More Music
Mark your calendars...From the Top will be broadcasted "live" from the Hawaii Theatre in downtown Honolulu on January 19th, 2008. I find it amusing that live performances are not broadcasted until months later...
What an extremely talented group of kids. It brought back terrifying memories of auditioning for the Milwaukee Youth Symphony Orchestra back in middle school. I was particularly struck by the pianist and his performance of Prokofiev's Tocatta in D minor, Op 11. Of course since first listening to the ballet of Romeo and Juliet, Prokofiev has become one of my favorite composers (though Mozart's Requiem...specifically Dies Irae...will always hold a dear and macabre place in my heart).
But there was a general sense of complacency among all the the Hawaiian musicians. A sense that what they offer is astounding and good enough so why should they strive to be better? A lack of drive. And yes they are amazing...but they were so laissez-faire about their gifts compared to the two imported from the mainland.
I'm terrified of that sense of complacency. I am very quickly learning what a small pool of talent is on this island. I am a very big fish in a very small pond in the middle of an enormous ocean. Word spreads quickly and at times it seems as if the minimal effort is more than acceptable.
That is the struggle the head of the theatre apprenticeship program is facing at the moment. These kids are hot shit. They are the cream of the crop. But they know it too well and find little motivation to push themselves further. Because of the lack of comparison. Because of the lack of competition. Because they find no need to impress. They already have the attention of everyone worth impressing.
Push! Push! Push! I'm too much of a slacker and procrastinator myself to let these kids fall into the same bad habits. If nothing else...the attitude of the local musicians strengthen my resolve to NOT cut these kids any slack.
Argh!
And now with a cold creeping back (or is the bronchitis from three weeks ago just getting worse?) I'm looking forward to a day COMPLETELY to myself. No meetings. No work. No concerts. No wine bar. No dinner parties. No one but me. A full day in bed with a book. Between work, extra projects and the socializing (all of which I enjoy) I've had little down time. And my mind feels a bit scattered and unfocused as a result. It's been almost two weeks since I've truly had any time to myself. I have a desperate need to defragment my mental hard drive.
What an extremely talented group of kids. It brought back terrifying memories of auditioning for the Milwaukee Youth Symphony Orchestra back in middle school. I was particularly struck by the pianist and his performance of Prokofiev's Tocatta in D minor, Op 11. Of course since first listening to the ballet of Romeo and Juliet, Prokofiev has become one of my favorite composers (though Mozart's Requiem...specifically Dies Irae...will always hold a dear and macabre place in my heart).
But there was a general sense of complacency among all the the Hawaiian musicians. A sense that what they offer is astounding and good enough so why should they strive to be better? A lack of drive. And yes they are amazing...but they were so laissez-faire about their gifts compared to the two imported from the mainland.
I'm terrified of that sense of complacency. I am very quickly learning what a small pool of talent is on this island. I am a very big fish in a very small pond in the middle of an enormous ocean. Word spreads quickly and at times it seems as if the minimal effort is more than acceptable.
That is the struggle the head of the theatre apprenticeship program is facing at the moment. These kids are hot shit. They are the cream of the crop. But they know it too well and find little motivation to push themselves further. Because of the lack of comparison. Because of the lack of competition. Because they find no need to impress. They already have the attention of everyone worth impressing.
Push! Push! Push! I'm too much of a slacker and procrastinator myself to let these kids fall into the same bad habits. If nothing else...the attitude of the local musicians strengthen my resolve to NOT cut these kids any slack.
Argh!
And now with a cold creeping back (or is the bronchitis from three weeks ago just getting worse?) I'm looking forward to a day COMPLETELY to myself. No meetings. No work. No concerts. No wine bar. No dinner parties. No one but me. A full day in bed with a book. Between work, extra projects and the socializing (all of which I enjoy) I've had little down time. And my mind feels a bit scattered and unfocused as a result. It's been almost two weeks since I've truly had any time to myself. I have a desperate need to defragment my mental hard drive.
Labels: Hawaii Theatre
posted by Unknown at
2:58 PM
2 Comments:
Yes, take some time and get well...bronchitis in paradise sounds terrible.
As for the kiddies, maybe they need to organise an exchange program with some of the students here in Chicago who are downright cutthroat. I know what you mean about being complacent--but you and I both know this is a big world and you might be a big fish now, but there's always a bigger one.
hmmm big fish...nahm nahm nahm
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