New groups and more adventures!

It is about 10pm here on Friday night, and this has been a great week. After a lot of emailing and work I had my first brass band rehearsal with a real British Brass Band. I got the call from the Besses o' th' Barn Brass Band which is about 20 minute commute from my dorm here near the RNCM. They currently have a few openings, and I sat in for a rehearsal last night. Everyone in the band was super nice and very friendly. The band plays really well, and the conductor is top notch - great style and great ears. It will be fun to play. They asked me back for another rehearsal next week, and this time they won't have to listen to my horrible sight reading.

Tomorrow I am traveling down to London with a few of my buddies from the studio here at the RNCM to see the British Open Brass Band Championships. The best bands in the world will be there, and I get to see the historic Royal Albert Hall. Check one off the "to-do-before-I-die" list. Here are a few screen shots from the internet of the hall. Quite beautiful. Also, the brand new Besson Prestige Euphonium will be on display with my teacher nearby, I'm sure - so that is also something cool to look forward to.

So, two Americans and a guy from Taiwan are going to traverse the UK Train System and the London Underground - wish us luck. I promise to take lots of pictures while I am away, and more updates soon!

There is no U in color!

Well, we have eclipsed the 5 week portion of our trip to jolly-ole England. To say things are different here is definitely an understatement. I think the lack of health food and various department stores has been the biggest shock for me, although I seem to be staying alive quite well.

English 'mis'spellings so far:

- colour
- favourite
- organise (really looks weird, I know)

I was walking through the ASDA (imagine a Wal-Mart, and then make it smaller) and I found some really strange foods. First of all, things here are simply called different things than in the US. I was trying to find zucchini to make with dinner, and I was having a hard time finding them in the supermarket. The reason being, they don't call them zucchini - they call them courgettes. So, I find myself not looking at signs anymore in the grocery store, but simply looking for food in every aisle. I took a picture of a few of the weirdest foods I encountered, plus a picture of one of the largest beer cans I believe I have ever seen.

Now, this picture is of 'Prawn Cocktail' flavored potato chips. I am told that they are 'brilliant', but I think I'm too 'brilliant' to ever find out if that is true.

I have heard of malted milk balls, malt liquor, but malted wheaties? I know this picture is fuzzy (sorry, I was in the supermarket taking pictures trying not to look like a terrorist), but you get the idea.

And the largest beer can I could find. For those keeping score on this one - the can on the right is a 24 oz can. WOW! Alcoholics everywhere are cheering.

Everyone always asks me what it is like over here. It is a lot different than the US. First of all, everyone over here walks slower. People take the time to say hello and ask you how you are doing. They usually take a full hour for lunch, and dinner is usually an entire evening event. For the most part, productivity is lower - but they seem happy. I don't think I could stress out a British person. I think they must have lower blood pressure than the Americans. I know that there is a lot more emphasis put on actually learning something than simply getting a grade. Being over here has given me a new perspective on grading systems. Because, they really don't have one over here. I mean, you have marks (grades), but they don't matter in the 'American' way of thinking of them. There is no average, no GPA, no class rank, no honors system. You either do or do not - there is no try. Yoda was British, wow.

Anyway, I hope that you enjoyed our little jaunt into my mind this evening. I am venturing out of Manchester this weekend for the day to attend the British Nationals Brass Band Competition. I am going to see the best brass bands in the world this weekend, but I hope to make it back in one piece. Because, the group of us that are going - there is one Englishman, 3 Americans, and a guy from Taiwan who doesn't speak English so 'good.' Take care, more info when I get back!

"back home again.... in the UK"

I'm not sure that's how the song goes, but anyway... It has been a great week. For those who are just joining us, I went back to the US for two service band auditions. I left bright and early on the 11th, and thanks to a 6-hour time change, I arrived that same afternoon in Providence, RI.

I have never driven along the east coast before, and it is quite beautiful. The trees were just beginning to turn, and it was getting a bit cold over there. Anyway, I arrived in Providence and had to drive to New London, CT where the United States Coast Guard Academy is. I'd never been there before, and the Academy is really a nice place to go. The surrounding area is nice and peaceful, but being on the water - it might get a bit chilly in the winter.

There were about 40 people show up for the Coast Guard audition. Players from everywhere showed up - I did my best not to fall asleep during my warm-up, considering it was 12 hours after I got to the US! When the smoke cleared at the end, Bonnie Denton won the job. Kudos to her - she was previously in the West Point Academy Band, but had been living in New London with her husband for a while.

After the first audition, I got a phonecall from Jason Ham in the West Point Band asking if I wanted to come over for a bit before I headed down to DC. I have been to West Point before, and it is beautiful - so for a free place to stay, I jumped on it! It was great to visit with Jason and his new wife, Bonnie, for a bit before heading down to Washington, D.C.

Once again, never driving on the east coast I think I have been missing out! It was a really beautful drive (except for that New York City traffic) down to Maryland where I was staying with fellow euphonium-player, Danny Helseth. It was great to see him for the weekend and talk about his new CD which I am releasing on Potenza Music. Shameless plug, I know... ;)

The weather did cooperate enough for an enjoyable weekend. Got to hang out with some cool people and catch up with old friends. The Navy audition took place on Monday. The same crowd was there, but people were a bit more laid back about this audition I think. The repertoire for the audition was more standard, and I knew that I personally could play it better than the first list. So, I went in and played my butt off. They only advanced a few people out of the first round, with a whole bunch of powerhouses getting ousted in the first round, but I wouldn't change anything about the way I played. The Navy band ended up not accepting anyone for the position, so we will have to do this all again in 4 months.

We so often start to second-guess ourselves when we don't win jobs. But, the truth is that there are only a few of these jobs and a lot of good players. To let it get to you is to totally miss the point in making music for a living. Sometimes I can't believe that I am actually going to have a career that I enjoy doing. The only thing that we can do is try to bring the euphonium to a new level through hard work and determination. How you play on one day out of your whole life shouldn't dictate your life, but should push you for wanting to be a better player. My advice to anyone struggling with this - keep playing, but remember to HAVE FUN!

I had a great time on my trip back to the US. I want to thank my parents for bringing me back, and for the CG and NAVY bands for providing something to work towards over the summer. Now, I am just glad to be back in England and getting to play something longer than 36 bars! Have a great day everyone, and I'll update with more new exciting stories as soon as I make them! But for now, a check out this HUGE ring I found at the Coast Guard Academy!

"Cause I'm back in the USSR..." I mean, the USA! ;)

A quick post for everybody. Just wanted to let you know that I am back in the USA for a week. I am in Philadelphia right now, getting ready to fly to Providence, RI. I take the Coast Guard audition tomorrow, and then it's down to DC for the Navy Band audition. More info to come later - and I hope to do a little bit of sightseeing while I'm down in DC. Will post more later!

Quite a week - and it's not over yet...

It has been a really great week here at the RNCM filled with euphonium's and practice rooms. Right now, it is about 9:30p on Friday night and I just got back from a practice session. I thought that I would be the only winner who was practicing on a Friday evening, but the place was jam-packed with people! It is so nice being surrounded by others "like me."

I leave for the US on Wednesday afternoon and I get in on Wednesday afternoon. Strange, with the time change it takes 14 hours to get here from the US, and only 2 hours to get back. That is so weird. Anyway, I fly from Manchester to Philadelphia and then catch a quick flight from Philly to Providence, RI. Wish me luck on my auditions - my two excerpts seem to be getting better, so we'll hope for the best.

I had my first lesson with David Thorton today, who is the principal euphonium in the Black Dyke Brass Band. It was nice to run these excerpts by someone who plays these for a living. It was nice seeing him struggle a little, reminding me that he is "human."

I had a nice suprise this week. For those tuba players who read this, Mel Culbertson is an interim teacher here at the RNCM since Jim Gourlay left to go run a music school up in Scotland. He comes down once every-other-week, and I get to have a lesson with him on Sunday. So, this week I got lessons with Steven Mead, David Thorton, and Mel Culberson. I don't usually brag - but that is pretty darn cool. ;)

We were spoiled last week with only a few inches of rain, but this week the "typical" Manchester weather definitely came out to play. Every morning it was raining, every afternoon it rained, and usually rained in the evening too. You just get used to being wet after a while. Oh well... worse things, I guess - at least its not Atlanta where the clothes would be sticking to you from the humidity...

This coming week will be filled with more practice and then venturing back to the US for my auditions. I am going to go in there and play musically - not carefully at all - just go for the gold. I'm not expecting anything - I'm just going to play. But I do know this - - - whatever I practice on the 17th (day after last audition) it is going to feel great, because I am ready to not be practicing these excerpts. All the best! Take care!

8 Days of class and my first experience with "foot-ball"

Alright,

It's been 8 days since the bell rang here in Manchester, and I am finally starting to find out where everything is. One bad thing - I woke up today and our fridge (our teeny-tiny fridge for 4 people, mind you) broke. So, they came up to "fix it." That definitely didn't work. I am not sure why they just can't go buy another one - they had to order another one. The service man, who was quite nice, said that he would have one for us in a couple of days. Now, most of you will be asking yourself "what about all of the food in the fridge?" That is a great question. They gave us a key to one of the guest rooms on the top floor of the dorm so we can store our food in that fridge. So, now when we wake up in the morning we have to go up 2 flights of stairs and down the hallway to get the milk. Oh well - another thing to add to the list of "dumb things about Britain." Just kidding, there has been very little that I haven't liked about my new surrounding.

Last week on Thursday I had the chance to see the Halle Orchestra, which is said to be the finest orchestra in the UK. I thought that London Symphony, but people tell me that right now - they are it. They performed Brandenburg Concerto No. 5 (Bach), and Mahler's 5th Symphony. Anyone who knows about Mahler knows that he wrote incredibly taxing and hard parts for the orchestra and the 5th Symphony is one of the longest pieces in the orchestral repertoire. It weighs in at 75 minutes of glory. It was spectacular, though. The musicians did get a bit tired toward the end, but who can blame them for that one. I said before that the last concert was one of the best live performances, but this one was even better. Definitely beat the Kansas City Symphony out of the water. ;)

The weekend was filled with rest/relaxation/and practice. I had some pretty good sessions in the practice room - which I am taking a break from right now. My excerpts for the Coast Guard and Navy auditions are getting better (I will definitely be ready to play something else when I get back, though) and hopefully good things will happen in 10 days.

I had my first experience with European Football on Sunday. I spent the day with my flatmates at the Trafford Centre, which is basically a very large shopping mall. However, Manchester United was playing a home game and you have to drive by it on the way to and from the Trafford Centre to get back to the RNCM. Needless to say, there were some very large, very drunk, very smelly men on the bus on the ride back that had "had a few." Oh well.

This week is getting off to a good start though. If you hadn't noticed, the website is a different color now. I felt like we needed a small change, and you can get to the BLOG directly by clicking on the link the says BLOG on the homepage. No more needing to go to the NEWS section. A few more cool things for the music crowd. Soon, you will be able to purchase the FUNDAMENTAL MUSIC series from Tormod Flaten, and the EUPHONIUM VIRTUOSO collection from Steven Mead right here at patstuckemeyer.com. I feel that these are 2 great lines of music that need an outlet in the US - and now we have it! Look for more info! For those that have no interest in the music, but your interest in me - thanks for all of your cards and emails! It has been a great trip so far, but I miss you all! More pictures soon, I promise!