Hello everyone!
We have been at the Avaloch Farm Music Institute for almost a week now, and it has truly been an incredible time. Amazing food, wonderful company, and great music-making. Could not ask for more, really. Especially after a day like yesterday when we were treated to an incredibly intimate and wonderful house concert!
After dinner, all three of the groups currently at Avaloch got together for a very small group of friends (including the 4-legged), and just performed whatever we were working on during our stay here.
It was such a fun mix too, because the Diderot Quartet opened the concert with some Mozart and Haydn on their period instruments which had gut strings tuned to 430, which is about a quarter tone lower than A440 (a more 'standard' tuning pitch for instruments today). It was a simply delightful experience, especially because I had never heard or seen pieces performed on period instruments before!
Then we performed our Ravel from memory,
and then the CMW quartet played the Beethoven Op. 130, which they learned during their short stay here, and played beautifully.
I really loved playing chamber music in this intimate setting, which was what chamber music was originally intended for, among good friends.
Snoozer, the resident Avaloch pooch, was also there of course =) isn't he such a handsome pup?!
It really has been a wonderful week spent here at Avaloch performing, rehearsing, memorizing, and getting so much done. But it never felt like we were working too hard, if that makes sense. It's just that kind of a setting where you work extremely hard, and get an incredible amount of work done that you couldn't possibly do out in the 'real world', but it never feels like work. It's going to be so sad having to leave this place...
If you are a musician, I highly recommend applying to come to Avaloch, because really, there is no place like this, and I guarantee you that you will fall absolutely, head over heels, in love with the place like we did.
I mean, how could you not?
I mean, how could you not?
Especially with a pup like Snoozer
and the incredible director, Deb Sherr, (our Mama) around ;)
We are so thankful, and feel incredibly blessed to have had this opportunity =)
I hope you are having a wonderful week, and thanks so much for stopping by!
--Janny