Orchestra, and Japan

Well, the orchestra list was posted today, and I did not make it. They did not add a fourth trombone chair as they had been talking about, and Benjamin took the bass trombone spot. And I mean, I'm not disappointed, but I am a little. I'm disappointed because I really want to play in an orchestra, and just know how it goes. But like I said in the previous post, I played a very good audition. And the fact is that can't be denied, Benjamin is a better player than I am. The three best trombonists at Luther got into the orchestra, hands down, and that's how it should be. The question that is posed to me now is how to improve myself so I can enter the upper echelon of trombonists here. To a certain extent, I already am. But I want to be skilled enough to be able to play in any ensemble I wish. I think I wrote about this earlier. I want to be one of the best. This audition can only aid me in discovering my weaknesses and learning how to overcome them. It's an opportunity, and I hope I can capitalize on it as much as I capitalized on my band audition opportunity last year. Speaking of band, being around all these people has made me incredibly nostalgic about my trip to Japan. I never really talked about it much in this blog, except for the few entries I was able to actually post in Tokyo, which I encourage you to read. They can be found in the June archive. Just, a hundred little things that are so hard to explain here come rushing back, like listening to Def Tech with Keito in Kumamoto, and wandering around Kagoshima with Benjamin looking for a ramen bar. Or feeling the strange sense of peace I felt in the midst of Tokyo. Or just the sheer electric energy of some of our performances, listening to Phil cry as we played "Who Puts His Trust," and just sort of discovering the beauty and joys of a world that so few have experienced. And I mean, Japan is not perfect by any means. But it's so beautiful in such a unique and wonderful way. If every you have an opportunity to travel to Japan, I can't implore you enough to do so. And if you can somehow stay with an actual Japanese family, I doubly implore you to take up such an opportunity. I'm sure some of my most memorable experiences in my whole life have been fostered by the 33 or so hours I spent with Chie, Keito, Benjamin, and the rest of the fam in Kumamoto. Beautiful people, that's all I got to say. If any of you readers would ever like to see my photos or hear some of my experiences, I would love to share them. Seriously, please ask, I want to share them. So, I think I'm going to buy some Seinfeld DVD's. I've been watching the reruns on TBS, and I really like them. It's that weird sort of humor that I dig. Oh yeah, and back to Japan. I suggest you all go rent "Lost in Translation." That like, sums up my Japan experience, without the weird midlife crisis. Well, in Tokyo at least. Holy crap, what an amazing 2 and a half weeks of my life. Well, sort of kinda with China. That's a whole other story. I must admit, seeing Revenge of the Sith in Beijing was pretty awesome, and riding in the Chinese taxi. Ha, and the whole Luther College Concert Band either drinking or intoxicated in the Exhibition Center Hotel bar. Ridiculous. Man, what fun. Just to quell any doubts, I was not intoxicated, but I was of age in China, I think, so I did have a few drinks with the boys. Although, here's some strange info I came across after I returned. During my nighttime trek to Ginza in Tokyo, I stopped in a beer garden and had a small beer, and just sort of enjoyed the moment. I thought I was of age. However, as I returned to the US, I discovered I was not of age. But my friendly Japanese waiters didn't care, I guess. So, that's the jit. Nostalgic for Japan. Man, I can't wait to go back.