Below are the embedded videos for Aaron’s two concerts from his summer orchestra camp. They sell these recordings and I’m technically not supposed to be sharing these, but this is a private blog. Please do not attempt to share these videos out to anyone. Enjoy!
July 13, 2024
July 20, 2024
This will be quite a packed post and likely the last one until we’re on the other side of our trip to Dallas and Canadian vacation in August. Delayna has been in Dallas for over two weeks, and Aaron just got back from his orchestra camp at the New England Conservatory. The same day Virginia departed for Dallas, two of my co-workers arrived for a week-long stay to escape the Texas heat and visit New England for the first time. To say we’re using this week to catch our breath is an understatement. Here we go…
For our last meal as a quartet for a while, we stopped at OTTO Pizza in Boston (a Portland, Maine-based New England chain). The pizza was excellent (though my seasonal Elotes pizza needed to lean harder into the quirkiness) and we had fun with the menus.
After Delayna and Aaron departed, I asked Miriam and Virginia what sounded fun to do; they liked the idea of visiting a beach. After a bit of research I determined Newport would be a potentially good destination. Miriam drove the whole way there and back, clocking 3 hours on her Driver’s Ed time log. We stopped at a cafe for a later lunch and then I hung out at a coffee shop continuing my work day until they closed at 5 and I drove the girls to the beach.
A married couple I work with named Ted and Emily came and visited for a week. I planned an itinerary of various activities which included attending Aaron’s mid-camp concert (which was amazing and they loved) in Boston, some Freedom Trail highlights, a day spent in Providence (feat. the Flea and RISD), checking out video game demos by the students at a summer course in Worcester, and blueberry picking at Touga’s, just to name a few.
Aaron participated in the first session (2 weeks) of a month long orchestra camp. All the students stay in the dorms normally occupied by college students and maintain a pretty rigorous schedule of playing 6-7 hours a day. He made lots of friends (including his roommate from Portland, OR), had multiple one-on-one sessions with professional bassists (including the 2nd chair of the Boston Pops and the principal bassist of the Boston Festival Orchestra, and as one of only two basses in the program (the other was a 15-year-old from LA) he got a lot of attention and they were grateful he was there. They had an ambitious slate of music (including one piece that got cut for time after it was too much for everyone to prepare) that they performed across two concerts. I’m not exaggerating when I say that these were probably the most impressive student orchestra performances I’ve ever heard. I’m working on securing the professional recordings of both of them and will subsequently post them – they’re absolutely worth watching. The highlight has to be their performance of Holst’s The Planets in the final concert – it earned every minute of the standing ovation it received. I suspect Aaron will return to the camp next year.
To wrap up this post, here are a couple of flower pictures. The only thing I’ve planted this year are some tomatoes that are finally starting to ripen. We keep being surprised by flowers the previous owner planted and which recovered post-winter. The last couple of weeks have featured our crazy blue hydrangeas (which have had a banner year everywhere, especially Newport) and some day-lilies.
On Friday the 17th, Delayna and Aaron drive down to the outskirts of Virginia/DC for an Airrosti appointment to help with with Aaron’s strained hip flexors. They drove back on Saturday with Aaron in much improved condition. Left to our own devices back home, Miriam and I chose to try a new Vietnamese restaurant in Worcester called Phoever Whatever. They’ve been open less than a month and were so overjoyed to have customers they brought us complimentary Thai Iced Tea with our meal. The food was excellent – Miriam fully approved of the pho. I expect this to be the first in a series of EWE posts. 🐑
On Sunday Aaron performed in what will be his final concert as the bassist of the Worcester Youth Philharmonic Orchestra. This is because at his audition today he made it into WYSO (Symphony), the top group that will get to tour in the Czech Republic and Austria next season. He worked so hard for this opportunity and we are so proud of him! They even extended an additional invite to be part of a small baroque chamber group (think 6-7 people total) as the bassist. This is usually reserved for the very top players since often it’s only 1-2 people per section. Along with his new teacher he’ll have at Shrewsbury High, Aaron is really looking forward to the coming year in orchestra.
On Saturday Miriam went to her Junior Prom with her good friend Liv. She asked me to take pictures of their matching dresses, which I chose to do in front of the venue for the event: Union Station. She had a blast dancing, hanging out with friends, and enjoying the fancy meal they provided. Props to Aaron for being my voice-activated light stand so I didn’t have to combat a breeze and could focus on taking photos.
Aaron is currently in the Philharmonic group of the Worcester Youth Orchestra, which is the tier made up largely of a mix of junior high and early high school students. He is auditioning on May 20 for a spot in the Symphony Orchestra, the top group, which is almost exclusively high school students. He has been working very hard at his audition music and will absolutely be up to the challenge of the more rigorous music if he makes it. Since his moving up will leave the Philharmonic without a double bass player (unless there’s someone auditioning we are unaware of), he has told the conductor that he will be happy to volunteer his time to provide bass support for concerts when it doesn’t overlap with Symphony.
He also performed in his second to last school concert of the year. It’s their annual “recruiting” concert, where they invite visitors from the elementary and lower middle (5-6) schools to hear the band, orchestra, and choir perform interesting pieces. To showcase the orchestras’ different instruments, the teacher selected individuals to perform brief solos. Aaron did a 15 second selection from Star Wars, to a number of whoops and claps from the audience. His final concert with Oak will be on June 5. He has already met the orchestra teacher he will have as a freshman in the fall and likes him a lot.
