MAGNIFICENT MAHLER

BOO HOO !!! there over !! this Mahler fest week/end.. is over...!!

I had such a great time... not only did I get to perform as principal of my favorite symphony, Mahler 5th, but also really get to know, and have fun with my great colleagues !

Saturday evening’s performance was just amazing. A lot of good friends, family and colleagues attended the concert, to witness what I always knew and believed... that I, Wendy Limbertie, am a pretty dam good horn player! And now finally others have heard that as well... I know its rude and un-Canadian not to be more humble... but why not give myself a pat on the back sometimes..

The solo went well in the Scherzo... and the rest as well... at the end of Saturday's evening performance, I received a solo bow from Marco, our conductor.. for the longest time too... and then Marco proceeded after he received his flowers at the front of the orchestra to walk through the whole orchestra to the back where I was standing and handed me HIS flowers.. as a token of great thanks !! I was touched ! WOW.. what a night... and we get to play it again on Sunday.. in Kingston !

So yesterday, Sunday, we traveled , the Toronto players, to Kingston. We were all to meet the bus at York Mills and Yonge.. (Same place I tried to get to last Thursday, but this time no problems as there was NO SNOW storm!) ... The Bus left at 10:00am for Kingston. I was in the back of the bus, with of course the rest of the Brass Section, and Kathy. We all had a great time, laughing it up, talking about the night before, and really getting to know and enjoy each others company, and respecting each players contributions to this Mahler weekend! I really felt very connected to these colleagues now.. I have a great respect for of course Kathy's Playing.. but also a huge respect for Brandon Cassin, our principal Trumpet player, he was fabulous on both evenings ! the Opening of Mahler's 5th, has a huge trumpet solo, he sets the tone for the symphony, and he , Brandon was phenomenal both evenings.. ... here we are in the Bus whooping it up !

We arrived in Kingston at 1:00pm, and preceded into the hall were we to perform. We all unpacked our instruments and proceeded to start warming up…As the Kingston players were now also arriving.. they started to all congratulate me on a great job on my playing at the evening before, to which I was very appreciative of…

The concert started at 2:30 without incident… The hall was packed. A lot dryer acoustics than the hall on Saturday night.. but a bit more room. I played 1st horn in the Scherzo movement on this day, not the solo part, giving the opportunity to the 1st horn player, Steve Seiffert, of the Kingston Symphony to play the solo. He did a fine job.

Kathy Halvorson, our principal Oboe, and my great friend of 10 years now, did also an amazing job. She has brought up the level of our woodwind section so much. The intonation, and more importantly musicality level is at such a much higher level now. She has influenced the whole wind and brass section with her musical tone, and interpretations, and has brought up the level of the orchestra as a Whole ! it was great seeing and hearing this happen this weekend as well. They say, the 1st horn and the 1st oboe are the 2 MOST important chairs of any symphony orchestra, and I think Marco is now quite pleased with these two players he has in his orchestra. ( Kathy with principal Flute of Kingston, Donelda Gartshore)
All in all.. this performance too was very special, and exciting… ! what a great opportunity for us to have performed this symphony with some great players !

And lastly MARCO ! you are an amazing conductor, and more importantly a great musician ! and we, I feel very lucky and privileged to have performed under your musical leadership !

My horn section after the concert! from Left to Right- Christina Wotherspoon, Steve Seiffert, Emily Cavers, Cory van Allen, Me, Janet Anderson and James MacDonald

Despite our many attempts to persuade the bus driver to stop at a liquor store for some much needed, bus time, refreshments, we only had a disappointing 5 minute stop at Tim Hortons’ which did not satisfy anyone at the back of the bus !

Next time, we must remember to bring a cooler !

( click on any picture to enlarge the picture view)

MAGICAL MAHLER !

SO... TODAY is the big day !!!..

We , the Oshawa Durham Symphony and the Kingston Symphony, combined, just had a our last rehearsal this afternoon before tonight’s big performance of Mahler's 5th Symphony. Its just so amazing to play with a full 120+ piece orchestra with loads of strings ! That’s what you MUST have in performing Mahler.. lots and lots of Strings This is in order to balance out the very loud passages that are constantly coming over the orchestra from the Brass section. My horn section is great.. ! I'm extremely pleased, and I'm sure this evening will go off exactly how I envisioned it ! a great Mahler Fest ! Gustav will be smiling from the heavens tonight.. as he and my parents are looking down below on this magical evening . ( I'm not in this picture, because I took it! here they are rehearsing Tannhauser Overture )

HEADS UP ! FALLING ICE !

WOW.. what a storm ! and to top it all off, you had to wear a bloody Hard Hat while walking outside downtown because of the falling ice off the CN Tower. Whole sections of the city were just completly shut down. The ice falls from the CN Tower as the sun moves around the sky.I know it doesn't look like too much but the larger pieces in the image are actually the size of doors and would easily flatten someone. The police had cordoned off several blocks around the bottom of the tower. Cars and Taxi's were crushed from some of the falling peices. Our patrons at the Amici Concert ran for cover as they entered the Glenn Gould Studio, the front entrance of the theatre was in the middle of the cordoned off area !

WELCOME TO THE GREAT WHITE NORTH ! EH!

This afternoon Kathy and I were to go to Kingston for our second last rehearsal with the Oshawa Symphony. We left my house at 2:45 and still at 5:00pm we did not make it any further than Lawrence. Yonge street is one big hill, and so many cars just couldn't get up the hill, which in turn created grid-lock and slowed down traffic to a crawl ! It had taken us more than 2 hours to travel about 10km ! We recieved a call at 5:00 from the personeel manager that indeed the Bus that we were to take and meet had been cancelled and for us to turn around. MAN OH MAN I have never seen such an incredible Snow storm as this one we had tonight. In the span of only 2 hours we had 10 cm of snow on the ground.. and now tonight, the ice rain has started !

WELCOME TO CANADA ! EH !

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SIS!

Yesterday, Kathy and I joined Ineke, Caroline and Nicholas for a Birthday Dinner. We ate at a really nice resturant on King Street, called " La Maquette " We were able to still enjoy the "Winterlicious menu"

It was Ineke's birthday and we thoroughly enjoyed the meal.. WOW...

very much a " Michelin Food Guide" type of meal

Happy Birthday SIS.. !!!!

I love ya tons !

STILL LOTS OF SNOW

This morning, after a great Jazz night, I decided to take Milo for a nice long 2 hour walk. We went to Riverdale Farm. This picture is of an Historic Toronto Farm House in the middle of the Park. Milo had great fun running through the snow. Unfortunatly there were no squirels down on the ground due to the deep snow, but Milo could spot them up in the trees, and was crying and wimpering for them to come down !

MAHLER THEN JAZZ

Tonight after our first grueling Mahler 5 rehearsal, Kathy, Caroline and I went down to the REX for dinner and nice relaxing evening of live Jazz. This jazz band performs every last Monday of the month. James and Janet both are playing with me this week in the Mahler, and as seen here, tonight they joined in with the Jazz band to perform some great jazz classics.


The Jazz band was the John Macleod's Rex Hotel Orchestra

FOOD, FRIENDS, MUSIC AND POOL

This weekend I performed with the Niagara Symphony once again. We played an interesting program that highlighted flutes from around the world... it was fun to play there again. More importantly, I really feel that I am making great friends with these colleauges ! The winds and brass went all out to dinner together, at a local bistro called the " The Red Caboose" ... this was the sign outside that greeted me... I thought I needed to take a picture of this great sign, and post it here on my blog.

We all had a great dinner together... and later I played a game of Pool with Brandon, the principal trumpet of the orchestra. Brandon and I are playing all this week Mahler 5 with the Oshawa Symphony.

As the title of this blog post says, Food, Friends, music and pool.. are the essential elements of enjoying to be a professional musican any where in the world ! from Zurich, to Paris, to Amsterdam to even St. Catherines Ontario !

A Beautiful Winter Wonderland

Today, I went to visit Maya in Kitchener. We went for a nice walk in the bush out in back of the house.. although it was nice and sunny it was still a cold -16 degrees!. Milo and Ivy had great fun running around in the snow... It was a great day, nice and relaxing, and just chillling before the amazingly busy 2 weeks that are ahead of me !

( click on the picture to enlarge)

SNOW... SNOW.. SNOW !!

SNOW ! ... ... and lots of it !


HAPPY VALENTINES' DAY ... nice warm thoughts.. ha !



This morning I woke up to 20cm of snow on the ground.! luckly we didn't get what happened at Niagara Falls/Hamilton.. they got 70cm of snow.. thats like almost 1metre of snow... poor milo is to small and can't really get around.. but she managed .. and you know to boot.. its still - 15 degrees outside as well ... talk about winter ! this is it... for sure !

Still Freezing COLD!

Today -15 c

We have had a over a week of total artic weather now ! although Milo just loves chasing after the squirrels because especially now they are so easy to spot against the white snowy landscape, one can only stand to be outside for about 20 minutes tops ! and then rush back inside once again. I took some extra vitamin D today, as we Canadians are sun starved people; as we do see the sun almost every day, we can't stay outside to long to soak up its vitamins.

Caroline the Birthday Girl!

Hey there Caroline...

it's your birthday...

Amazing are you really 20 years old now?

I feel so OLD ...so suddenly !

Stay warm ! ......it feels like -30 outside today with the windchill factor, with lots of blowing snow to boot!

A Musical Challenge

Last week Kathy and I played a real demanding program with the Oshawa Durham Symphony Orchestra. We performed Bartok's Miraculous Mandarin and Stravinsky's Firebird. We had some weather challenges as well being very cold and snowy all week as well. Kathy and I had great fun, she stayed with me at my place that whole week. This picture was taken just before our concert on Saturday night.

Boston Philharmonic

This week I had an neat experience of taking part and playing in the International Conductor Guild Conference . A few days with playing in ensembles and orchestras conducted by young upcoming conductors in a workshop environment. With a closing concert lecture, called, Classical Fever, conducted by Mr. Benjamin Zander (Music Director and Conductor, Boston Philharmonic, teacher, and author of The Art of Possibility) I had quite the repertoire to cover, here are a few examples of the works I performed, Dumbarton Oaks-Stravinsky, Siegfried Idyll-Wagner, Beethoven Symphonies no. 5 & 9, Mahler Symphony no. 4 ... lots of tense one buttock moments.. but all in all ... alot of fun !


In this picture just before the closing concert, Me, Leslie Newman ( flutist in my quintet, Network Winds) and Vince Barbee, (4th horn of the National Ballet Orchestra) I was playing principal Horn during all the sessions.

I'm so glad I have a big sister !!.....

Today Ineke came back from her week long trip to the Big Apple ! She was there with Tante Lies and had a fabulous time galivanting around New York and enjoying lots of museams and Broadway shows. She stayed in a hotel right downtown on Broadway !

On one of her adventures she went to see the United Nations ( the UN) and what I didn't know.. and that's what so great about having an older sister that can retain so many facts ! is that when Mom was living in Norway, she was actually was working at the Weaving studio that was commissoned to provide the amazing tapestry that is hanging still to this day, on the walls of the Security Council Chambers at the UN !


The Security Council Chamber was a gift from Norway, designed by the Norwegian architect Arnstein Arneberg.
A central feature of the Security Council Chamber is the oil canvas mural painted by the Norwegian artist Per Krogh. It depicts a phoenix rising from its ashes, as a symbol of the world being rebuilt after the Second World War. Above the dark sinister colours at the bottom different images in bright colours symbolizing the hope for a better future are depicted. Equality is symbolized by a group of people weighing out grain for all to share.

The blue and gold silk tapestry ( see red arrow, you can click on the image to enlarge the image view) on the walls and in the draperies by the East River windows features the anchor of faith, the growing wheat of hope, and the heart of charity. ( this is what Mom was a part of making)
The Charter gives the Security Council the main responsibility for maintaining international peace and security. As the "emergency room" of the UN, it has to be ready to meet at any time if there is a threat to peace.

Waltzing into the New Year !

I had a great gig on January 1st ! I was brought back in time with performing the show "Salute to Vienna" an afternoon of Strauss and Lehar Waltzes and Polkas in a jam packed, sold out, Roy Thompson Hall. It was loads of fun, and really brought back tons of Hoofdstad Operette memoiries and experiances! its hard to believe that I played with the HO for 18 years ! its seems like another life time and or another persons life !

One year ago today... Saddness was overwhelming

One year ago today, was a very sad day indeed! December 28th, 2005, my Mother, Aleida Martha Limbertie died very suddenly at Mount Sinai Hospital. We all do miss her very much, and a big gapping hole is in our lives. She leaves behind many wonderful memories, and I hope now that this very difficult year of morning has now passed, that I can reflect on many more of the happy times, and not only her very tragic and ultra dramatic last weeks in the hospitals… Tonight I had a nice dinner with Ineke and Robert and the kids at a local French restaurant, and we toasted our glass of wine to mom, and her wonderful life!! We miss you mom !!!

Christmas Jammin'

Caroline and I had a great time last night Jammin' away, me on keyboards and as you can see in the picture, Caro on Guitar... She is a great song writter, and she taught me some of the songs she is working on ... later on, of her friends dropped over... also on guitar, and she is really good.. a great teacher and mentor for Caroline! No doubt Caroline will become really good on guitar with a friend like that to hang out with... !!

Christmas has come and gone...

Christmas Day I spent with Ineke in Toronto in the morning and Maya and her family in Kitchener in the evening.. it was a wonderful day! It is possible to have a happy and joyful Christmas even though the two people we spent our hole lifes with on Christmas Day were not there for the first time... of course I missed Mom and Dad... but thank god I have such great sisters.. so life does go on !!!

( Click here to see more pictures from this day)

Christmas comes early...

Yesterday, Saturday December 23, we celebrated Christmas all together as a family at my place. Melinda and her family are leaving on Christmas day for vacation to Jamaica, so this was the only soulution to all get together. I had set up a really nice buffet and everyone arrived around 1:30pm.. and stayed till about 5:30pm... it was a great Limbertie traditional Christmas, reflecting on the fact that this was the first one ever without BOTH our parents !


On Monday, Christmas Day, I go to Ineke's for Christmas Brunch, and then in the afternoon drive to Kitchener, to spend Christmas dinner with Maya and her family. ( a shot from above, with the giant heep of wrapping paper in the middle of the room... )
Click here to see more pictures from this day..

Christmas in Niagara Falls...

This week I have been playing with the Niagara Symphony. I have been driving up and down to Niagara Falls ( 130km from Toronto) since Wednesday. I love playing with Niagara Symphony because I get to see and hang out with Valerie Sylvester. Valerie and I have been friends since we were 6 years old. We grew up going on long walks down in the valley in Don Mills, and going to Greenland Public school. Acually she hung out more with Melinda, but we have lots of home movies that dad made with us on our outside adventures! And later in life, we played for many years together in the Toronto Symphony Youth Orchestra... and now she is the Concert Master of the Niagara Symphony !

( in this picture I standing at the falls with Paul, one of the trumpet players of the orchestra, who grabbed a lift with me to Niagara Falls.. )

Last night before getting to the concert, I dropped by Niagara Falls to take a look. Yuup still there in all its glory ! It was very nice to see again !


( click on any photo to enlarge.. )

Its amazing that thousands of people fly, drive, bus for thousands of miles from all over the world to see Niagara Falls, and here is just in the back door step of Toronto. We have been playing an all Christmas program, and I sure am in the mood now! between playing the Christmas show with Holly Cole two weeks ago, till now with the Niagara Symphony... www.niagarasymphony.org

I really need all this joy, as its a very hard time for me and my sisters... coming up the one year anniversary of my Mom's death... ( she died on December 28th.. )

Last Minute Gig again !

Yesterday, Friday, I played with the Toronto Symphony again, in a performance with Jazz Singer - Holly Cole. It was great fun to play, and nice to hear a new artist.

Holly Cole is a great Jazz singer, and as it turns out has won several awards, including a JUNO for best Jazz artist... the program was a totally Jazzy Christmas one, and she performed to a totally sold out Roy Thompson Hall.

Boy these days are getting more surprizing lately... I wonder what will show up at the last minute next week ??????

Donview Junior High 1973-1975

Yesterday I was in Barrie playing a gig with a local choir. I met two people in the choir that are a blast from the Past, one was a trombone player that was in the same band class as me in Junior High.. and the other was actually my
BAND TEACHER from Junior High - Mrs. Leonard ! ...
oh my god.. 35 years later I met up with her... this is the women that started me on the French Horn... !!!

As I turns out.. teaching band at Donview was her very FIRST job ! just fresh out of teaching colleage, and she landed this job and at the very young age of 23 ! wow.. no wonder she always looked like she was going to have a nervous breakdown.. very brave of her to teach band to 12, 13 and 14 year olds.. she must have had major headachs at the end of each day.. ! not something I would do that's for sure... and now she looks great and relaxed, as she does not teach Band any more.. and that is also why she really doesn't look too old in this picture either.. she really wasn't much older than my self.. now and then !

WOW.. this world is so amazingly small ! who would think I would meet her in all places .. Barrie ! Pretty Neat I would say.. !

any way.. we had a fun time performing together, it was a nice program.. and we all had a swell time up north...

here is a picture by the lake in Barrie, I guess it's Georgian Bay, just before the rehearsal, with fellow colleagues that I rode up with , Hazel and Elizabeth.. on Oboe and Viola... I was really beautiful up there, and we got to see Barrie's Santa Claus parade as well, it was at night .. weird idea.. but pretty..

Santa Claus Parade 2006

Today Toronto celebrated it’s 102nd Santa Claus Parade. Me, Caroline and Ineke watched the whole thing today down on Front Street. Nicholas was also in the parade, with his
“ MedVent” group.. it was a cold day, but we stayed warm with all the wonderful holiday cheers ! We had a great time !

Click here to see all the pictures...


Click here for more info on the history of the parade...

Life is fun and full of unexpected surprises !

You know, I was just planning to get up and read the Saturday Star yesterday, but as I was working on the computer yesterday morning my phone rang... it was the personnel manager of the Toronto Symphony! " hello Wendy, are you busy?" I reply, no just sitting her, working on the computer this lazy Saturday morning. " oh, well can you please come RIGHT NOW, to the Roy Thompson hall ? ( picture is of Roy Thompson hall, and the Toronto Symphony ) and sit in with the Toronto Symphony, we are short our 2nd horn,and have 2 concerts today"... ah sure, I reply ... just let me get dressed.. I'll be there ASAP ! Hang up the phone... and SWOOOSHH you have never seen any one take and shower, drop the dog off at the neighbours and drive like the car could go into warp speed down to the Symphony...

as my title says... Life is fun and full of unexpected surprises !

I love my life !

Haitink Celebrates Fiftieth Anniversary

When I moved to Amsterdam on April 30, 1983 my first and wonderful experience with seeing and hearing Bernard Haitink for the first time was a concert I attended with my sister and brother-inlaw at the Concertgebouw to see the Concertgebouw horn section perform Schumann's Konzertstuck for 4 horns and orchestra, and Berlioz, Symphonie Fantatic.

WOW!!!

What a hall, what an orchestra and what a fantastic conductor ! after living in Amsterdam for 18 years, you can imagine I have heard this orchestra its conductor hundreds of time since !

The biggest honour was playing as an extra in the orchestra with Bernard Haitink conducting Strauss's Alpine Symphonie.




"On Tuesday, 7 November, it has been exactly fifty years since Bernard Haitink, aged 27, first conducted the Concertgebouw Orchestra. The young conductor was called in to replace Carlo Maria Giulini, who had cancelled because of illness. Haitink made a stunning debut and was immediately invited to return the following season. Leading the orchestra on its first tour in 1959, he was appointed first conductor on 1 September that same year and became principal conductor in 1963. During his tenure, the orchestra developed significantly, as evidenced today by a series of legendary, award-winning recordings. He relinquished the post in 1988, going on to work with the world’s leading orchestras and opera houses. Haitink’s great importance to the RCO was further underscored in 1999, when he was appointed honorary conductor.This month, Haitink is leading the orchestra in a series of concerts featuring works by Webern, Richard Strauss and Mahler. A special anniversary concert was given on 7 November, during which he conducted Mahler’s Fourth Symphony and Das Lied von der Erde. The concert was televised partly at the Dutch television. Das Lied von der Erde will be broadcasted on Nederland 2 on Tuesday, 26 December at 1.10 p.m."