Feeling pensive…

It's been a great couple of days, and yet I'm feeling quite pensive.

I've been making the most of my free time since I finished my exams on Saturday. I had my last Chamber Choir gig (followed by post-concert curry) on Saturday night. I went to see BrassSoc perform in Jephson Gardens on Sunday. I then saw Symphonic Brass in the Piazza on Monday afternoon, and, of course, Figaro in the Studio on Monday night, which was AWESOME! I spent most of today in rehearsals and tech for 'Out of Character', although I did manage to catch the first half of Wind Orchestra's set on the Piazza this afternoon. (Great gig, guys!) This evening saw my last performance as a Warwick student in 'Out of Character'. I really enjoyed it, and it was great to be a part of the first ever workshop performance of an exciting new show! I also watched the Symphony Orchestra gig tonight – another terrific performance.

Feel quite sad now that I have no more performances. Well, no more performances as a Warwick student, anyway. (I have two gigs at Warwick uni next year.)

I also get my degree classification tomorrow. I have no idea what to expect, as I have usually been quite bad at predicting my performance.

I have a feeling I'll need to be in a quiet place, away from people tomorrow. Having said that, tomorrow night is both the last 'Jam' with the current Pretty Small Band line-up and the Figaro after-show party, so I'll definitely be out tomorrow!

Best of luck to everyone getting their results tomorrow.

J x

: 21 Jun 2005 23:52 |  Comments (2) |  Close comments |  Report a problem

My theory of why kiwi fruits are like fire

There are many activities which human beings engage in which make me wonder how it ever occurred to the first person who tried them to attempt them in the first place.

Take fire, for example. The way we make fire (I mean the 'natural' way, not with cigarette lighters, etc.) is very counter-intuitive. How did the first person who made it come up with the idea that rubbing sticks and flint together would cause this mysterious substance to appear, or were they just rubbing things together for a laugh? Did they try it with other objects or small animals first?

Kiwi fruit pose a similar puzzle. I mean, look at them. They're small and hairy, and look very much like a small poo. At some point in distant history, someone said: "Let's peel/bite into this and see if there's some succulent fruit inside. Crazy.

This is my thought for the day.

Figaro in t-minus 90 minutes!! GO GUYS!!

Tickets have now sold out, so any last-minute pants-pawning will sadly be to no avail. If you haven't managed to get a ticket for the campus performance, go and see it in Lapworth on Wednesday! It's going to rule!

: 20 Jun 2005 18:29 |  Comments (3) |  Close comments |  Report a problem

I've finished my exams! (finally…)

I’ve just left the Panorama Room, having been left in there ALONE with two invigilators, as I was the only person sitting a three-hour paper today. The sight of an entire Panorama Room full of empty exam desks while I was sat there, writing away, made me laugh. This means that I am officially THE LAST person in the university to finish my exams. How lame is that?

Anyway, I’ve (finally) finished my exams!

Woo, and indeed, hoo (to quote Lu).

: 18 Jun 2005 12:26 |  Comments (2) |  Close comments |  Report a problem

Paul is a legend

Despite cutting my aria from the outdoor concert, Paul McGrath is still a total legend for many reasons, one being that he's just got me a gig! The Royal Leamington Spa Bach Choir have hired me as the baritone soloist for their performance of Haydn's 'Creation' on Paul's recommendation. (Thanks, dude!)

Does Paul have a blog??

: 16 Jun 2005 21:49 |  Comments (3) |  Close comments |  Report a problem

Chamber Choir gig. Awesome.

Also, come and see our last Chamber Choir concert at St. Peters, Dormer Place, Leamington this Saturday at 7.30pm. Tickets are £8 (£6 students and concessions) We’ve got a great selection of music by Britten, Rheinberger, Purcell, Maxwell-Davies and Barber and some cheesy stuff ;-)

The Rheinberger Mass is particularly cool, and the Purcell ‘Hear My Prayer’ takes me back to fond memories of Berkshire Youth Choir, former champions of Sainsbury’s Choir of the Year – OK, I’ll stop now…

Now that Paul has cut the Don Giovanni aria from the outdoor concert on 23rd June (pants… I was really looking forward to doing that), I won’t be performing that night, so the Chamber Choir gig will be my last Music Centre concert.

There will hopefully be post-concert curry too…

:-)

: 15 Jun 2005 18:57 |  Comments (2) |  Close comments |  Report a problem

Figaro – tickets going fast!

I got my Figaro ticket from the box office today and asked to see how many seats were taken. They’re going fast, guys! Everyone who hasn’t yet got a ticket, get one ASAP! It’s going to rule…

DRESS CODE: All audience members must be wearing pants. Sarah will be checking.

: 15 Jun 2005 18:55 |  Comments (1) |  Close comments |  Report a problem

What a night…

Legendary night, guys – a fitting end to my experiences of Top B…

It was great to see so many people out last night, and I was loving the Figaro leisurewear! (Come and see it! It’s going to be awesome!)

Highlights of the night for me (at least, the ones I can remember) included:

-Finding the coolest name in the world: Pitcho Womba Konga

-Lu trying to teach me how to do the Ali G thing where your fingers make a clicking noise.

-Me telling Raquel about fifty times that she is a total legend.

-Drew, the amazing hairy dancing bear.

-Listening to Beyond the Fringe at 3am in Zoe’s room and revisiting the classic Weebl & Bob and RatherGood.com websites for the first time in ages. (Ah, memories of the second year…)

Anant, thanks for letting me crash on your floor, dude. You’re a legend!

Everyone come and see the Big Band Theatre Gig tonight! (Love the jazz…)

:-)

: 14 Jun 2005 12:21 |  Comments (4) |  Close comments |  Report a problem

Writer's block

: 11 Jun 2005 01:09 |  Comments (1) |  Close comments |  Report a problem

New beginnings

Writing about The rest of my life… from We're ranting and raving here in Pedants' Corner...

Having just read James' blog entry about uni life coming to an end, I suddenly feel quite sad. I've become increasingly aware that I have less than three weeks left at Warwick before rejoining the 'real world'.

I'm really going to miss everyone, especially everybody in the Music Societies, all of whom are TOTAL LEGENDS! I really can't imagine what life here would have been like if I hadn't been so heavily involved in the Music Centre.

Upcoming milestones include:

– My last Top B (probably in Week 9, as I'm in rehearsals all day for a show on Monday Week 10, and you just can't get into the last Top B of the year unless you get there really early…)

– My last gig with Big Band. I'm really going to miss these guys. Big Band are a bunch of total legends, and the society's been an important part of my life in the two years that I've sung with them. Steve Pretty's apparently coming back to do the gig, so it'll be an old-school reunion. Mate. Awesome. Let's have an Arts Festival…

– My last Chamber Choir concert. Likewise – terrific bunch of people. I've made a lot of close friends in the choir. Signing-up for my audition was actually the first thing I did on the first day of my first term (before enrolling in my course!). My last exam is also that morning. Celebratory post-concert curry, anyone??

– The 40th Anniversary Gala Concert. This is going to be amazing, and the last time that we have a massive joint gig featuring Wind, Brass, Chorus, etc. before the finalists leave. It'll be just like Krakow! (What a tour that was…) I love it when the music societies team up to do gigs. Chamber Choir have teamed-up with Symphonic Wind and String Orchestra before, and it works really well. Also, I'm looking forward to some Don Giovanni action (singing, that is…) with whoever's playing in that.

So, to summarise, a huge thank-you and "Fair dos" to everyone in the Music Centre for being legends and making my three years here so fantastic.

Also, EVERYONE has to come and see Figaro in Week 10! It's going to be awesome! WSO (formerly Opera Projects) is the society that I've been most involved with by far during my time here, and they've got a fantastic show lined-up for WSAF!

Buy a ticket, even if it means pawning your pants…

: 07 Jun 2005 14:13 |  Comments (14) |  Close comments |  Report a problem

Macbeth

Opera Holland Park are doing Verdi's 'Macbeth' this weekend, starring Olarfur Sigurdarson – a big Icelandic legend with a big, huge, seriously cool baritone voice. For those of you who saw (or played in) the 'Russian in the Afternoon' concert in the Butterworth Hall, he was the baritone soloist with the big, huge, seriously cool baritone voice.

Like most famous opera singers in this country with big, huge, seriously cool voices, he is one of Paul McGrath's mates.

If anyone's in London this weekend, check it out! Verdi rocks, big-
time, and his setting of Macbeth is great!

: 06 Jun 2005 17:32 |  Comments (2) |  Close comments |  Report a problem