Reminiscing

 Hey y'all, 

A year ago today I got to play at Carnegie Hall. It was the must incredible (and terrifying) experience I've ever had. In July 2019 auditioned for a program called Honors Performance Series, and in late October, I was accepted. In late January, I travelled to New York; I arrived on Thursday night, and met some of the most passionate, kind, funny people I know. We had an awesome time going to a world market for dinner, and I was introduced to dulce de leche ice cream, which is now my favorite flavor of all time. On Friday, I rehearsed with the orchestra during the day and then at night, we went to see "Phantom of the Opera", which was awesome. I remember going to get milkshakes before we went out and thinking that I'd never had this much fun in my life. Then on Saturday, we rehearsed again during the day, and that night we visited "Top of the Rock" (Rockefeller Center) and Times Square. The view, the company, and the whole experience were incredible. Then on Sunday morning we rehearsed for about an hour or so and then waited for the performance that afternoon. I was so nervous to play in Carnegie Hall, especially because I was first horn, so I had a solo in the second measure of one of our pieces! I'd never felt so relieved in my life as I did after I played the solo haha. We played Tchaikovsky 5, movement 4; Dusk by Steven Bryant; Hungarian March from "The Damnation of Faust" by Berlioz; and Comedian's Galop by Kabalevsky. Y'all should check them all out! (Honestly, all of Tchaik 5 is amazing, not just the 4th movement...) My solo was in the second measure of Dusk. 

         That night, we all went on a cruise on the Hudson River! It was so fun. The boat had a dance floor and of course we all danced. You could see the statue of liberty if you went outside (even though it was freezing haha). On the way back to the hotel my new French horn friend gave me a piggy-back ride. It was the most fun I think I've ever had, and I'm still friends with a lot of the people I met. (In fact, I just sent my French horn friend a king cake haha.) Overall, the entire trip was incredible, and I will never forget how exhilarating it was and how I felt I was among kindred spirits. The next day (Monday morning), I got up at 4:00 am to catch a plane so that I could arrive and go to half the day of school that day (since I'd already missed Thursday and Friday). The main reason I wanted to go to school was that we had long math, but of course, that day, our teacher was caught up with a disciplinary issue and she wasn't there for class, so I could've stayed in New York that whole day and slept in. Anyway...

        A year later, and so much has changed. I may be able to do something similar to this trip this summer, depending on how the distribution of the vaccine goes. We'll see. Anyway, I hope y'all enjoyed this post. If you haven't tried dulce de leche ice cream, I strongly recommend it. I might be a little biased since it reminds me of this incredible trip, but I also just love the taste. Anyway, that's enough reminiscing for today. Carnegie Hall was truly an unforgettable experience.

Love from 

Clara