More from the symphony camp

Today with second clarinet, yay! Our combined clarinet sound is making BIG difference! And everybody knows that the more clarinet the better! She gave me a new trick with folded plaster on the teeth so not to damage the lower lip too much - my usual cigarette paper is ok but too thin when we're playing so much. She's a teacher at ESNCM, like 14 others in the orchestra, and then we're some other Western people "doping" the otherwise Palestinian orchestra. But classical music is Western, and not many Arabs enjoy it (though I know some Danes who also dislike it), and even fewer play it. But we're some (Western) people who really enjoy to play in a big orchestra!

Our conductor is also from outside Palestine, as far as I understand Colombian living and teaching in Switzerland. I think he's great, so tense and alive and seeing everybody in the orchestra, which makes everybody more alert on what he is trying to make us play.

Rehersing the Piano Concerto.

We played (click on the title to hear the music on youtube):
- Mozart's Overture to Don Giovanni. This was the one I looked most forward to playing, but Dvorak's Czech Suite, especially the Finale, ended up as my favorite after the weekend.
- first movement from his Piano Concerto no. 29 k.466. No clarinet part in this one, but with a talented 15-years old Palestinian girl at the piano.
- Sibelius' Valse Triste - also used as conducting exam piece for the Palestinian basoon player for her studies in France. Lots of cameras recording her and the orchestra. And then I realised that one of them was from MBC (tv-station), so we might have been on Arabic television.
- Dvorak's Czech Suite op.39, Pastorale, Sousedska, Romance, Finale (link til hver). I looked most forward to play Mozart, but it's Dvorak's Finale I'm singing now.

Symphony Orchestra camp!

This weekend I spent in Birzeit, a village in the vicinity of Ramallah, on a rehersal camp with the Edward Said National Conservatory for Music's symphony orchestra. The music school is part of the University of Birzeit, I think (but maybe I'm just mislead by the official name Edward Said Conservatory).

It's a 3 day camp friday to sunday, but Palestinian kids are off from school friday and sunday (muslim and christian holidays) so they need to be driven back to school for saturday, which gives an awkward break.

The facade of the music school - I love the decorations!

It's the first time I play in a proper symphony orchestra; It's strange to be a lonely clarinet, when I'm used to big clarinet flocks in harmony orchestra, but nice to try to be THE principal clarinet.

And I've figured out that winds are as important as strings in a symphony orchestra, or even more: the winds have all the beautiful fill-ins, give the strings' sound more colour, and they are great for solos because there's more sound in one wind instrument than in one string-. So now I'm even more proud of being a clarinetist!

More music, now symphonic

I was asked today by one of the teachers at ESNCM if I would like to play principal clarinet in the conservatory's symphony orchestra. Yes please! He would leave the notes for me at the reception, and first rehersal will be on this coming sunday. In Birzeit University, which is close to Ramallah, and where the the main branch of ESNCM is.

I've now got the notes for the Overture to Mozart's Don Giovanni, Sibelius' Valse Triste, and a suite by Dvorak. The only problem is that they are so symphonic, that they are for A clarinet - as is usual for a symphony orchestra - and mine is a B flat clarinet. But I'll transpose them (thanks to Finale for helping!), and I look very much forward to rehersal on sunday!

Palestinian orchestral challenges

Today I rehearsed with the wind band at ESNCM. That is, we 10 people rehearsed in one of the three fractions of the wind band. The other two fractions, with 30 more people all in all, are in Ramallah and Bethlehem, respectively. It would be convenient to meet in Jerusalem to rehearse all together, but not all the kids from the Palestinian Territories are allowed to go to Jerusalem. So we meet in Ramallah. But only when we have a sceduled concert to get ready to, which we don't have now. But our conductor tries to get one, if not for anything else then for us to try to play in a bigger orchestra.

And once again I feel fortunate at home to play in a big orchestra, that can meet without thoughts of checkpoints, permissions and big distances.

First 3oud lesson

I had my first 3oud lesson today (the teacher was ill last week), and it went very well, though I had to borrow my teacher's rîsha [plectron] because I had forgotten to ask for one when I bought my 3oud. The teacher said I had a good way of holding my right hand on the neck, and showed me how to properly hold the rîsha, and I could hear the difference in sound at once.

I read some notes and played them the same time (luckily I avoided to sing them - but I might have to get used to singing before playing), we talked a bit about maqamat, and he instructed me how to make my own rîsha out of plastic cable ties (or those used by the police as handcuffs) by putting it in olive oil. Very important that it's olive oil. I aked why, and suggest myself it's because we're in Palestina, famous for its olives.

I enjoyed the lesson and the teacher seems very nice and skilled - I just don't like the time on late friday afternoon. Our roommate had invited us for "Kabbala Shabbat", Shabbat celebration with lots of music, but I couldn't attend because of my lesson. And later on, when we want to go on longer trips to see the country, it could be nice to leave friday morning (A's weekend from the university is friday and saturday), and return sunday (none of us have classes sunday, the first day of the week). So I'll ask to get another time. But then it has to be with another teacher, cus this one only teaches friday...

First lessons on ESNCM

Today I had my first lessons at the ESNCM. First one was "Maqamat 1", which is about the Arabic counterpart to scales. Here, the different maqâmât are thaught, their intervals, starting note, which two half-scales (ajnâs) they are build of, and their behavior (tasarruf). The behavior is the most important part, all the rest is just "facts". The music and the expertise lies in knowing how and when to use which maqâm, to know it's mood and colour.

After a longer break and a date with my dear husband, the next class was "Introduction to Oriental Music". This one teaches the different types of Arabic musical pieces, both the instrumental and the sung, the various rhythms (and there are many!), a bit about the instruments.

Classes started after the summer holidays, so I'm jumping in in the middle of things and these two were in Palestinian Arabic, so I don't understand everything. But enough to get invited by my girlish classmates on a trip "to find food", food as in cake.

Last class was Harmony with an Austrian teacher, so this was in English, and a bit more easy for me to follow. It is Western music theory and how to use it when composing.

After all this (and I'm a bit sad that all my three theory classes are on the same evening; I would like to come twice a week instead) I biked (! ^^) on to the Jerusalem Music Center for rehersal with the Israeli wind band, HarEl. Long day with lots of music!

Music interview

Today I was at an "interview" with my coming oud-teacher at the Edward Said National Conservatory for Music. I was a bit puzzled about the purpose of this interview, but I think it was to test if I had any musical sense; if I could recognize minor and major scales (he played on his oud), if I had any rhythmic sence and could recognize the beats, if I could hear which tone was the higher of the two. After 14 years with my clarinet I passed all the tests "very good" - and I would have been surprised if I had failed...

But finally I've found a place to study music - and I've managed to explain what I want to study! - so besides 45minutes of solo oud-lessons once a week, I'm going to attend classes on Maqamat (Arabic scales and music theory), Introduction to Oriental Music, and Harmony (Western music theory). Most of these in Arabic, which will be a challange, but that's the way to practise my Arabic! I hope to catch up on what the others have been doing for the past half a year - but I look forward to start on wednesday! =)

Edward Said National Conservatory for Music