ugh. I am so tired.
Still having a great time, but man this job takes stamina! Today was great though! I ended up doing a lot of different things by the time I was finished, but all good stuff.
First, however, I feel I must mention that I have a sort of informal breakfast ritual -- I usually come down to the lobby for breakfast as Ross Kimura is still there; he is SUCH a riot! He is a daunting-looking Japanese man who talks with the thickest Brooklyn accent I've heard in quite a while... and SO funny! It's basically an ideal start to the day: Coffee Talk with Ross.
My first class was accompanying for Michael Maresca. I feel like we're on such a similar level much of the time -- we're the same age, have the same voice part, like the same music, and he even has the same kind of glasses as me! I'm like his slightly fatter, slightly more Southern cousin. But anyway, he's incredibly knowledgeable and extremely entertaining to listen to! I really enjoyed his session, even though I only played for a small portion of it. He spent most of the time addressing questions and problems with the voice that were posed by the lecture group. Great stuff!
After that, I had a little bit of a break before accompanying another one of Darren's ballet classes. I really like accompanying for him, although it can sometimes be tricky to come up with the right thing to play for the situation. I have to think of something that will fit in the time signature, the tempo, and the form of the combination. Sometimes I get lucky, sometimes not. I suppose that's the risk you take!
The usual crew went to lunch (Bill, Michael, and I) and while I was there Julie Denninghoff asked if we could swap classes in the afternoon block. I was supposed to accompany another one of Michael's sessions and another vocal masterclass, but instead I accompanied back-to-back dance classes with Mr. D'Amboise. I'm assuming it was modern... although it's hard to tell. A little ballet, a little jazz, a lot of movement and flow. At any rate, it was tricky to get a bead on what he wanted as far as music since I was so used to playing the ballet classes. It ended well though, and I enjoyed his session as well.
After dinner, I started the next block with Rick Pessagno: "Coffee Break" from How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying. I hadn't ever heard the song before, so I had the smarts to check it out on YouTube the night before. As it turns out, the tune is really pretty simple! All the harmonies between the men and women are doubled, so teaching it was relatively easy. They took direction well, and although the had a few high schoolish lapses in focus, they are a really sweet and hard-working group. And funny?!? these kids can be hilarious!
There was a little glint to the whole day, though -- one guy came up after rehearsal and told me, not asked, that he was signing up for a lesson with me as soon as possible! I wasn't even on the books to teach private lessons! How amazing! This is like the third kid who has approached me on their own and inquired about private lessons from me. So awesome! Tomorrow I'm going to make a list of these folks and get it to the administrative staff so they can schedule me in accordingly. As a side note, it's also an added bonus that he asked me, "Did you play Mark Cohen in Rent?" After telling him no, he said, "Well, you look and sound just like him! When I first saw you I thought, 'Oh my god! It's him!'" How can you not feel just a little proud after that?
It's just such an amazing feeling, knowing that with all of these incredible and accomplished instructors and performers, that several individuals are approaching me for guidance and advice. I don't have the credentials of these people, but I do feel that I can offer them something very real and unique, so I'm certainly going to accommodate their requests.
Aside from a stiff left elbow, I still have absolutely nothing to complain about! I'm having to be careful about how I play, since I'm playing so much. I literally played all day today, aside from meal breaks and a couple of transition periods. By the way, anyone ever had tennis elbow? Know how to relieve it?
Be sure to check out my video in my last post!
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