Sarajevo Philharmonic

Playing with the Sarajevo Philharmonic is going to be an interesting experience this year. Remember how I was worried about playing at 442? Well, I had nothing to worry about there. With the reeds I make, switching to a No. 1 bocal is all I need. I guess I didn't have to adjust too much from playing at 441 this summer at Aspen. The problem is that wherever we tune, the pitch tends to rise from there. I've been keeping my pitch down to 442 as much as I can stand, since I often have the root (main pitch) of the chord. It doesn't help all of the time though.

I do have to say that even though I was dealing with a lot of new things the first few days, I was quite taken by how much fun everybody in the orchestra has. I know that we have fun at school, but everyone is so serious about music there. Nobody would dare sing along with their favorite opera arias or bob along with a cool bass line. However, in Sarajevo this kind of thing happens all of the time. It bugged me at first, but then I realized that I would rather play with people who clearly enjoy what they are doing than play with some stuffy orchestra that makes me feel like I have to walk on egg shells to fit in.

I've also noticed that I tend to be a bit shy as an orchestral musician, especially compared to the musicians in the Sarajevo Philharmonic. Edo for example, always has something to say with his bassoon. I might not agree with how he says it, but the fact that he always making his opinion heard in the orchestra will force me to be more outgoing with my own playing. After all, we are a section and therefore have to blend.

I said before that being in Bosnia is always an adventure, and playing in the orchestra is no exception. It'll be a great experience for me. We have already performed Verdi's La Traviata and Brahms Symphony No. 4 in concert, and later this fall we will play Tchaikovsky Symphony No. 6, Peter and the Wolf, Verdi's Masked Ball, and Bizet's Carmen. I am quite excited to finally play such good repertoire.