The UDLA Orchestra's Newest Member

And now, a series of questions and answers to describe my latest predicament:

Do I need a course in the fine arts as part of my Spanish major? Yes

Can I use an art class or am I able to fit a drama class into my schedule? No

Is Musica de Camara II AKA Chamber Music which includes a spot in the university orchestra the only option? Si

Does anyone else in this course speak any type of understandable English? Not to my knowledge

Have I at any point been able to play an instrument suitable for an orchestra? Yes, 4 years of the trombone in 5^th through 8^th grades

Am I still able to play that instrument? Absolutely not

Do I remember a majority of the notes I will need to know? Not a chance

Am I incredibly rusty on the few notes I do know? Without a doubt

Has the entire rest of the orchestra been playing together their entire college careers including playing and practicing all of our songs all summer so that they sound beautiful when playing without their trombone? Easily

Were we able to finish any song in which I played at my first 2 practices? Nope

Is the violin section pretty? Thank goodness

Are there any other brass instruments in the orchestra so you can hide behind their noise? Nope nay a trumpet, tuba, trombone, or French horn to be found. Just a bunch of string and percussions so every single noise I make is blatantly obvious.

Do we have more than 7 concerts this fall? You bet (8)

Was I ever able to play the difficulty level of the music I now need to play? Never ever

Will I be ready for our concert in 12 days? Ha

Can I understand a word my conductor says or does he speak at the speed of light? The latter

What am I going to do? Still working on that one, but the class is a lot of fun and everyone is very nice so I guess I will be practicing the trombone quite a bit…in Spanish of course.