Now that we have our daily routine of morning rehearsals, lunch break, afternoon class and sectionals, we are beginning to feel much more familiar with the beautiful city of Vienna. It has been pretty sunny this week with mild temperatures, so walking from the U-bahn to our rehearsal venue every morning has been such a joy. To see such blue skies and the sun glinting off of the beautifully intricate buildings on our daily commute is a real treat. 

We have already been improving immensely on our repertoire since beginning rehearsals on Monday. It has been inspiring to be attending such high quality performances of music here, which I believe makes us strive to perform better. 

The concert that I will never forget was last night’s performance of Mahler’s 9th Symphony by the Vienna Philharmonic in the Musikverein. Most of us students who went were in the standing room with Dr. Baldwin, but a few got some cool seats. I was impressed by their playing— especially by the quiet moments that required so much control and sensitivity from each musician. After the concert, Dr. Baldwin led us backstage where we had the opportunity to meet the conductor of this concert: Michael Tilson Thomas, the current conductor of the San Francisco Symphony. We all came in as a big group and some of us got to shake his hand. He had a conversation with us about the piece and about how he approached rehearsing it. It was an inspiring night to say the least. 

Tonight is the Officer’s Ball, which we will most certainly write about in an upcoming blog post, so do not fret. We had a dance lesson today and we (hopefully) are prepared to waltz tonight at the ball!

Auf Wiedersehen! 

-Rachel