As an Administrator
We had our Carnegie Hall concert audition 3 weeks ago, and both my groups made the cut. There ended up being 12 ensembles and 25 solos (there were a few last-minute withdrawals), and we are going to have 2 concerts this year, with half of one of those concerts being taken up by the orchestra. So 9 ensembles and 12 soloists ended up making the cut. Lucia just made the cut, at 9th, while the other group was higher, at 6th. But Lucia had asked first, so now the concertmistress has to find a pianist for her group. Hopefully from one of the pianists who didn’t get picked. The ENT pianist did say he would give me an exception so I could perform twice, but I didn’t want to learn two pieces. Besides, it’s better for ticket sales to have a larger roster on the program.
It’s been 1 ½ years since I started organising the recitals, and it’s not been terribly time-consuming, mostly because I’ve automated a lot of stuff. Each concert would cost me 2 hours at most before (for communication and organising), and 1 after (for updating records and putting media on the website). The last concert had a few people drop out at the last minute so I had to fill the time as an MC. That was quite nice as it gave me time to put the performers at ease, and to give encouragement to performers who are less experienced. Someone told me it was a “sweetheart” for doing that.
The recitals are pretty healthy - last year, on average, each recital made $20. Which is our goal. But at a board meeting yesterday some board members were very concerned (I think because they read only the first two lines of the report where the recitals lost money and assumed the rest did too) so they brainstormed ways to increase donation. One of them, as suggested, was to increase the suggested donation amount, which is overdue anyway.
I have no plans to perform - and I haven’t been learning new repertoire, except a waltz based on Beethoven melodies by Alma Deutscher. And I only can learn it because of COVID - the waltz was actually scored for chamber orchestra and piano, but because COVID cancelled all concerts, she recorded it at home as a solo piano arrangement and posted it on youtube. So that gave me the opportunity to transcribe the solo piano version, and now learn it.
Not sure I’ll ever perform it though.
- S
Lined up
The data migration project at work is going well, but it is slated to finish by the end of March, and I don’t have a project lined up afterwards. There is a chance that the project work will continue beyond March and become an on-demand thing, but I don’t think I’ll be interested in continuing it. Our team had a summit meeting last week and the projects proposed don’t sound terribly exciting. So I may be looking to switch teams again.
I’ve been interviewing less these days, and noticed the candidates are in general of higher quality. However even with hire recommendations from me, none of them have gotten offers.
I wonder if they’re asking too much, or are we just interviewing people with no intention of hiring them.
- N
Hole in the heart
My cardiologist confirmed the diagnosis of enlarged aortic root via Angiogram. It’s only mildly dilated, but ever since the diagnosis I get more paranoid about heart palpitations or heartburn, or just general tiredness or headache. Are those symptoms of aortic aneurysm?
It’s an annoyance now because any time I need general anesthesia (e.g., for my colonoscopy) I’ll have to get a special permission, and I’ll have to think twice before taking on strenuous activities.
Still, it’s better to know than not know.
- D
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