Minneapolis Update #3

Lots has happened over the last few weeks - of course. Apologies for the infrequency of updates. 

Homesick

I’ve been missing home a lot more recently - people, places, and things Australian. Today I looked up if I could buy Tim-Tams online - they’re $7 a packet! A delicacy. I think I’ll be waiting till I get some visitors from home, or alternately a care package!

Visitor from home :)

It’s strange being surrounded by foreign accents. Having my dad here 10 days ago - if only for 24 hours - was a wonderful reunion with home and Aussie-ness. It was also really comforting to be around someone who knows me really well. Even though I’m making wonderful friends here we are still getting to know each other so it was great to have some easy familiarity for a while. In that short time we managed to take in two amazing restaurants, five excellent wines and a St Paul Chamber Orchestra Concert! It was fun discovering local delights with another person and being able to order many small, interesting courses from the menus at Meritage in St. Paul and Signature Cafe near my house. 

Coffee, baristas & coffee machines

I also had someone who understood the barren coffee landscape here compared with Melbourne. I know I’m going to sound like a coffee snob now, and I’m not compared to many people at home I know. However, my requests are meagre, not for a ‘god shot’ or an exceedingly complicated order. All I seek is a latte - coffee not burnt, milk not burnt. 

Baristas here seem to be intent on making scalding milk with no froth and burning the beans. Each time I buy a coffee filled with hope, only to be disappointed. Albeit the cafes on campus are limited (Starbucks, Caribou Coffee and Dunn Brothers) but these people are supposedly trained! 

Ordering any kind of espresso coffee here is unusual as everyone drinks drip coffee, and you add your own milk. So perhaps these peoples shortcomings are due to a lack of experience. A milk thermometer wouldn’t go astray though. I did try ordering a coffee with ‘milk not too hot please’, which was a better experience, but the coffee itself was still average. So now my order is an espresso to which I add cold self-serve milk and gulp it down. Have to make sure though that it’s not half-and-half, which is half cream - this happened yesterday and it was not nice!

I have found one excellent cafe called Kopplins, about a 15min bike ride from home, that does the kind of coffee you’d get at a pretty good Melbourne cafe such as Mr. Fox in Malvern or Liar Liar in Hawthorn. (But not on par with Campos, St. Ali etc.). However, with the distance and a busy schedule this is a once-a-week proposition that involves bringing work with me to make it worthwhile. Tomorrow may be the day this week. 

However, my travels may soon come to an end as I’ve bought a very exciting coffee machine online - a second-hand La Pavoni Europiccola - which I am very much looking forward to learning to use. For a funny video on how they work see this from the gals from Seattle Coffee Gear. 

Uni, concerts

Uni’s been busy. I’ve had several exams, essays and tests and have a big mid-term for my Bach class this Thursday. 

Craig Kirchhoff’s Wind Ensemble had its first concert last week playing:

Giovanni Gabrieli arr. Robert King - Canzon (can’t remember exact one)

Salvador Brotons - Sinfonietta

Jules Massenet trans. Verne Reynolds - Le Cid (Music from the Ballet)

David Maslanka - Traveler

Arturo Marquez trans. Oliver Nickel - Danzon No. 2

It was such a fun program. If you’re a band person and you don’t know these works, particularly the Maslanka and the Marquez, check them out. The orchestral version of the Marquez was made famous by Dudamel and the El Sistema orchestra in performances like this.

The other works are for non-standard instrumentation but you really should listen to Le Cid (sample) as well (no saxophones) - just gorgeous (and not because of the lack of saxes!)

My band

My band, the North Star Campus Band, has its first performance this Wednesday evening. We’re playing:

Giuseppe Verdi arr. Leonard Falcone - Prelude to Act 1: La Traviata

Frank Erickson - Toccata for Band

Michael Colgrass - Old Churches

David Maslanka - Rollo Takes A Walk

Rehearsals have been going well even though there are a few danger spots in Rollo, but it will be really fun. The hall is very resonant and will really contribute to the atmosphere of the Verdi and the Colgrass, but will make short articulations in the other two challenging. 

Should be a blast, I’m looking forward to a performance after my last on August 19 with the Frankston Symphony Orchestra. Whilst only two months ago it seems like a lifetime!

Marching Band

Yesterday was my second time on the infamous ladder conducting the Marching Band on game day. I was happy I didn't fall off! Ingrid 2 - Ladder 0! 

All four of us conductors were there as it was Homecoming, where all of the alumni are invited back to the University. It was miserable and raining and the team lost, but when I get a video I'll post it so you can see it all in action!