Barrage in Arizona: The Gilbert Show--or--A Homecoming Without Corsages & Boutineers

The setting in which I'm writing this blog post is unusually poetic:

We're somewhere in Kentucky, driving through the Appalachian Mountains, whose copper, bronze and gold palatte reminds me very much of all those Bob Ross paintings I saw growing up as a child. It's overcast and slightly drizzly as we go through small coal mining towns...the type where looking too "trendy" (by mainstream American standards) gets you funny looks as you take a booth in the Applebee's next to your hotel. I'm listening to the strikingly poignant soundtrack of (500) Days of Summer. All things considered, it's pretty much a perfect setting for reflecting on the craziness of this past weekend in Arizona.

Saturday night was the much-anticipated "hometown" show (though the show, technically, was in Gilbert and I'm from Mesa, my house is only 15 minutes away from the venue, so we'll ignore that tiny fact). It's tough to say what exactly my expectations were prior to the show, but I think it's easy enough to say that regardless of the fact that I didn't have any specific expectations, any expectations I could have had were met. And far exceeded.

Let's start with the easier parts to describe. Firstly, Highland High School's orchestras were so unbelievably great. They were, without a doubt, the most well-prepared and talented group, in my opinion, with whom Barrage has worked with since my joining last summer--other members of the band echoed this sentiment as well, so it's not just a personal bias. Bill Bitter and Amy Bennett really have a phenomenal program on their hands. We were all blown away by their rhythm, intonation, and musicality (props to the violas: I can't remember the last time I heard such musical pizzicati!).

[A few hours later...]

I now continue this post after lunch, a nap, and travel through more of Kentucky, Virginia, and now Tennessee. In terms of scenery, it's much of the same: fall is permeating every inch of the Appalachians. Fortunately, however, the sun has come out (which, in turn, calls for a change of music: now it's Liz Carroll's "In Play"). Here are some pictures from a stop we just made somewhere in Tennessee:

Back to Gilbert, where fall colors don't exist.

I'm very much in awe of the whole experience. In the autograph line, all sorts of people from my life pre-Barrage appeared out of the woodwork: former teachers, former students, role models, neighbors, and acquaintances, confidants & close friends from all sorts of outlets. People kept coming up behind me, touching my shoulders, and saying things into my ear as I was signing CDs and posters for some other concert-goer in front of me.

In those moments, I felt so loved/humbled/thankful/appreciated/supported

/surprised/impactful/emotional/ecstatic/overwhelmed. There's really no effective way to describe it. I am not capable of capturing in words what it's like to have years of work and dedication pay off in exactly the way I hoped it might. As I told my mom before heading to the show, it's like I had been working the past 11 years, since I first saw Barrage on PBS in 7th grade, for that night. It's weird.

I'm not sure how to end this post...I feel obligated to finish with some pithy (and humorous?) anecdote about the importance of hardwork or perserverance or coal towns of Kentucky. I don't know if I have just the right one. I guess I can only offer the following:

To those of you have helped and believed in me along the way, thank you.

Barrage in Arizona: The Tucson Show

Last night was my first Arizona performance with Barrage down in Tucson, which is about 1.5 hours away from my hometown of Mesa.

It was unbelievably fun. I will admit, however, I was incredibly nervous--not only because I had friends and family there, but also because all of the head officials from Southwest Strings, our sponsor, were there as well. Plus, we were doing the concert as a charity performance for OMA--so the pressure to perform well was on!

It was nice to have such an enthusiastic AZ audience after the absurdly tiring schedule we'd had the day previous. I really have found throughout the years (and the Barrage managers have echoed this sentiment) that arts audiences in Arizona lean toward awesome.

That being said, I can't wait for tonight's sold-out show in Gilbert! I feel incredibly lucky to have grown up in such a supportive arts community here in Mesa--not only will quite a few of my former teachers be present, but also a bunch of kids from the Metropolitan Youth Symphony, the community orchestra I grew up in as a kid that first got me hooked on fiddling. It's very strange to be coming "full circle"...I've somehow, by many strokes of luck and good fortune, ended up doing the very thing I've wanted to do since in was in MYS. And now I will, in turn, be playing for those kids, who are going through the same musical experiences I had at their age. It's hard to capture that feeling in adjectives, but I think it's appropriate to describe it as a mixture of odd, humbling, and incredibly exciting.

Here are a few pictures from last night's Tucson show:

The autograph line.

With Allison Kellis, a good friend and fellow ASU violinist I've known since MYS.

My friends Kelley and Nora with the Barrage violinists.

With Hayley Ivins, a former (and current) role model.

Arizona Day 1, 2, and part of 3: Dinners, Photo Shoots, and Video Shoots

Tonight's the show in Tucson--thought I'd try to squeeze in a quick update about the past 48 hours or so of craziness here in Arizona!

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After arriving in Phoenix on Wednesday morning, I spent most of the day assisting my mom in preparation for the Barrage dinner at my house on Wednesday night (e.g. vaccuuming, making a playlist on her iPod entitled "Beef: It's What's For Dinner,"etc.).

It was pretty much awesome having Barrage over for dinner. My mom made my favorite soup, and with my dad's hard work in the backyard and the near-perfect weather, it probably couldn't have been more wonderful. As I told John, one of our managers, having been a huge Barrage fan prior to joining, it was pretty much a "dream come true" to have Barrage hanging out at my house; John then sardonically noted that it probably actually resembled more of a nightmare, as in, "Now they're at my house! Am I ever going to get away from these people?!"

Please note the pumpkin centerpiece my dad carved with the Barrage "B" logo.

Wednesday was also Kristina's birthday, so my mom baked her a chocolate cake!

Mandatory group photo with the band, all three managers, and one of two sound guys.

The next morning, Kiana and I drove down to Tucson to meet up with the rest of the gang (who had left for Tucson the night before--I stayed with my family and Kiana stayed with her grandparents).

Kiana and I before the drive.

We met up with everyone at Southwest Strings, Barrage's main sponsor (they provide our violins, bows, cases, rosin, strings, etc.). Upon arrival we all changed into our new costumes (!) and did a photo shoot in their studio. After individual and group photos, we headed over to Sahuaro High School here in Tucson, the location of tonight's benefit performance for OMA.

We arrived at the theatre for what was to be an incredibly tiring night: my first video shoot with the band. Not having previously known myself what actually goes into a video shoot, I'll give y'all a quick synopsis: you basically end up performing the same number over and over and over again, with the camera at different locations (e.g. fixed downstage right, fixed downstage center, hand-held close up, on a giant pole so you can get those shots from up above, etc.). And keep in mind, there's no audience...so, not only are you not actually performing for anybody, but you also don't have any energy off of which to feed (a good audience always helps provide performers with more stamina).


We were at the theatre filming from 5 p.m. to midnight, with short breaks for dinner, two trips to Starbucks, and touch-ups with the make-up artist/hair stylist backstage. Though unbelievably exhausting, it somehow ended up being incredibly fun. I can't put my finger on an exact reason why, though...I think the fun just came from the prolonged hours of delirious work with a hilarious group of people. I especially enjoyed when they'd be doing hand-held camera shots, so we'd know when we weren't in shots...because then we'd usually goof off while playing (e.g. making up absurd choreography, making ridiculous faces, etc.).

Note the camera rig for shots from above.

We even have new backdrops!

The crazy schedule continued this morning when we headed over to the local CBS station (KOLD 13) for an appearance on the noon news.

Right now we're on a short break at the hotel, and then it's over to Sahuaro for an educational program this afternoon and the show tonight!