It has now been three years since I moved to Europe, and I still find it difficult to comprehend just what has happened in that time span. How wonderful and simultaneously terrifying everything has been since Kristi and I joined hands and prayed to God and jumped off the cliff into a new chapter of our lives on the other side of the Atlantic.
When we moved here, I had never held a position in a professional orchestra. Now I am a full-fledged member of one the world’s premier orchestras. I’ve had the honor and privilege to perform in the world’s greatest halls under the world’s greatest conductors. I have performed more major works in three seasons than many do in ten seasons.
In May 2007, on the day of my audition, I had been to 5 countries including the USA. Kristi had been to 3. Today, Kristi has visited 17, and I have been to 34 countries.
Then, I had never seen an opera. Now, I’ve played 372 performances of 67 different operas & ballets.
It has indeed been an amazing three years. And ever since we first arrived, we have tried to document our experiences through our blog, The Vienna Wilsons. I started TVW with the idea that I would use it to chronicle my orchestral life and end up with a wonderful electronic journal of sorts that I could also share with other people. But for a multitude of reasons, including the fact that I spent my entire first season concentrating solely on NOT losing this job, the Vienna Wilsons has turned out to be more of a family blog. Especially after Kristi became pregnant with Eli, the blog became less about music and the orchestra and more about babies, family trips, and our everyday experiences living in a foreign country. I do not regret or resent this fact; actually I am glad that we have a record of our family’s life here. Kristi has done an amazing job creating a treasure trove of stories and photos that we will cherish forever.
My intention is to use Back Row Perspectives as a second chance to faithfully document my orchestral life. I want this to be my space to write about the everyday musical happenings that I would not have normally blogged about. The title of the blog has a double meaning; I will use this forum to record what I observe from my seat in the back row of the orchestra, but also to give my thoughts and opinions about the various concerts, conductors, halls, and works that I come across.
And now a few disclaimers:
- I want to keep a positive atmosphere on the blog, so don’t expect to see a post bashing our latest conductor or spilling the beans on the most recent internal orchestra controversy.
- This blog will be a work in progress. I plan to add more features and give the site a facelift in the near future.
- I will continue to post musical items on the Vienna Wilsons blog, but as before it will be mostly major events like tours and big concerts, and it will probably just be a duplicate of what is posted here.
So once again “Herzlich Wilkommen” to my blog. I hope you come back often, and I hope you will leave comments! I have an email subscription service as well. Simply enter your email address in the form on the top right of the blog and click 'Subscribe', and you'll get every new post delivered straight to your inbox!
