NEW BLOG SITE!

Hello everyone,

My Blog has a brand-new site.

www.laureneuph.com

There are many new posts and lots of other fun features. Thanks for reading, and please continue to do so at the new location. This site will eventually go away.

Lauren

Indiana

The Field Band has been to some great stops in Indiana this tour. One of the more unique stages was at Madison Park Church of God in Anderson. It was the biggest church I've ever seen! A beautiful facility that hosted a great crowd.

Here is our pianist, Darren, practicing before a show.

On the road, our chamber groups continue their mission of educational outreach. My brass quintet, (known as "Brass Five + 1".... I am the "+1"), was tasked with performing for an assembly of several hundred elementary school children. It is always fun to interact with little kids. They are absolutely fascinated by the instruments and all the sounds they can make.

Carmen guides student volunteers through the fundamental makeup of all brass instruments- a long tube with a mouthpiece and a bell attached. We call these contraptions "Hose Horns."

John and Jeannie perform side by side during a quintet number.

Here is a shot of James with the pack of students in the background. This was a very fun gig!

Ohio

Spring Tour 2010 is in full swing! One of my favorite venues so far has been the Palace Theatre in Marion, OH. It is beautiful and the inside is a trip! Very unique statues and decor.

Here is one of our newest members, Patty, busting out some low grooves on the Contra-Bassoon. She is featured on a transcription of the Sorcerer's Apprentice.

Chris manages to show off a bit when he and the Colonel have an impromptu pushup contest during a pre-concert chat.

Here we are warming up onstage before the concert begins. It's been enjoyable getting to know Ohio. I never realized it was so rural- peaceful farm towns and small communities. I have yet to try Skyline Chili... maybe this Summer when we are headed back through the area.

Spring Tour 2010- Somerset, PA

The Field Band began a 33-day tour today with a concert in Somerset, Pennsylvania.

It was a great show to begin the tour because of the enthusiastic crowd. It was nice to finally perform the music we'd been rehearsing for the past few weeks.

My favorite audience member had to be the WWII vet that was wearing his old uniform to the concert! What an honor to play for veterans like him.

I didn't eat too much throughout the day, so after the concert, I was famished. There were several diners near the hotel. I went with some people to check one of them out. The waitress recommended the burgers- they have a local butcher grind the meat fresh each day. It was a great choice. Tasted very fresh and handmade, particularly when paired with sweet potato fries.

Apparently there is this stuff called Scrapple... a PA specialty where they scrape up all these leftover meat bits and char from the grill and make it into a meat-ish patty. I had to try a sample, just because it sounded so unique. I am pairing it with hot sauce in this picture. It definitely reminded me of dog food, but wasn't too bad.

SNOW!

We've been getting a lot of winter weather lately! In fact, we are due to get a big gob of it tomorrow. I'll plan to stay in and hopefully get to another blog update about what has been going on lately. Lots of fun things! 

Return to Blogging and Caviar

Hello, world! I've been neglecting the blog due to some technical difficulties... but now I'm back and have a new camera. It's a Nikon D40, the entry level DSLR, so, I'm hoping my picture quality begins to improve as I learn to use it. 

Here are a few shots of a recipe I tried last night. 

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Caviar-and-Salmon-Blini-Tortes-241526

These Caviar & Salmon Blini Tortes were fun to make, and look very pretty. They were very briny and rich. Personally, I wouldn't go out of my way to eat food like this, but my test subject devoured them! 

I've been occupying my time working on the house lately. I've finally gotten around to painting the second floor. I'll take pictures of the actual rooms soon...

Here is a sample of the guest room. I must like green, because I match! 

Geordi came back to Maryland with me after Christmas. She is her usual quirky self. 

More updates soon! 

Fall Tour 2009

The Field Band was on the road for 40 days this Fall, touring all the way from New Mexcio back to Maryland. I left with the dead-head detail on October 8th and took a sweet road trip all the way out to Albuquerque. The remainder of the band and chorus met us five days later and we began our odyssey,  returning to Fort Meade on November 21st. 

This tour was very eventful for me personally, as I was featured as a soloist with the band, an absolute dream come true. Equally as memorable, I returned to North Texas for the first time since I left for Basic Training. I was able to re-unite with Dr. Bowman, my teacher, and so many wonderful friends. My solo was The Yellow Rose of Texas Variations and this first picture is of me tossing a rose into the audience, (it was hidden up my sleeve during the piece). Photo by Rob McIver. 

This picture sums up what I've been doing for the last month and a half. We played thirty-six concerts across nine states in three different time zones. Below, I'll share pictures of my favorite memories. 

Albuquerque was so lovely. I was able to do a short hike in the Sandia Mountains one morning and also rode the Sandia Tramway, up to 10,000 feet! I can't get enough of the mountains.

Here I am doing some pushups when the drivers found the key to the government van that I dropped outside the hotel! :)

 

This tour was full of great food. I was able to hit all my favorite spots in Dallas, but this little place in the middle-of-nowhere, NM was definitely a highlight. Amazing green chiles! 

As we drove East through the Texas Panhandle and Oklahoma, the view began to look something like this picture. The landscape is barren, but it has a sparse sort of beauty, to me. 

One concert I will never forget was in Snyder, TX. The band performed in a giant coliseum and, as we began to play, dozens of bats swooped in and circled us for the entire evening. I think bats are kind of cute, but most people in the band did not share my opinion of the little concert-goers. 

Performing at the University of North Texas was surreal and very special. After the show, Dr. Bowman and his wife threw a reception for Chris and me. It was fabulous to catch up and reminisce with friends. 

Many of my friends chose to re-enlist while we were on this tour. This is a picture before one of the ceremonies where a large group took the oath and signed up for more Army time. I say Hooah! 

When you are near Dallas, Babes Chicken is a must. Two of my very best friends from UNT and  a great group of my Field Band buds enjoyed this legendary eatery one fine evening.  

This year for Halloween I went as Xena: Warrior Princess. Here I am posing with Levi, our Transportation Supervisor. This costume is extra eerie because he actually was a Drill Sergeant, and it gave many of us some unpleasant flashbacks :) 

I'll wrap it up with a group picture from the Field Band Halloween party. This tour was long, but full of great experiences. Now we are gearing up for Holiday concerts. As far as blogging goes, I tried to go without bringing my own internet card on this tour, and I found the hotel connection situation to be very frustrating. I plan on going back to using my aircard for the next big trip and will hopefully have more timely updates for future tours. Thanks for reading!