Catching up: no rehearsal, no performance, a rehearsal, and a house circle

A Tuning the Air Journal

Saturday November 28, 2009 – Catching up: no rehearsal, no performance, a rehearsal, and a house circle

Last Monday, the 23rd, would normally have been a rehearsal night. However, since there was no show Thursday, and additionally because Joel had a performance at Good Shepherd that night, we decided to take the night off. Many of us attended Joel’s performance. He was wonderful, in a space that works very well. It is a very different thing to perform this kind of material on stage for an attentive audience, rather than provide background music for something or someone else; preshow music as the audience arrives and settles in at Tuning the Air, or background music for yoga classes, which are the kinds of things he usually does. He acquitted himself very well, and no doubt learned a thing or two that will serve him well in the future. One of those things is to choose carefully who you share the stage with.

Thursday was Thanksgiving, and so no Tuning the Air performance. A number of us were at the Wilsons for dinner. A very lovely time, that included a spirited game of “Taboo”.

Today, back to the groove. Performance team at Fremont Abbey in the morning. Began with a short meeting to address, together, some recent arisings that will significantly impact the show next season. The rehearsal that followed was very difficult work for the same reasons; a certain presence to the group that carried us most of the way, but not much in the way of enthusiasm. More no doubt to follow.

Back to my place for a meeting with the House Circle. Greg, Mary Beth, Christina and Andrew on board. We worked for 90 minutes almost entirely on a “simple” (not to be confused with “easy”) exercise in developing variations, taking a 4-note phrase played in circulation through the displacements, and retrograde with displacements. Once established, we moved on to several ways of counting the exercise. Very good work.

Tomorrow Greg and I will motor up to Vancouver to join Pablo and Sotirios in the Vancouver Open Circle #2.