hitting the low notes

I love my bass clarinet. I've had it for a few years - got it when I was in grad school. I played it a semester or so in school after I got it, but unfortunately haven't had much opportunity to put it to use since then. Without a concert or some kind of goal to reach for, it has been hard for me to keep in shape on the bass clarinet. Many things are the same as playing the regular clarinet, but it is so much bigger and takes much more air, making it a whole different beast. Let me remind you that I have had some problems when trying to practice the bass clarinet in the past.

Lately, I have been spending a lot of time with the BC. A group I play with, the One World Symphony is performing a concert version of the opera, Vanessa by Samuel Barber this weekend and I am playing bass clarinet in it. Actually, it is a reduced orchestra version, so I am playing the second clarinet part, which is mostly bass clarinet, but also has B-flat and A clarinet. Basically that means I am carrying a lot of stuff around and it takes me forever to get everything together before and after the concerts. I am looking forward to the performances, which are this weekend. I feel much more comfortable with the BC now and am having a lot of fun playing it. I mostly enjoy playing low notes - they rumble through me - I like it. :)