Rituals
Austin Civic Orchestra, May 2023 at Bates Recital Hall, University of Texas at Austin I have a ritual on Tuesdays. It’s something that I do each week during the school year; something that I’ve done faithfully for the last 15 years. It brings me immense joy, even if it’s a pain to carve out the time in my schedule. Each Tuesday, I attend rehearsal as a violinist in the Austin Civic Orchestra. Each week is different, yet feels the same- I sit down at my chair in a public high school band hall that smells strongly like spit from emptied spit valves and has a lingering smell of teenaged sweat mixed with body splash. We wait for the minute-hand to hit the quarter hour after seven and watch the concertmistress call our 90 piece orchestra to order. We silence our side conversations and listen closely for the oboe player to articulate the perfect A, 440 hz to be exact, to which I attempt to precisely match my A string on my violin. Once all my stings are tuned, I silently wait for our