a learning experience

Wow! What a day. I wasn't sure if I would make it to 11:11pm. I'm quite happy that I have.

I seriously botched a rehearsal scheduling on Tuesday. This has caused me a lot of stress, but everything is happily resolved now. Basically, Professor Kechley asked me to get together a string group for the (four) students in his orchestration class to read through some of their arrangements. A bunch of Student Symphony folk agreed to do it. I was pleasantly surprised by their willingness...it's not as though anyone at Williams is just sitting around waiting for someone to give them another obligation, but a bunch of them volunteered right away.

So I scheduled the rehearsal for Tuesday at 9:30 and everything was set, but then a couple of the composers couldn't make it for one reason or another. It seemed like Thursday at 9:30 would work better, so I moved the rehearsal to then. Not a big deal, except that I forgot to email the string group. Everyone showed up in the music building at 9:30 on Tuesday while I was down at Mission studying for a Russian test. One of them called me to see where I was and I had to explain what happened.

I felt awful. It's by far the worst thing I've done since coming to Williams, mostly because I managed to mess up so many people simultaneously. I couldn't believe what had happened. My study partners tried to explain that it wasn't that big of a deal and now everyone doesn't have to sit through another rehearsal, but I couldn't get over it.

So I got a list of people who showed up (nine musicians,) bought them each a cookie and a chocolate, and apologized profusely. I was really worried that people would be mad at me and maybe quit Student Symphony. I already ask so much of them, and now I pull a piece of nonsense like this.

The strangest thing happened. None of them seemed to think it was a big deal. In fact, none of them seemed to care at all. Some of them were already in the music building, some of them live two minutes away, and none of them understood why I was freaking out. One of them told me he wishes I would screw up more often so he can get more cookies.

I rescheduled the rehearsal for tonight at 9:30. This was very stressful for me for most of the day because I wasn't sure who would show up. I emailed the group of nine and then the whole Student Symphony listserve and called a few specific people. Part of the reason it was so stressful is because I didn't have much free time to organize things with classes, music theory singing quiz, rehearsal for Russian talent show, Russian talent show, reversing the kitchen for Passover, running to and from these things.

I loped from the J to Bernhard (I'm getting shin splints from too much loping) at 9:25. By the time the reading started, every single person who was there on Tuesday had shown up, plus a couple more. I was a little high-strung for the duration of the rehearsal, after all that had happened, but everything went so well. People didn't feel like getting chairs, so we all stood. All of the composers showed up and we played through each of the pieces a few times until things sounded about right. The whole thing was recorded so there wasn't really any pressure to "get a recording."

Everyone in the group was just happy to help out - to help me, Professor Kechley, the composers. They all seemed genuinely OK with, and not particularly surprised by, my reckless irresponsibility and understanding of my regretable tendency to take on too many things simultaneously.

People can be so good. Not out to get you, not poised to pounce when you mess something up. Maybe in ten years I'd get fired for doing something like this, but at least in college, we're all looking out for each other.