Albany, NY

On Saturday we ventured to New York's distinguished capitol for an afternoon concert in "The Egg." I caught a picture of the skyline as we were driving in and you can see why that name is very fitting. It was a crazy place. Even the elevators were ovals. It was one of the more interesting buildings I have ever explored. 

So for this tour I am on the setup crew. We actually ride ahead of the tour buses and set up all the equipment the band needs for every concert. I haven't gotten many pictures of it because I'm usually REALLY busy when we are setting up. First the whole crew unloads both of our big trucks. Then I help set up the risers, put out the baffles (sound shields that sit in front of percussion), set up the podium & lecturn, and then assemble our Hooah Army Strong display. This quick pictures is one of the trucks backing up into The Egg's loading dock. 

The concert hall was huge (and egg-like). This is a shot from backstage.  One thing about this venue that was funny to me is that all the elevators had operators. Although it seemed like all they did was just push the buttons to take us to our floors, it was nice to have somebody to help orient us in that huge building. 

Sometimes there are some great props backstage. I might need this sign around day 30 of tour, but for now I'm having fun! 

After the concert was over we returned to the hotel and I enjoyed a night out with some of my buds. 

Pelham, NY

On Friday we headed to New York and gave a performance in Pelham. This was one of my favorite concerts so far because the audience was very enthusiastic. I love looking up from playing and seeing little kids waving American flags and dancing to the music! 

I had to catch up with this man, who was wearing an awesome tie with euphonium-like brass instruments on it.

The concert was held at Pelham Middle School. You know, in the Army we are all about acronyms and the Pelicans sort of have an unfortunate one. They were great hosts and the students that were featured with the band during the concert were really nice. 

I love the American Legion guys! Luckily for me, they are always willing to pose for pictures. 

Here I am with Chris and Scott, two of my favorite people!

I am enjoying New York so far. The people are very nice and have the best accents. The pizza's not bad either! It hasn't been as cold as I was fearing but we are heading Northward soon. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that the good weather holds up. 

Morristown, NJ

Well, I'm finally on the road again! We departed early Thursday morning from Fort Meade and made our way up to New Jersey. Here I am in the first of many tour hotel rooms. 

It was nice that our first stop was in a big concert hall, and the crowd was great! 

Chris and I were soloing that night- here we are posing for some pictures before the show started. 

I met some really fantastic people after the concert, particularly a fellow euphoniumist.  Just meeting somebody who knows what the instrument is can be a rare thing! 

This is what the band looks like from backstage. 

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.