French Horns Rule!

Principal French Horn Jane Swanson posted this as a comment a while back, but I think it deserves to be in the "main" part of the blog:

"David writes about various ways musicians unwind after a performance. I offer a few comments about what some of us do to prepare for a performance.



Some orchestra members have probably observed over time that the horn section tends to do mini-problem-solving before, at breaks, and after rehearsals. What you wouldn't have a chance to observe is that for every concert, we also have one or two section rehearsals at one of our homes. Scheduling these is no small feat, but we find them very useful. We can hear each other better so that we get each others' parts in our ears and fine-tune lengths of notes, intonation and style. It is kind of magical how it boosts confidence.



I would also like to take this opportunity to thank each member of the horn section for her/his terrific teamwork. I am the main beneficiary, as the section helps me pace my chops and offers kindly words of wisdom when performance anxiety rears its unwelcome head. Larisa, Jennifer and Kelli have long felt like immediate family, and for the last two concerts with "heavy" horn parts, it has been very helpful to have Greg Magie on board as assistant first horn.



The Tuesday before our Mahler performance, Jennifer ( who is young) and I (not young) drove to Disney Hall to hear the Vienna Philharmonic perform Bruckner Sym. #9, getting back to SLO after 2 a.m. Nutty but very worthwhile! It was inspiring to hear Vienna's clean playing, perfect blend, and huge dynamic range. I do think it helped us to aim a bit higher as we approached the Mahler performance. Hopefully we can keep some of that inspiration alive for Beethoven in May!



Enough of what the horn section does! We really could not have any fun at all without the rest of the orchestra, so thanks to strings (devils included), winds, our brass friends ( and spouses of Larisa and Jennifer) across the way, and the percussion and keyboard sections for making the whole picture work!"