Day 125/126
Second (and final) rehearsal with Robert today! We met for a 30-minute rehearsal in Room 8217, these are meeting rooms that the hotel has just off of the ballroom space on the lobby floor level. Tables and chairs had been pushed to the edges of the room to make a square open space. The acoustics in this room were a huge improvement over yesterday!
Rehearsal schedule for Room 8217
When Robert arrived he announced that he just wanted to run the piece two times today, since we had gone over so much of it yesterday. But when we started the first run-through, he stopped us because we were too fast. He made the great comment that when you ask people to play quarter note = 60, that most people will give you quarter = 72. He really wants 60, just as it’s marked. I was definitely guilty of this!
Robert also cautioned us to take time getting up to the top of the arcs in the first section, and reminded us that the arcs are more important than seconds. Pam was continuing to have trouble switching between bass and C flute: it’s a quick transition and she starts all of us on Section III. She worked out a better cue with Robert and moved her stand forward so she could see him better. Hopefully visibility won’t be an issue tomorrow.
During these run throughs, we did a lot of listening to make sure the transitions were smooth. Robert called this “letting the tide go out.” I love this imagery!
We ended up running the piece almost three times. Yesterday Robert had timed the piece at about 7 minutes. Today Cecilia clocked it at around 8.
We took care of housekeeping at the end: we told Robert we were going to wear all black; he thought he would wear white pinstripe pants with a black shirt. We agreed to meet 30 minutes before the concert tomorrow to get the lay of the land and set up. Pam also needs a chair near her so she can switch instruments quickly.
I can’t believe this is really happening tomorrow!