It's that time of year again...

I'm feeling bloggy today. Here's what is going on up on Mica Peak musically - I am the contractor for the local opera this year! For the orchestra part at least. This is a new experience for me and I'm kind of intrigued by it! Several people who really never gave me the time of day before are cozying up to me, kinda funny. But I'm so excited to hear how the group I've pulled together will sound, our first rehearsal is next Tuesday. The opera is Rigoletto - and I did hire myself to play! The symphony's summer concerts are going really well, nothing big for me but that is FINE. We are going Pictures at an Exhibition, Candide, Cappriccio Italian and Polovtsian Dances for our season opener, that ought to be good. But wait, there's more! I'm also opening 5 weeks of Les Mis with the local theater. So glad it's an oboe/eh show instead of a 5-6 horn show. I suppose I will have chops of steel by the end of October, and I will need them because... In November I'm playing the wedding cantata! This is an endless stream of beautiful oboe-ness (as so many Bach arias are!) but there is not a rest to be seen. I'm pretty excited about this as Bach was my specialty (so to speak) back in the day - and no one does baroque music around here, at least not with me. After all that there is a short break before our symphony christmas concert (Brahms Violin Concerto - also known as Brahms secret oboe concerto). But during that break I'm touring Europe with the Cleveland Orchestra! Yeah, ok - they didn't exactly hire me...but I'll be hobnobbing with the elite! Does that seem like enough stuff? I guess I should mention I've been making reeds again, my source has kind of dried up and it seems like my nearly 12 yo is not the excuse he was 12 years ago! Extremely happy with my eh reeds - but I'm looking for fun varigated thread. I'm tired of boring one-color thread. Someone gave me this great blue vari and I want more - hate the multi color stuff though - too much. I like the more subtle change of color. Isn't reed making fun?