Juliet Tower

In the last week of December, the rehearsals of the orchestra increased, almost every day for the evening self-study of the second period, they would meet in the small auditorium.

On the 31st, the school considerately gave half a day of New Year's holiday to leave school early. Others rushed to the school gate in high spirits. Only the orchestra members were taken by the school bus to the TV studio for rehearsal.

Unlike professional orchestras, they don't wear black suits and bow ties on stage, but school uniforms, which is both to show off and to promote.The school hopes that this image can be remembered by the public as a business card of elite education.

Tomorrow's party will last for three and a half hours. The live broadcast will start at 08:30 and end at midnight. There will be a lot of participants. Even the rehearsal will be divided into three batches, and the waiting time will be long.

Qiao Yumian immediately occupied the inconspicuous corner of the lounge, took out the English mock volume from her schoolbag, skipped the listening, and started to write like no one else was there.

"I'm suddenly a little nervous..." Yin Feng grabbed the back of Qiao Yumian's hand with his icy hands, and it was wet with cold sweat, "Wow, your hands are so warm, aren't you nervous?"

Qiao Yumian suppressed the urge to wash his hands, while comforting him: "Today is just a rehearsal, the audience is full of staff, and there are no audience."

"I know, I'm just nervous. I feel more nervous than waiting for the results..."

Qiao Yumian recalled that he didn't seem to be nervous at all when he announced the test results. He even put the physics paper with a score of 70 in front of Li Huijun. He was not very nervous, but he was a little helpless.

An Jiayu briefly communicated with the staff, and had to wait about half an hour before it was their turn to come on stage.

He opened the door and went back to the dressing room full of members. Today they don't need to wear makeup, and the teacher didn't follow in. Everyone is consciously taking the time to adjust their instruments, looking orderly.

He found Qiao Yumian in the crowd at a glance. The man still hid himself in the corner, amidst the disorderly noise, sitting on a low stool with earphones on and doing homework, with an exercise book on his lap The English paper on the top has reached the second half, and half a page of paper limply covers his knees.From time to time, the light was blocked by classmates who walked around and stood up to relax, but he was not affected at all, writing vigorously with one hand, and holding the flute case firmly in front of him with the other.

An Jiayu stood patiently not far away, squinting his eyes at the scroll surface lined with beautiful handwriting for a long time, and then stepped forward after he finished correcting mistakes in the essay, and gently pinched the pen that was moving at a constant speed: "Flute, Don't hold on, it's time to play."

Qiao Yumian nodded, took off the earphones, folded the paper in half and put it in the exercise book.

He didn't put the exercise book back into the school bag, but put it directly on the ground and placed it under the flute box to ensure that the bottom of the box would not get dirty, and it was firmly on a horizontal plane, so that the metal parts would not roll off before opening the box. Assemble the flute.

Drumming his cheeks, flicking his tongue, and relaxing his neck and shoulders, he quickly played a few chromatic scales as a warm-up.

"Everyone!" An Jiayu clapped his hands at the right time, "Have you brought the music score? Wait a minute, during the rehearsal, if there is any uncomfortable place, such as a problem with the seat or lighting, no matter what, if you find it inappropriate, speak up immediately, don't hold back. The rehearsal is for everyone to make adjustments."

There were loose responses from all around.

"Are you nervous?" An Jiayu smiled at the freshman juniors, "After practicing for so long, everyone has performed well enough, so there is no need to be nervous."

Indeed, for this ten-minute performance, they have been busy for two months.The flute is only a one-page score. Qiao Yumian, who practiced together and practiced independently, played it for dozens of hours over and over again. It's already off the score. Not only him, but almost everyone can do it. Insurance, please feel at ease.

His reprinted sheet music is no longer tidy, and annotations are filled in the gaps, such as "Pay attention to the connection, the baton will come over" before the first bar at the beginning, and "Play with oboe, An Jiayu will look over".

But just a few minutes before going on stage, the tense atmosphere suddenly spread for no reason, the whispering disappeared, and distant noise invaded.The students probed their brains, trying to see the auditorium clearly through the gap in the curtain on the side of the stage a second earlier, but the lights under the stage were dim and dark, which only added to a sense of oppression brought by the unknown.

Qiao Yumian couldn't help being infected by this breath, staring at a bright stage light, her mind was a little dazed, and she always felt that the notes that had taken root in the hippocampus were escaping in an organized way.

Obviously not nervous before.

He felt more and more clearly that his hands were cooling down rapidly, and there was a faint tendency to sweat.

The actors on the stage were taking their curtain call, and Qiao Yumian mechanically moved forward with the large group.They lined up in a line with heavy steps, holding their respective instruments, like death squads carrying weapons to the battlefield, except for a few people who have a lot of experience in performing competitions, such as the chief violin, the chief clarinet, and a pair of special moves The viola twins who came in, for example...their conductor, the backbone of everyone.

An Jiayu stood beside a black velvet curtain beside the stage, which was the place where everyone had to pass by.

Qiao Yumian looked hard at his calm and slightly smiling eyes, trying to extract a little sense of normalcy from them.He approached step by step. What was amazing was that the man seemed to have erected an invisible barrier in front of him. The members who passed through were visibly relaxed, especially the girls, who even wore relaxed smiles. .

It was only after getting closer that An Jiayu's right hand was busy.

He clenched it tightly and punched the boy like a hot-blooded coach.

"Be careful of the steps." Spreading out his palms again, he took the initiative to help the girl onto the stage, like an old gentleman.

A girl held her palm which was dragged by An Jiayu with great care, feeling shy and excited at the same time.Everyone resumed whispering, and the attention shifted from the cold camera in the dark auditorium to An Jiayu.

Qiao Yumian followed Yin Feng and also clenched his fists, but An Jiayu raised his eyes to see him, but suddenly smirked, and then spread his palms, politely: "Be careful of the steps."

Qiao Yumian was taken aback for a moment, and took advantage of the opportunity to catch that warm and dry hand, and was lifted onto the stage with care.It took only two seconds before and after he realized that they were surrounded by laughter one after another.

"Pfft..." Yin Feng sat beside him, holding his stomach and laughing tremblingly.

"Crazy." He complained, and he couldn't help laughing. As soon as his shoulders relaxed, the notes that broke free fell back into his mind peacefully, and the atmosphere of everyone's rehearsal was brought over.

The score is open on the music stand.

The needle of the cello poked firmly on the stage floor.

Lights shone on the golden surfaces of the brass instruments.

The first violin took his seat after everyone was ready, everyone spontaneously quieted down, the oboe gave the standard tone as usual, the conductor fell silent in the harmony of the whole group, and the playful smile disappeared without a trace.

An Jiayu lowered his head and took a deep breath, then raised his head and put on another look.

He slowly stepped into the center of the circle from the side, turned around, and bowed to the pitch-black auditorium.

When he got up, the backlight outlined his thin and tall silhouette, and his slender neck was like a swan waiting to take off on the lake.

Their school uniforms are no less ugly than tuxedos, on the contrary, they highlight the youthfulness and eagerness of young people in a serious atmosphere.

The conductor turned around and scanned the entire orchestra.

It seemed that everyone followed his eyes and took a breath at the same time.

Qiao Yumian stared at the spot of light reflected from the tip of the baton in An Jiayu's hand, and suddenly felt a little immersive.At this moment, they no longer pay attention to the cameras and staff walking back and forth on the stage, and can no longer hear the on-site director shouting at the top of their voices.They merge into the same emotional river and become a giant musical instrument, waiting for the anjia fish to play.

He raised his hands and raised the first arc in mid-air, as if with a light effect.

The presentation part was opened by the deep and thick long tone of the brass pipe, and the stage was instantly shrouded in sadness and gloom.

Most people don't need to stare at the sheet music they have already memorized, but naturally focus on the commanding gestures, moving with the slow and soft movements of the hands.

The dense timpani leads to the background of the strings, the oboe plays the melodious and melodious main melody, and the sad thoughts linger. An Jiayu slightly nods her head, and her gestures are folded in front of her chest in small swings, like a fragile soap bubble , the bubble reflects the distant and peaceful hometown in the memory of the composer Dvořák.

Gentle and low back step by step, with infinite affection, An Jiayu raised his head slightly as the horn weakened and faded away, and cast affectionate eyes on the oboe and Qiao Yumian in turn.

The Development Department immediately opened in the slightly hasty descending treble of the oboe and flute, the invisible soap bubble was sent into the air by the conductor's raised hands, and the lingering thoughts also rose together, and the emotions were brewing in the soothing foreshadowing, and then The repeated melodies of different bands are gradually superimposed until they rise to the lightest and brightest part of the whole movement. In the huge emotional explosion mixed by woodwind, brass and orchestral music, the hometown is close at hand, as if it can be touched by hand.

Then, the people immersed in great joy woke up from their dream.

The bubbles burst at the highest altitude, the nostalgia poured down, and the oboe returned with the main melody, which was even more sad.

Three classic rests, An Jiayu clenched his left hand three times to stop the notes.

It was as if three consecutive choked-up sobs, as if everyone had swallowed their tears at the same time, and took three deep breaths.

Qiao Yumian finally couldn't help the sore nose.

In the echo-like chords of the double bass, he saw An Jiayu's furrowed brows, slightly trembling lips, and crystal clear eye sockets.They met unexpectedly in silence and looked at each other for a long time.

I don't know who broke the deadlock with a sob, and who said "Damn, we are awesome" and made everyone laugh.

This is the most perfect one of their countless rehearsals.

The author says:

Joe: He seems to be glowing.