A Different Body of Water.

I started real classes Monday, it hasn't been long but here are some first impressions:
    
     UTSO rehearsed Monday evening. It was such a relief to learn that it isn't just a rumor they tell you in high school orchestras that a group of musicians can take less than a million years stop playing when the conductor stops. It did take an unsettling amount of time for the orchestra to get tuned up, but I'm hoping that will speed up as time goes.
     Monday morning, my very first class at UofT EVER was cancelled! I showed up for a teacher to walk out and inform us that we need not be there and they sent out an e-mail to that effect but she wouldn't be surprised if none of us got it. Oh well. I bummed around campus and checked out my practise room key and visited the book store.
     Today was better. I had my first trumpet class! My goodness, I will always have a great deal of respect for people who can play brass instruments. I spent an hour buzzing on the mouthpiece for 45 minutes and tried to wrap my head around quick transposition to Bb and that was enough for one day. If I make any incredible or impressive progress, I'll post it here, but right now I sort of doubt I'll get further than twinkle-twinkle. I'm sure I was quite a scene biking home with my violin, trumpet, backpack and a UofT Bookstore bag.
     I had my first private lesson today too! It was great. As someone moving from a very small pond to a very large sea of musicians, this is the first time since I was a little kid that I am in the lower end of the spectrum when it comes to skill level. My lesson was productive and went by fast, my teacher was friendly and could very well articulate what she wanted me to change and how to go about it. Most importantly, I didn't feel as though I was being compared to other violinists or that I ought to be learning and playing the way they do.
     One more first this week worth mentioning, I bought my first textbooks! Wow, I just remembered I need to write a couple good cover letters so I can hand out resumes tomorrow, textbook shopping reminded me of my employment needs....