KIPP JOHNSON: Lunch with EMF Donors

Today I got to have lunch with some of the EMF donors. It was really great to see how supportive the Greensboro community is of the arts. They asked a lot of questions about where I was from and how I was spending my time here, but we quickly moved on to discussing more interesting things like the role of the conductor in an orchestra and the differences between student orchestra and proffesional orchestra rehearsal techniques.
Speaking of rehearsals, the past few days have been a bit rough. Perhaps its just the aftermath of the challenging repertoire of the last concert, but the orchestra I'm playing in has had a hard time focusing in rehearsals. The same musicians who performed so well on the Rite of Spring are suddenly having trouble counting and staying together on much simpler pieces. I suspect the rigourous playing schedule is partly responsible, and I'm sure we'll pull things together in time for the concert, but it definitely provides some insight into the mental demands of a professional musician. Fortunately we had sectionals tonight, so tomorrows rehearsal should go much more smoothly.