New Jersey Mini-Tour

Last week the Field Band went on a four day trip to New Jersey. These performances were technically our first leg of Spring Tour, but we were able to return to Ft. Meade for a week and a half before we head off on the long stretch this Thursday. 

Our concert on February 19th in Medford, NJ marked the first time I had the opportunity to perform in front of the Concert Band as a soloist. Technically I was part of a duet, as you can see from the picture. My section-mate, SFC Chris Sarangoulis, and I performed "The Fantastic Fast-Fingered Fandango" by Bruce Fraser. It was thrilling, albeit a tad nerve-wracking, to stand out front with such an amazing band playing with us. What a dream come true. Sometimes I still can't believe that this is my job and that I have incredible opportunities like this! This photograph was taken by Rob McIver. 

We had some time to explore so I went to New York City! I had never been to NYC before and it really is overwhelming. So much to see and do. I didn't get a lot of pictures because my camera died. Some of the fun things I got to see were Madame Toussad's Wax Museum, Central Park, Natural History Museum, Times Square, and, of course, the always fun New Jersey Transit train. 

We had a particularly good docent at the Natural History Museum and I learned all kinds of interesting things about Neanderthal. 

Here is my friend Tim and I at a comedy club where we caught an early evening improvised troop act. It was hilarious and a great time 

Since we returned from NJ I've been packing up for the big tour, practicing, and surviving the cold. 

Today it snowed so much that the base was closed and we had to stay in from work. My friends and I decided to have some fun playing around in the powdery stuff. It is still pretty foreign to me. We leave for New York on Thursday. I'll be blogging from the road and will remember to keep my camera charged! 

Laissez Les Bon Temps Roule!!

Happy Mardi Gras! Thought I'd do a quick post with a few pictures from my first attempt at celebrating Fat Tuesday away from the South. I had quite an adventure trying to find a King Cake up here. This was the best I could manage, and it only resembled the real deal because I had the bakery lady at Giant doctor it up for me and insert the plastic baby. *sigh*
I had a few friends over and made my two favorite cajun dishes. On the left is coubion, a tomato based fish & shrimp stew. On the right is your classic chicken and sausage gumbo. I even made the roux myself, which is quite a challenge. I made a huge mess but I think it turned out alright. 

I should have pictures up soon from our brief mini-tour to New Jersey! 

Pre-Tour Blog

I'm posting an overview of some of the more eventful activities from the past few weeks. The Field Band is about to leave on our Spring tour very soon and I plan on blogging every day from the road, if possible. I'm very excited to see how my second run at tour goes! 

January 31st was a busy day for me. During the week leading up to that Saturday, the Concert Band had the incredible privilege to work under the baton of Mr. Stephen Pratt, Director of Bands at Indiana University. 

Our performance was on the 31st and the experience was amazing. I am so grateful to be a part of making music at such a high level. Here I am posing for a picture with Professor Pratt. I hope I get to play under his baton again!

Earlier that day I had one of the biggest, most exciting, and nerve-wracking musical moments to date! I was invited to solo with the James Madison University Brass Band in concert at the US Army Band Tuba Euphonium Conference.

 The conference is one of the most important annual professional events in my field and being asked to perform was a very exciting dream-come-true for me! 

I performed Philip Sparke's "Harlequin" with the band. It was very well received and I enjoyed the performance, thought it goes by quickly when you are up there under pressure! I think the best part of it, for me, was that I got to see Dr. Brian Bowman, my long-time professor, and euphonium "Dad." I studied with Dr. Bowman for six years at North Texas and he is one of my heros. I hadn't seen him since I shipped to Basic Training in June, so being able to stand on stage in uniform and play for him was very special to me This second picture was taken at our dress rehearsal. 

In other news, I've been enjoying the time at home with friends and family before this tour. My mom and brother have been able to visit twice this month! I am so proud of my brother- he has been accepted to the Army's Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) school. He will be in training for almost another year learning how to be an officer in one of the most important fields in the Army. He leaves in about a week for Alabama to begin his training, hooah! 

This picture is from Valentine's Day at the George Mason basketball homecoming. My boyfriend and I did some early-morning tailgating before we did the dinner & a movie thing. :) Check out my awesome Texas flag chair! I know how to represent. 

We leave for New Jersey on Thursday to begin our tour so look for updates coming soon! 

A Few Extras...

Just wanted to add these two pictures taken from some news coverage of the Inaugural Parade. 

Inaugural Parade & Ball

I have to do a post about the excitement of the Presidential Inauguration. I've always heard about how the military bands get to take part in the parade and ceremonies, and it was thrilling to be a part of all the to-do. 

My pictures are out of chronological order, but these first few are from the Western Ball, one of the official balls held in the George Washington Convention Center. My boyfriend was able to get tickets so after the parade I quickly cleaned up and we had a fun and fancy evening at this event. 

The featured performer of the night was Marc Anthony. 

I'd never heard him live before, and I must say, I was blown away. I've heard a lot of great salsa performers in Dallas, and his singing and band were top-notch. His show was one of the highlights of the entire day for me. Here is a picture of him singing a duet with the fabulous J. Lo. 

Barack Obama was very busy on that Tuesday night. He made an appearance at all the official balls and showed up at ours around midnight. 

He made a brief speech and danced with the First Lady to "At Last." It was pretty cool to see my new boss in person. The Biden's also made a cameo. 

Before I got to do all this fancy stuff, I was hard at work earning that paycheck.... The Field Band had the great honor of  leading the Inaugural Parade down Pennsylvania Avenue. I don't know if this picture can truly depict how FREEZING COLD I was the entire time. Even with layers on under my uniform, the cold was simply brutal. We all managed to survive, although my low quarter shoes somehow developed a huge gaping crack on the top and will need to be retired. 

So from my 3:00am wakeup until I finally fell asleep sometime after 1:00am, it was a long and eventful day. Definitely one full of memories... just another adventure I'm having in my new life up here in DC!

January Moments

This month has been pretty exciting. As soon as I returned from leave it was right back to work, getting ready for the Presidential Inauguration. We have been braving some freezing weather so that Barack can have some tasty Army jams. It is very exciting to be a part of such an historical moment and I can't wait to see the huge crowds lined up down Constitution Ave! 

This weekend my mom, brother and brother's fiancee came to visit. We went into DC to see some of the monuments. Of course they decided to visit when it was 9 degrees outside, but we had a good time anyway. Here we are in front of the Texas section of the World War II Memorial. I think this is my second favorite memorial, with the Korean War Memorial probably being my No. 1 pick. 

Earlier in the week some of my friends and I had a Ladies Night out on the town in Baltimore. Here we are at the famous eatery Bertha's Mussels. The seafood was excellent and we got these free bumper stickers. 
In other exciting news, Geordi has finally arrived from Texas. I think she is settling in pretty well. She has already lost a few pounds of the table-scrap weight that she put on after staying with my parents for so many months! I've taken her exploring in the city a little bit and look forward to walking her even more when it warms up a bit. I'm definitely glad to have my little furry companion back! 

Puerto Rico

I guess I'm getting good at this Airport blogging thing! Right now I'm waiting on a flight in the San Juan airport. I've had a wonderful time in Puerto Rico but am very ready to get home. 

I went to this tropical paradise to attend the wedding of a good friend, Daniel Ord. Dan is in the Army and the euphonium instructor at the Armed Forces School of Music in Virginia Beach, VA. Dan and I went to UNT together.  

So this gorgeous scenery is the view from our hotel room! It was simply amazing- just like from a postcard. It was certainly nice to come from the freezing temperatures of Maryland to the 80 degree warm climate of the island. 

I was traveling with my good UNT friends Scott Stone and Jamie Lipton. Here the three of us are with the bride and groom at their rehearsal dinner. 

Here I am being silly on some of the beach rocks.