Atmosphere

I've been thinking about atmosphere lately. Mostly how it fits into musical performance and such, but I was in awe at the atmosphere at Cobby's Deli today. I've never been to Cobby's before, but my dad was paying for lunch today, so I went nuts. It got a fantastic meatball sub, but the best part was the atmosphere the the shop, I call it a shop because "restaurant" and "fast-food" don't suite this place as I saw it. The wood floors and walls, the high counter so that you couldn't see all the carefully sanitized unprepared food, and the cash register, hidden off to the side, giving you full social disclosure the person running it. Trash cans were artfully hidden so that you knew where they were, but could only see them if you looked. I would love to work at a place like this... for about a day, then I'd hate it.

Anyway, atmosphere in performing is, I think, incredibly important to creating a great performance. Some of the best performers are able to whip you up in the music so that the sterile scientific perfections of the music hall melt away and your environment becomes the music. Barring that ability, some performers will add nice ambiance such as plants and... I dunno, persian rugs to the performance in an attempt to give it a kind of atmosphere, but what I want to be able to do with music is to reach out and pull people out of the concert hall and into the story of the Walton Viola Concerto. That would be lovely.

Atmospheres that should not be propagated include the one that I'm apparently playing at this Friday and Sunday. That is to say, The Living Christmas Tree. Now, I have never personally played this gig, but I've heard horror stories. The good news is, I don't have to rely on anybody but myself to take on this gig, as there are no rehearsals I'm aware of. That was, by the way, a shameless shot across the bow of my remarkably sketchy quartet. One of them confided in me yesterday that she wasn't going to take Chamber next semester. I suspect she did this because she assumed that I was fed up with quartet as well, but the fact of the matter is, I love quartets and I love playing in them, I just despise the people in this quartet. Maybe if I'm lucky they'll all give up and Mr. Purdy will have no choice but to place me in a non-sketchy quartet. Oh, or maybe some Dvorak Quintet w/2 violas action will be happening! I only wish...

I've finished all of those papers I should have done over break, so that's pretty exciting. Maybe now I can focus my attention to activities that interest me more, like making friends and fixing my bow arm.