Concert day today out at the St Lucia campus of University of Queensland, an alma mater and former workplace of mine. We usually do what we call a 'top and tail' rehearsal before the concert proper so it is a long day. The 'top and tail' just means playing a few bars at either end of the piece, a few sticky bits and just to check the sound is OK. Every venue we play in makes the orchestra sound different. We need to check balance and volumes all over the place.
Basically, by the time we come to concert time, we've already effectively played the concert through...
So the lunch break is something to look forward too. I have a pre-concert 'custom' of ham and cheese toasted sandwich and coffee at this place, Wordsmiths. A long-standing coffee shop, it reminds me of another time at UQ and it was originally set up in close association with the bookshop and publishing house. One of the early such coffee shops on campus, it was very much 'the' place to affect that intellectual atmosphere of pontificating on the big questions over a rather sophisticated coffee (it was a long time ago).
It has been through many changes since, and as one always for nostalgia, it's not quite what it used to be. But one constant has been the sandstone carvings of Rhyl Hinwood. Her work is everywhere on the campus and I particularly like the pieces around the cafe. I sat near one today, and wished that a little more care had been taken of them over the years...
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| Sculpture at Wordies, by Rhyl Hinwood |
I wanted to brush the leaves away...
It is June already, winter and 152 days down the track...gosh the year is going quickly.
[Camera : iPhone 4S, 1.19pm]
