Theater Meggenhofen (AT) - Hoffestspiele 2017 "Only The Girls"
Lia Pale & mathias rüegg feat. the big.mdw.band
"Only The Girls"
I think during the past week we were constantly checking the weather forecast : ) in the hopes of a warm and dry evening. Meggenhofen might be the most beautiful place to play open air and the forecast really wasn‘t that good, so we got a little nervous and kept checking our phones hoping for the best ...we were very lucky and the day of our concert turned out to be a little chilly and windy but dry : ), yippiiieh! It was the first time that we worked with the Big Band of the Music University Vienna and its director/teacher/conductor Markus Geiselhart. For this concert we had the opportunity to work with his students and once more I got the chance to conduct! To prepare myself for this challenge, I was studying the original scores obsessively, listening to the VAO recordings over and over, practicing the cues in my mind and in front of mathias, who had plenty of tips and guidelines for me to help me finding my way through his scores and towards the band : ), thank you mathias! Oh myyy, how much I enjoyed it!!! And at this point I wann say thank you to Markus for making it happen!!! It was a wonderful and exciting experience in many ways!I had the chance to learn so much by working with these lively big band of yours : ), I really appreciate it!!!
I still can‘t believe that it worked out that way...I remember meeting with Elisabeth Moussoulides, the wonderful heart and soul of the Theater Meggenhofen, talking about a collaboration and what could work...and half a year later we were inside this extraordinary venue with 18 musicians!!!Thank you Elisabeth for giving us this wonderful opportunity!I had the most amazing time and enjoyed every second of it. Our day started with a rehearsal at the University (where I used to study) and we all drove together by bus to Meggenhofen, I immediatly felt 10 years younger ; ). When we got to Meggenhofen we were greeted with homemade cake and coffee! Thomas Egger, our man of trust when it comes to sound, was with us of course and whenever he is with us, we don‘t need to worry – also thank you to the many helping hands of Meggenhofen!!!What a team!!!
(aaand thanks to my Dad for picking up the note stands we needed : ) - thank you Hans Wadauer for helping us out!)
I think I told you about my first conducting experiences in Bari in December and I was very excited to do it again : )!!!We played original arrangements from mathias rüegg of Duke Ellington pieces of the VAO Album„Sounds of Love“ like "Very Special" (with a powerful solo by Johannes Weichinger), "Little Max" (with a colourful solo full of ideas by Michael Blaßnig), "Red Garter" (with a smooth and steady bassline by Lukas Popp), "Such Sweet Thunder", "Rockin‘ in Rhythm" and "I‘m just a lucky so & so" (with an energetic solo by Isabella Lingg). In between we played some Duo songs and some more Art Orchestra Songs like "Josephine Baker", "Innocence of Cliches" (great solo by Yvonne Moriel!) or "Voltaire - La Bibliotheque Immaginaire"...The band was incredible and played powerful and energetic – the quote by Count Basie „We get our kicks from playing“ might be just the right phrase to describe it! mathias was in a very chatty mood that night and he kept on interfering my little speeches inbetween songs : )...I will have to get used to that, I guess : )! Thank you to each and every single one for being a part and for making this night so special!!! Last but not least I want to say thank you to the wonderful audience who were with us from the very start, thank you to everyone for coming out! Afterwards we were served a „Bratl“ followed by ice cream, and yessss it was as good as it sounds!This place is full of passion and dedication, I can only say it is incredible and being a part of it means a lot. I insisted on a group picture on stage where a christmas song was taking over…: )
Round midnight : ) we got back on the bus and the kids from the red bank were having a party with a lot of beer and a lot of 90s pop songs...“soooo tell me what you want, what you really really want“
What a night!!!
Yours Lia!
