8 october

It’s Saturday night and what are we all doing? Practicing! It’s getting pretty crazy over here… Adrian’s busted out the Baroque flute and I’ve got my recorder out. We’re out of control over here at the Old Dairy. Wooooo!

There are some funny sounds coming from my room right now, I am sure. This month is my month to play the recorder, so I’m attempting to make some kind of decent sound come out of the thing. Nothing yet. So far, it sounds like a lower-pitched version of those cheap plastic Yamaha recorders that fourth graders play for music class. Beautiful.

Today Sue, Paul and Robbie come over to the New Dairy to teach us how to play wist, a card game. The game is pretty much the same thing as Spades. On the second Friday of each month, villagers get together to play the game, so next Friday will be our first time to play. There are prizes for the top 4 or 5 players and also for the worst players. This week, I may win a prize for being the worst :P

Tomorrow Trevor and Dot are throwing a party at noon so that we can meet the villagers in Elmsted and Hastingliegh and we get to wear nametags and walk around to serve drinks to all the guests. After the party, we’re going back to London for a concert by Jaques Zoon at the Royal Academy of Music. Since it’s at 5, we’re going to Chinatown afterward for dinner. CAN’T. WAIT. YUM.

The job I’ve been assigned for the Studio is Concert Manager, which means that I research what concerts and recitals are happening in London or in the area and book the tickets for everyone who wants to go. I made quite a list today of concerts happening over the next few months of the London Philharmonic, the BBC Symphony Orchestra, and concerts at Wigmore Hall. I haven’t gotten to the other halls in London yet. There are so many concerts happening every day of the week here… it’s awesome. Some of the concerts I’m excited about:

London Phil ---- Mozart Symphony No. 41, R Strauss Also sprach Zarathustra

London Phil ---- Beethoven Violin Concerto, Brahms Symphony No. 2 (!!!!)

London Phil ---- Mussorgsky Pictures at an Exhibition

London Phil with Renee Fleming ---- Wagner Tannhauser Overture, Beethoven Symphony No. 7, R Strauss Four Last Songs

Emmanuel Pahud @ Wigmore Hall ---- Schumann 3 Romances, Brahms Sonata in E-flat, Mozart Flute Sonata in E, Prokofiev Sonata

Emily Beynon @ Wigmore Hall (1^st flute of Concertgabow)

London Phil ---- Prokofiev Symphony No. 1, Tchaikovsky Symphony No. 5

London Phil ---- Liszt Piano Concertos 1 and 2, Dvorak Symphony No. 8

BBC Symphony ---- Tchaik 5

BBC Symphony ---- Prokofiev Piano Concerto, Stravinsky Petrushka

Both BBC and London are doing a lot of Sibelius and Prokofiev this season. I don’t think I can afford to go to all of those concerts, but I sure wish I could! I’d love to live in London just for the concerts!!

Well, I need to get up early tomorrow, so it’s bedtime for me. Cheers! :)