GTMF

These last two weeks have been pretty crazy here at the McNiven house. I have not only been absent from blogging, but basically my whole life. Every summer I play with the Grand Teton Music Festival in Jackson Hole. The orchestra is made up of professional musicians, mostly symphony players with a few freelancers and faculty members thrown in. We rehearse for three days and perform two weekend concerts. Musicians usually play for two or three weeks of the seven week festival. This year I played in weeks one and two, which included the extra 4th of July concert. It was so much fun working with these great musicians! It was a great experience, but I'm definitely glad to be back home taking care of life. The highlight of the concert (besides having Tyler there for the second half of week one!) was playing Mahler's 9th Symphony in the week 2 concert. It is an incredible, mind-boggling work. In my opinion it is one of the most profound works ever written. Mahler somehow captures the entire range of human emotion in one 90 minute work. I got pretty emotional during the exquisite 4th movement, when Mahler sustains an incredibly long exchange between sections at the softest dynamics audible.

Okay, enough of my music-nerdiness. Here are some pics from my excursion!

4th of July concert "Music in the Hole". 3,000 people watched us perform despite the stifling heat!

Walk Festival Hall, our performance hall for the regular concerts. Located in the heart of Teton Village, newly remodeled with great backstage hang-out areas!

Snow King Hill, the view from my hotel room

Some interesting art from around downtown Jackson Hole.