Thursday, August 31, 2006

P.S. Boston is SO 8 and 1/2 games behind right now.

P.P.S. I LOVE MY SIGHT SINGING TEACHER.

P.P.P.S. All is well. Or all is good?
Well, it turns out that I made a principle spot in philharmonia. Woo hoo! Partay! But I got kicked out of band, because there are too many flute players for any to be in both band and orchestra. And for the third semester in a row, I didn't make piccolo in anything. But principle flute is better than piccolo anyway. I think.

Anyway...yay! Now I get to rock out on a trombone concerto.

Wednesday, August 30, 2006

Flutes
Coming soon!

Tuesday, August 29, 2006

Here's to almost two hours of waiting in a line, $225, and an aching back, and all for three books! Yipee! I love college textbooks!
Well, my audition is tonight. I'm a little nervous about it, but definitely not as much as last year, when I felt that I had something to prove. I not worried about my excerpts at all; I'm pretty sure that if something goes awry (is that an appropriate context for the word?), it will be the Mozart solo. But whatev. I'll just go in there and do my best, and whatever will be will be. Everything happens for a reason. But it would be nice to actually make use of my PICCOLO this year!

(As a sidenote, I kind of ended up being the "utility" piccolo player in band and orchestra last year. Whenever there was a second piccolo part to be played, I was there. Second piccolo parts occur suprisingly often in band literature. And I actually did play picc a good deal in the Prokofiev piano concerto. So yeah.)

In my sight-singing/ear-training class:
(A recording of a piano is being played)
Teacher: "Can anyone tell me the composer of this work?"
Me: "Beethoven?"
Teacher: "Beethoven! Correct! Can anyone tell me the title of the piece?"
Me: "Ummm...'Sonata?'"

(I guess you had to be there).

Tues/Thurs could beat up Mon/Wed!

Monday, August 28, 2006

18ekT$#^&*UI(BVGY^%
My back hurts.

Today was a very, very long day.
The first day is going pretty well, I spose. It's good to see many of these people again. I kinda feel like every sophomore in the school of music is my friend, though there are people who I would rather not encounter...

Sunday, August 27, 2006

What do you do with a drunken sailor
Early in the morning?

Saturday, August 26, 2006

I just saw two characters on a TV show play "would you rather." And they CALLED it "would you rather." Seriously, I made up that game and the game name while on a band bus trip. I wrote a post about it, back in junior year or something. Do you ever think that you created a trend? I think I did in this case. There was no such thing as "would you rather" before that bus ride.
Two outs and the bases loaded, and Sal Fasano just HAD to be up, didn't he?

My new flute is kind of frustrating. It's so very different from the old Powell, and it's taking a lot of getting used to. I can't do what I used to do. I'm not going to say that it's worse, because it's not, it's just different, and changes in playing always come with difficulty and frustration. Of all people, I should know this. But that doesn't make it any easier, especially with auditions coming up.
My excerpts are divided. Some of them have reaped the benefits of my summer technique practice, like the Medelssohn Scherzo, the Prokofiev, William Tell, and the Strauss. I'm sure the new flute helps with technique, too. And I'm really proud of how well I can play them (relative to pre-summer). But some of the excerpts have just gone downhill since I got this new flute. I have no control yet. I can't play a lick of soft in the high register, so if they ask for that first Beethoven excerpt at the audition, I'm toast.

I've been practicing like a maniac since I've been back, mainly because I have nothing better to do, but I know that it takes more than a couple weeks to get used to a new instrument, and that I'm just going to have to be paitient. And if the auditions don't go well because of the flute, then whatever. There's not much I can really do about it. There's always next semester, and by then I'll be rocking like never before. (And by rocking, I mean playing classical music.)

I love my new flute, I really do. Don't get me wrong. Overall, it sounds lush and brilliant, but nothing is perfect.

(By the way, I named it Bernie after my favorite ball player, Bernie Williams. Bernie Burkart!)

Friday, August 25, 2006

I DO LIKE:
West Side Story

I DON'T LIKE:
Comcast

Thursday, August 24, 2006

Tallahasse and Titusville, though they both start with the letter T, are two very, very different cities. They are worlds apart. In fact, they are so different that I can hardly believe that it only takes five hours to transition between the two. That I belong in both places...well, to tell you the truth, I don't know if I belong in either city. Here's why...

Titusville is the retirement capital of the US. It's not even really a city. The most exciting thing to do on most nights is go to Wal-Mart. The population is mostly senior citizens and families, and everyone drives slowly and eats at places like Steve's. John Deere and camouflage clothing and accessories are perpetual trends. There are virtually no college students in Titusville, except those who attend BCC. Even the UCF students eventually end up in Orlando.

When in Tallhassee, though, you can't go anywhere without seeing a college student. Literally, they are everywhere. This is a college town to the max. Everywhere there is culture and music (maybe not the most desirable culture or music, but culture and music nonetheless). People here drive like maniacs, and there is always traffic to battle. There are much fewer pickup trucks and many more police patrol cars. Parties, alcohol, nightclubs, bars, couples in their twenties, stupid pranks, student protests; this is Tallahassee.

Okay, so maybe I'm exaggerating, but this is my take on the two cities. I've never thought about it that much before now, but I don't think these two cities could really be more different. Well, okay, yeah they could. But still. Man.

Wednesday, August 23, 2006

My favorite smile is back!
The day
was
short.

Monday, August 21, 2006

The Yankees. Man. In case anyone didn't know, they just won every game in a 5-game series against Boston. Some of the games were just brutal. But the Yankees, they rock. Seeweeuswee.

Also, the week before school starts is cool, even if I have a lot of stuff to do. For example, today I slept in until 12:30 (yeah, I know, that's not cool), watched the Yankees win, and then practiced for almost 5 hours. What day could be better? (Don't answer that.)

Sunday, August 20, 2006

I have that stupid song stuck in my head...

Give a little bit,
Give a little bit of my life to you.

Also, the game is on rain delay. Ahh!

Saturday, August 19, 2006

Why am I on facebook at 1:10 at night. Why.
I'm going to Tallahassee tomorrow, and I won't see a good many people for a while. Before I go, I'd like to write a little bit to some of my friends:

Erin- Thank you for being available to hang out with me with your busy schedule. Thank for for listening to me and my silly little problem, and thank you for not being mad when I don't always choose (okay--I hardly ever choose) to hang out with the gang. And thank you for finally making your boyfriend come and meet me!

Josh- Thank you for, once again, almost single-handedly making my summer. Thank you for always being welcoming and understanding. And fun! After all, it's all about the fun. And thank you for going dancing with me, though I'm pretty sure you enjoyed it as much as I did.

Rebecca- Thank you for putting up with my anti-social policies, and for not getting mad at me when I'm not always the best friend in the world. Thank you for always being nice and interested in what I have to say.

Asher- Thank you for helping me, whenever I need it.

The FSU fluties- Thank you for keeping in touch over the summer, and for the super fun day at Disney! I forsee many a flute lunch in the future.

Amanda- Thank you for always inviting me places, and for your perpetual warmth.

And thank you everybody, for understanding that I need a lot of time for myself and for putting up with my mistakes.

One more night at home, and I'm off!

Friday, August 18, 2006

POST
1) Yanks win double-header against Boston! The second game set the record for the longest 9-inning game (EVER). But we won both games!!!

2) Yay, my computer isn't going to blow up.

3) Goodbye to Titusville and all its inhabitants very soon.
PA:
"Have a great reminder of your summer."

lol

Wednesday, August 16, 2006

Lest you think I am trying to fool myself, I'll confess: I am scared of alcohol, and I am scared of boys--those whom I don't know, and some who I do (know). And I will go to great lengths to avoid these two things. Call me paranoid, but these seem pretty fatal to a woman.

Tuesday, August 15, 2006

STUFF

Yup, that about sums it up.

Monday, August 14, 2006

The more we get together, the happier we'll be.

SO. I bought a new flute at the NFA convention. Yes, friends, ol' Sharko is no longer my flute (well, it soon won't be). I know, I know, it has served me extremely well, and I am sad to see it go. I hope that its new owner loves it as much as I did. But I digress.
It took two whole days of trying out different brands and headjoints, but I finally decided that my new and improved flute would be a shiny new Burkhart. It is 0.998% solid silver, has 0.018" thick walls, open holed, inline G, B-foot, with a C# trill. The tone is MUCH darker than the old Powell Sig, and everything I play on it is somehow instantly more beautiful. I think that it is going to help me a great deal to grasp the feminine side of flute playing, which seems to be an ongoing weakness for me. Give me Martin, give me Muczynski, and I'll do fine, but as soon as you ask me to play Mozart or Handel, I'm gone.
The price of the flute scares me to think about (and I AM paying for all of it, with money that I earned myself), so I'm not gonna tell you how much it was. All I know is that I'm pretty darn sure that I'm not going to be residing in London for a semester this year (aka it was REALLY EXPENSIVE).

The convention itself was wonderful, as I expected it to be. I saw some really top-notch players, including Alexa Still, Jim Walker, Robert Dick, Marianne Gedegian, Bradley Garner, and Carol Wincenc. The concerto concert featured the Mozart G major concerto, played so beautifully that it almost broke my heart to hear it. The final concert ended with Robert Dick playing 6 Robert Dick pieces. What a genius. I mean, it really doesn't get any better than that.
The competitions and masterclasses I attended were all pretty amazing, too, but there is a definite difference in my mindset from last year. I mean, I am getting really close to being able to do some of this stuff. Possibly with the addition of my new flute and another half year of earnest practice, I will be able to compete with these conservatory students. Possibly.

Anyway, everything is always a learning and growing process. I'm very lucky to have been able to go to the convention, to have enough money to buy a wonderful brand new flute (and it is brand new--they just finished it the day before the convention opened). I can't help but wonder why I have been chosen to live such a blessed life, and I can't help but think that I give back an uneven and inadequate amount. Someday when I am complaining about my bad luck in life, remind me of this summer, and tell me what I owe.
NFA convention is over, and I return home with a loaded brain, a shiny new object, and an empty wallet. More later.

Tuesday, August 08, 2006

No more work for a while.

Monday, August 07, 2006

I'm back, but I'll be gone in a day.

(That sounds like a song lyric).

Friday, August 04, 2006

Tally-ho! (whatever that means.)

Thursday, August 03, 2006

These next couple weeks are going to be pretty busy for me. I leave tomorrow for Tallahassee, to move furniture and stuff into the new apartment. I'll be back either Sunday or Monday (or possibly Tuesday) of next week, and then leave early on Wednesday for Pittsburg, to go to the national flute convention. I'll get back from that the next Sunday, and then I'll have about a week or so before I go back to school. Everything is happening so fast, and I'm worrying a little bit that this isn't really going to give me a lot of time to practice. But I'm sure it'll all work out. It always does.

Wednesday, August 02, 2006

A great day to wake up and find the city that never sleeps
As king of the hill, top of the heap!

These little town blues
Are melting away
They'll make a brand new start of it
In ol' New York!

If they can make it there,
they'll make it anywhere,
It's up to you, New York, New York!