahead of me, but it couldn't hurt to try, right? And I had fun teasing him. So all was well.
"Congrats." I said to him. "I'm sure it was close. I'll have to challenge you sometime this year."
"I welcome the challenge." He replied.
Perhaps I should explain. Challenges. If you're unhappy with your seating, you can challenge the person in the next chair. The person in the next chair is the person who is one level higher. In my case, Aoshi. Aoshi has no one to challenge, because he's the top, the best, there's no one in a higher chair than him. So anyway, once you challenge someone, you and him/her have a week to practice and prepare for the challenge. Then you two meet with Hiko and he pick out any parts of the piece that you're currently playing and whoever is the better player is awarded the higher seat.
So you could very well start out in the last stand, last chair of the second violins and get to be first stand, first chair second violin. Same with all the sections.
"Alright everyone!" Hiko boomed as he walked into the room. "You have your seats and your music folders. Here's what we're playing this fall. Overture to Candide by Leonard Berstein, Carmen Suite by Bizet-we won't be playing the whole thing, Night on Bald Mountain by Moussoursky, and Tchaikovsky's fourth symphony finale. So let's get playing! Candide first."
I instantly love Candide. It's a great piece, and plus, it's by Leonard Berstein. The genius composer of West Side Story. Gotta love West Side Story.
"Stop! Stop!" Hiko puts his hand in the air. "It's sarcastic, mocking, ha-ha in your face. Now play it that way!"
A bit shorter on the quarter notes and more space between should do.
"Now cresendo on the eight notes!"
After more playing, he stop sus again. "Am I the only one who sees a repeat at three before 50?" We play it again, this time with the repeats. "Now lyrical, very pretty.....you're dragging!" He starts counting out loud. And he stops again. "It's lyrical, yes," he says, "but a fast lyrical."
After that we get through the rest of Candide pretty well. I must say, the ending is great. A short, soft note, then a loud, crashing chord. It's great, I guareentee you.
"Alright-Bizet now. The prologue is one the best every written! It's really intense. The violins and violas all have tremelos the entire time, and you guys have to play over that."
We barely got through the prologue when the bell rang. Everyone started to scramble to put their intruments away.
"Hey, Aoshi," I said. "What do you think of the music so far?"
"Not too bad this year. Candide is pretty interesting."
"I think I'm going to love Bizet after this."
"We'll see."
"Meet me here at lunch, okay? Aoshi?"
"Sure."
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"Sou!!!!!" I yelled across the cafeteria, hoping he would hear. "A little faster, Aoshi; you're not a turtle, you know." I tugged Aoshi's arm, tryign to make he walk a little faster.
"Hey Misao!" Sou greeted me with his ever-present smile.
"Bleh" I fell into the seat, Aoshi sitting down across from me. "I'm sooo tired. I knew I should have gone to bed earlier."
"Your fault, now you're paying for it."
"Shut up, Sou."
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Even if you're not into orchestral music, you should definately find some mp3's to listen to. Carmen is AMAZING. It's so fun to listen to, and Candide is something that you might enjoy as well. Night on Bald Mountain is in Fantasia, but the one that MSO is playing is a different version. Tchaik is really cool to listen to, the first movement is super-cool. Definately check them out!
Well, another chapter. It took a bit longer, because I was compliling notes for the music and the things that I wanted to mention in each piece during rehearshals. My orchestra's done with it currently, but I definately want to be able to talk at some kind of length on each piece. The romance will move slowly, but not to worry, it will progress. I just can't guareentee quick chapters, or even long ones or that matter. Oh well, enjoy!