Today, the University of Chicago Symphony Orchestra plays our December Concert. We did Tchaikovsky 5th Symphony, and premiered Daniel Pesca’s Piano Concerto Up North.
I played the Piccolo. For contemporary piece like Up North, there’s no melody so you can only count beats. It’s a very very stressful position to be in — because for a piccolo, there’s hardly cues from other instruments and I’m on my own. And after all, piccolo is a difficult instrument. It’s easy to make mistakes, and everyone hears it.
For example, the 3rd mvt of Up North begins with the piano dropping crystal, fast notes. The orchestra remains silence, and after a clueless rest of a 4/4 bar, a 3/4 bar, a 4/4 bar, three 3/4 bars, a 2/4 bar and a 4/4 bar — then the piccolo enters (precisely on the next downbeat) playing a high-E (4 octaves above center) on its own.
Check it out below — I timed the video to start at the beginning of the 3rd movement of Up North. Try to count, you’ll feel me: