Summer, part 2

My summer was so crazy and full of different activities! I'll cover what I did in 4 separate posts.
Part 1 - Oregon
Part 2 - Colorado
Part 3 - Germany
Part 4 - France and Germany again
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I was in Colorado to participate in a summer music festival called the National Repertory Orchestra (NRO).  It was probably the most intense one I've ever done.  We played an average of 2.5 concerts per week, all with different repertoire.  I definitely grew a lot musically, but of course I made time to have some fun as well.

One of my favorite things about being in Colorado was being surrounded by such amazing natural beauty, once I got used to the 9,000 foot elevation.  At the beginning the elevation and dryness made playing difficult, but I soon got used to it.  In fact, afterwards, when I was in Germany, it was amazing how well I could play! Sadly, though, the effects of the elevation only lasted a few days after my return to sea level.

Here I am playing my horn outside - one of my favorite things, but sadly something I can't do often because of bothering neighbors, extreme temperatures, or other reasons.

This is at Lake Dillon, where we played an Independence Day concert.

I also got to do some hiking.  I'm most proud of one hike, Mt. Elbert, which is a 14-er (a Colorado term for a summit with elevation over 14,000 feet).  I felt bad from the beginning of the hike, due to the elevation and being fairly out of shape, but nevertheless, I kept going, without distractions of other people or music to keep me going.  I even ran out of water partway through, but I forced myself to continue.  And I made it to the top!

I also went on a few solo hikes near the town where we were located.





I had some fabulous colleagues that also made it a summer to remember.  This is another member of the horn section.
































I really really loved my roommates.  Excuse the dark and blurry picture full of red-eye - this is the only photo we took all together!


Maybe this is the reason we all got along so well:




































Our house hosted a party for the final match of the world cup.  It was so intense when it went into overtime!
One of my other colleagues and I made this video during a rehearsal for a pops concert.


It was really musically inspiring to play with such great people!  We played Strauss' Ein Heldenleben with members of the Breckenridge Music Festival.  It was really cool because one of my friends from undergrad plays in BMF, so it was a mini-reunion of sorts! Here are the combined horn sections:


Thanks to the generosity of friends with cars, I was able to take a few little side trips as well.  I went to Fairplay, the town the TV show South Park is based on!  As a super-fan, it was a life-altering experience.




A few friends and I also went to hear the Philadelphia Orchestra at Vail,

Altogether, I had a wonderful time at NRO this summer.  I would love to return if possible, but the festival has a one-summer-only policy for all wind players.

After a very late night and a very early morning, I was en route to Germany!