Euphonium, Art, and the Great Louisville Flood of 2011

So I'm currently in the market for a new euphonium. I think I've found the one I want, which is kind of funny because its not the one I was targeting but is better in so many ways. I had heard that miles ahead did financing, and after going to their website I discovered that they had a Yamaha 641 for just $3400. Retail value was probably around $4500 or $5000 when they actually made the 641. There was a reason it didn't last very long before the 642 came out, which had a fuller sound, better piping, and a larger bell. I owned the 642, and it was a great horn. On the other hand, I am not a performance major so I wasn't looking to buying a horn that would cost me 5 or 6 grand. In fact, my limit was intended to be $3000 so off of the recommendation of a friend who used to play this model, I managed to talk them down to $2995. Here's the funny thing, though....apparently the associates at Miles Ahead stumbled across a Besson Sovereign 967 Silver model that they had laying on a shelf. It was in fantastic condition, and the price they were offering was $2900. This is a $6000 horn brand new....

This isn't the one that MA is selling, but its the same model.....

Well, the downside is that I discovered that I couldn't find $2900 in change under the couch cushions. So it comes to sitting here furiously typing while I'm waiting for a loan officer to contact me about a loan I applied for. To quote Homer Simpson...."The waiting game sucks. Let's watch TV"

I've spent many years trying to get good posts and conversations started at the forums at www.sibeliusmusic.com, but its been very challenging. However, advertise a blog...get flamed by someone who thinks they are pointless.....and voila! (Some goo

d reads if you feel so compelled to check this out) http://www.sibeliusmusic.com/cgi-bin//chat/chat.pl?com=thread&start=532763&groupid=1&

Oh, and in case you were wondering if Music is my only lov

e.....this should remind you that I once prided myself as an artist particularly in the field of studio drawing.

I still think Jack Nicholson is scarier than Heath Ledger was.......

So I guess this is an appropriate place to subtly announce that my symphonic piece for Concert Band is complete. And its subtle because hardly anyone actually reads this thing....or so my comments would suggest. I get quite a few hits, but how do I know those people aren't utterly bored by the first two sentences as they close their browser during the first paragraph.

Anyway, the piece is titled "Fantasy on an American Folk Hymn" and is set to be premiered by the IUS Concert Band in the fall. The date will be announced soon. And if you are interested to know what Folk Hymn I chose for the setting of this piece, you should definitely watch the video I've linked below.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_48iI1RBtnc

So apparently Noah has been hard at work the past several nights building his ark and gathering animals, cause it has been raining non-stop for the past week and a half. But I guess God gave up on trying to flood the world and just settled for every major city located on a body of water (e.g. Louisville), because the rain has in fact stopped for the time being. Were you unable to get down there and see what all the fuss is about? Not to worry....here's a glimpse....

This street is of course conveniently named 'River Road' They really thought outside the box on that one.....

I also think I've discovered the REAL reason gas prices are so high in America.....

Thank you, Hurricane Ike and the Ohio River Valley Windstorm of 2008......

Well that about does it for todays blog. Be sure to tune in tomorrow or any day hereafter for more from the mind of me.....but for now, I'll leave with a pondering question I asked yesterday that maybe some of you can solve.

After not having any cable tv for five months, was it ungrateful of me to complain that the new cable boxes installed in my room do not carry ESPN or ESPN2?