Rehearsal and Prefrosh Weekend.
culture  

Rehearsal and Prefrosh Weekend.

By Mythili

Before last Thursday’s rehearsal I received a very sad email:

*Hi There,As Zhaoying can't be there for both Bandorama concerts, Mythili, would you please play piccolo on both concerts, and the two of you can both play the pic parts on the first concert.Thanks.Bill*

Aside from being slightly confusing, the main point–WARNING WARNING MORE DEAFNESS AHEAD–was not lost on me. Ergo I went into rehearsal slightly anxious…to discover Zhaoying very confused, because she wasn’t aware that she was unable to make both of our Bandorama concerts; it was only the Disnleyland concert for which she was busy. With much pomp and circumstance, I returned her music to her and gave the school piccolo back to Bill. Adieu! So before rehearsal started, we had a special masterclass hosted by a member of the band, Lynne Snyder. For those who have never had the pleasure, a masterclass is when you take a class under a guest instructor, but it’s meant as sort of a ‘everyone learns together’ sort of thing. Whereas in a normal class you just have you and and your teacher, in a masterclass there’s generally more people observing.

We got slightly distracted towards the start of rehearsal by something big. And shiny. I.e. a contrabass clarinet, also known as a BBb clarinet:

In any case, we added a new piece to our repertoire for the next set of concerts–the “Caltech Medley,” a series of Caltech melodies strung together by the composer brother of an alum. The songs are very pretty, if oddly named… my favourite is the “Gnome Sweetheart Song,” after the last fraternity at Caltech, pronounced “nome-EEs.” So it’s also PREFROSH WEEKEND! It’s so much fun to be on the other side for a second year. For example, dinner during PFW is a riot. There are SO many additional people, and of course none of them know the ‘rules of dinner.’ In Fleming, for example, breaking any of the rules leads to a penalty of a pitcher of water dumped on your head. Since it’s not fair to penalize prefrosh who don’t know the rules, the nearest most-junior Fleming upperclassmen gets the punishment for a bad prefrosh. And there were many. -_-;; We also had Fleming’s Casino Night yesterday, with a full set of tables and custom made milkshakes (any flavor you wanted as long as it was vanilla, oreo, strawberry, or chocolate).

In any case, it was lots of fun even if I have no idea how to work any of the tables. Except for blackjack; it’s a game on my phone.

If you couldn’t make it to PFW, I hope you get a chance to visit anyhow :) We’ll be doing a mini-encore next Saturday, so maybe we’ll see you then! Mythili.

Recommended Articles

My Friday Nights
culture

My Friday Nights

It was the Friday night of midterms during my first year at Caltech, and I was alone in the library. That weekend (week five of term, if you’re keeping count) also happens to coincide with Halloween. But as a bright-eyed frosh trudging my way through Ma 1a lecture notes, I was just baffled that no one else was studying alongside me. Spoiler alert: not all Caltech students spend Friday night—or every night—studying or grinding sets, even during midterms. And especially on Halloween weekend.

By
caltech q and a
culture

caltech q and a

In order to get a good sense of the Caltech community, there is no better way than to talk to the students themselves. To give a little bit of an inside perspective of Caltech, I asked some students a variety of questions. Questions ranged from conspiracy theories to Caltech-specific takes and other random topics.

By
What's on my desk?
culture

What's on my desk?

I’d like to think that I keep a tidy desk, but hey— entropy prevails for everyone. Here’s a breakdown of all the items you could find on my desk, circa February 2023.

By
Searching for snow
culture

Searching for snow

My grandma always says that it rains whenever Dragonssuperior zodiac sign travel, and sure enough, it was raining when I landed at LAX for my last calendar year at Caltech. It’s officially my graduation year—but between leaving campus just before spring term in my freshman year and returning, twenty-one years old, as a junior, it really does feel like my time here has flown by.

By