This is the first of my weekly blogs detailing the ups and
downs, the sights and sounds, and the lessons I have learned during my stay at
the Castleton Opera Festival. First, I should give some background as to how I
acquired this summer internship. A
few months ago, my curiosity about the Castleton Festival grew immensely. I had heard about the festival in years
past and had wanted to visit. However, I never got the chance. Then, I
discovered that there were internships available for the summer. With help, I
was able to send in my resume for consideration. After a wonderful Skype
interview with the director, Nancy Gustafon, I was informed of my acceptance as
an Orchestra Management intern for the summer of 2014.
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| Festival Tent |
I arrived this past Monday, May 26th, a bright
and warm day. After getting my welcome packet and filling out some paperwork, I
was taken on a brief tour. My first impression of the facilities and the
landscape was that of shock and awe. The grounds cover 600 square acres, all of
it beautiful. The hills, fields, and woods are something to behold. Plus, the
wildlife is something else. Besides the usual cows and cats, there were llamas,
a zebra, goats, and a zonkey (donkey and zebra hybrid). I heard that there are
emus, but I have yet to see them.
I was assigned to live in a house on the property. It is
called Bluebird Haven. Secluded by a long and downward driveway, the area
around the house is expansive and hidden by trees. I later found out I was to
share the house with up to 18 people, six people on each of the three floors.
Since I arrived a day early and had already made reservations to stay the night
in Culpeper, I simply went to unpack the clothes and supplies I brought for my
stay. The next day, my father, who had accompanied me on the drive to Virginia,
went home to NY via train and plane. I was officially away from family for the first time in my
life.
The first full day I was at Castleton, I spent my time
unpacking more supplies, exploring the grounds, and waiting for the rest of my
roommates and coworkers. I’m happy to say that everyone working here is
incredibly kind and eager to do the best they can. Two of my fellow interns and
housemates were eager to get to know me and I them. We all hit it off quickly,
which is definitely something I am not useful. However, I was surprised that
the first night at the house was just the three of us, plus the people
upstairs, stage managers for Madama
Butterfly. It turns out that most of the people planning to stay with us
aren’t arriving until this coming Sunday, June 1st.
Speaking of arrivals, that was what the first week was spent
preparing for. Since the performers were not to arrive until Sunday, we all had
to get to work preparing. My jobs so far have included copying practice parts
and uploading them online for the musicians, calling universities and
percussion shops looking for instruments to borrow or rent, and making sure we
have all the right music. Rehearsals are supposed to begin next week. It seems
so close, but so far away. Luckily, I have a great orchestra manager to work
with and wonderful coworkers who make the officework less stressful. I am
mentally preparing for the weeks of being on my feet all day for orchestra
rehearsals with Maestro Maazel and the conducting fellows.
The downside of my time so far has been the limited Internet
access. It is either in the offices or not at all. Plus, I have trouble making
phone calls on my cellphone and need to use a landline for local calls only.
Besides that, this is more of a blessing than a curse. Being away from the
daily hustle and bustle of facebook and netflix is allowing me time to read and
socialize. We get three meals a day, served at the community firehouse, all of
them delicious. It’s nice to meet everyone and find things we have in common.
It’s a nice way to get to know your coworkers before the oncoming storm of
musicians that will be filling up the festival grounds. I have no doubt that
everything will be ready by the time that happens.
P.s. Due to the limited bandwidth, I am unable to use
youtube and will not be able to upload any videos of the festival at this time.
I will try to include photos with each blog.
