to break through.
Saturday, August 30, 2008
Thursday, August 28, 2008
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
I'm watching the Yankees game tonight. Derek, Mo, Bobby, A-Rod, Robbie...these are my boys.
The baseball season lasts from April until September. 6 months, it takes 6 months to decide whether a team is in the playoffs or not. And each game is more than 3 hours long. It's about consistancy--one bad game will not hurt you as long as you are consistant.
I have to admit...I envy the 6-month season, where consistancy is the most important factor in success.
I took an audition yesterday, it couldn't have lasted longer than 6 minutes. And those 6 minutes will determine my ensemble placement for the entire semester. The string players have it worse--their 6 minutes determine their placement for the entire YEAR! If you have a bad day...too bad. No chance to do it over again. There's no next game, there's no we will win tomorrow to make up for today's loss. It seems unfair, in a way.
I get nervous. I get nervous at every performance, every audition, every scale I play in studio class. And I play badly. It's not fair. I want the 6-month season to determine whether I not I get to play in the postseason. 6 minutes is not enough.
[whine]
The baseball season lasts from April until September. 6 months, it takes 6 months to decide whether a team is in the playoffs or not. And each game is more than 3 hours long. It's about consistancy--one bad game will not hurt you as long as you are consistant.
I have to admit...I envy the 6-month season, where consistancy is the most important factor in success.
I took an audition yesterday, it couldn't have lasted longer than 6 minutes. And those 6 minutes will determine my ensemble placement for the entire semester. The string players have it worse--their 6 minutes determine their placement for the entire YEAR! If you have a bad day...too bad. No chance to do it over again. There's no next game, there's no we will win tomorrow to make up for today's loss. It seems unfair, in a way.
I get nervous. I get nervous at every performance, every audition, every scale I play in studio class. And I play badly. It's not fair. I want the 6-month season to determine whether I not I get to play in the postseason. 6 minutes is not enough.
[whine]
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
NO ANYTHING BUT THAT
They asked Prokofiev.
You have to wonder what this world is coming to when you're asking college freshman to play Prokofiev's Classical Symphony, the second hardest excerpt ever (at least in my estimation).
Hahah! It's kind of funny lately. As soon as I wish for something not to happen, it happens. Ah well.
They asked Prokofiev.
You have to wonder what this world is coming to when you're asking college freshman to play Prokofiev's Classical Symphony, the second hardest excerpt ever (at least in my estimation).
Hahah! It's kind of funny lately. As soon as I wish for something not to happen, it happens. Ah well.
Saturday, August 23, 2008
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
And when the time to leave was near:
"Ah!" the fox said. "I shall weep."
"It's your own fault," the little prince said. "I never wanted to do you any harm, but you insisted that I tame you..."
"Yes, of course," the fox said.
"But you're going to weep!" said the little prince.
"Yes, of course," the fox said.
"Then you get nothing out of it?"
"I get something," the fox said, "because of the color of wheat."
"Ah!" the fox said. "I shall weep."
"It's your own fault," the little prince said. "I never wanted to do you any harm, but you insisted that I tame you..."
"Yes, of course," the fox said.
"But you're going to weep!" said the little prince.
"Yes, of course," the fox said.
"Then you get nothing out of it?"
"I get something," the fox said, "because of the color of wheat."
Monday, August 18, 2008
Sunday, August 17, 2008
So this is it. The last night here at home. I can't say that I'm unhappy about leaving. I would not wish this summer to go on any longer than it has. Regrets...
There's ever the bittersweet parting, though, never quite knowing when I will see my friends again. I hope you guys know that I love you and I am going to miss everthing I have found here. I find comfort in knowing that this is not the end...
It's been one to remember.
There's ever the bittersweet parting, though, never quite knowing when I will see my friends again. I hope you guys know that I love you and I am going to miss everthing I have found here. I find comfort in knowing that this is not the end...
It's been one to remember.
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
Oh my...what a night for my favorite sports. It isn't official yet as I write this, but they're pretty sure that my US women's Olympic gymnastics team came in second place. And all because of one person, who brought the team down by 1.6 points. Dang! The worst part is that she was an alternate for another girl who had an injury and couldn't compete. And then there's the fact that China won the gold with an illegal team. All Olympic athletes are supposed to be at least 16 years old. I swear that some of their girls didn't look a day over 12. Seriously.
But at least we still have the individual event finals and the all-around, which I am convinced that Shawn Johnson will dominate. She is SOLID! My mom calls her the "little peanut" and for some reason it seems to fit. She 4'9" and 16 years old-- I don't get it.
In other news, Michael Phelps won lots of gold medals. Yaaaaaaay.
The red sox won to the texas rangers today...19-16. What? The Yankees won in the 12th inning.
Fun day at the beach. When you're in the water and it starts to rain, you may not even notice it.
But at least we still have the individual event finals and the all-around, which I am convinced that Shawn Johnson will dominate. She is SOLID! My mom calls her the "little peanut" and for some reason it seems to fit. She 4'9" and 16 years old-- I don't get it.
In other news, Michael Phelps won lots of gold medals. Yaaaaaaay.
The red sox won to the texas rangers today...19-16. What? The Yankees won in the 12th inning.
Fun day at the beach. When you're in the water and it starts to rain, you may not even notice it.
Monday, August 11, 2008
I'm back...
yup.
And thus begins the finale to a spectacularly joyful, enlightening, and convoluted summer. Hit me with your best shot, Life. I've got help.
(P.S. Right now I just happen to be listening to "Stiff Upper Lip" from Crazy for You..."sober or blotto, this is our motto/keep muddling through"...gotta love the Brits.)
yup.
And thus begins the finale to a spectacularly joyful, enlightening, and convoluted summer. Hit me with your best shot, Life. I've got help.
(P.S. Right now I just happen to be listening to "Stiff Upper Lip" from Crazy for You..."sober or blotto, this is our motto/keep muddling through"...gotta love the Brits.)
So...the last few days of the convention were pretty spectacular. The concerto night that I talked about was so great! The Rodrigo was absolutely beautiful, the Liebermann was so much cooler than I ever remember, and I heard a rad new concerto by Anthony Ritchie. I hope maybe to play that one for the concerto competition next year, if somebody lets me...
The last concert of the convention was my favorite part of the whole thing. I heard this guy play with his group called Project. Yes, you SHOULD be jealous that I got to see him live. It was SO COOL! I can't even describe to you how this group performs. All I can say is that I was smiling...even laughing...the entire performance. I would pay a lot of money to see them again.
My lesson with Walfrid Kujala was very good. He knows everything, pretty much, and has a calm, sensible demeanor that makes for very good teaching. Northwestern is on the grad school map, folks!
I have learned a lot from all these lessons, and one conclusion that I came to is that I need to get out of Florida for grad school. I'm sorry, but I am no longer considering FSU for grad school anymore. I think I could still learn a lot from Prof. Amsler, but I need a new perspective. It's hard to explain why I feel this way, but it's something that I feel in my gut that I need to do. So I'm sorry, but it's out-of-state or bust.
This might change, but as of right now, this is my grad school list:
Rice (Buyse)
Northwestern (Kujala)
U of Texas at Austin (Gedigian)
Arizona State (Buck)
Louisiana State (Kemler)
I am very happy because I feel I have accomplished what I set out to do this summer, which is to decide where I am applying and meet all of the teachers. All five of those teachers know my name and face and have a good idea of my playing ability, and that is so important!! Good job, me.
The last concert of the convention was my favorite part of the whole thing. I heard this guy play with his group called Project. Yes, you SHOULD be jealous that I got to see him live. It was SO COOL! I can't even describe to you how this group performs. All I can say is that I was smiling...even laughing...the entire performance. I would pay a lot of money to see them again.
My lesson with Walfrid Kujala was very good. He knows everything, pretty much, and has a calm, sensible demeanor that makes for very good teaching. Northwestern is on the grad school map, folks!
I have learned a lot from all these lessons, and one conclusion that I came to is that I need to get out of Florida for grad school. I'm sorry, but I am no longer considering FSU for grad school anymore. I think I could still learn a lot from Prof. Amsler, but I need a new perspective. It's hard to explain why I feel this way, but it's something that I feel in my gut that I need to do. So I'm sorry, but it's out-of-state or bust.
This might change, but as of right now, this is my grad school list:
Rice (Buyse)
Northwestern (Kujala)
U of Texas at Austin (Gedigian)
Arizona State (Buck)
Louisiana State (Kemler)
I am very happy because I feel I have accomplished what I set out to do this summer, which is to decide where I am applying and meet all of the teachers. All five of those teachers know my name and face and have a good idea of my playing ability, and that is so important!! Good job, me.
Saturday, August 09, 2008
We had to pay 18 dollars for four days of Internet...it could get worse, I suppose.
Things are going well here. I had a lesson with Leone Buyse from Rice and it's still probably my top choice. The next day I had a lesson with Katherine Kemler from LSU and it was good...I'm pretty sure I am still going to audition there. She bought me breakfast and gave me a free CD for turning pages at her recital...sweet.
On Sunday I am getting a lesson from Walfred Kujala (Northwestern). My experiences here have convinced me to audition at Northwestern instead of Michigan. I didn't expect my choices to change but I suppose I should have expected it given my opinionated and extrememly well-connected former teacher.
I have learned a lot about what makes a good teacher from all these lessons. To me, there are two important aspects of a teacher: style and content. Some teachers will inspire you with an amazing teaching style..this is what makes you leave lessons with that uplifted feeling. But that doesn't mean much unless you have knowledge enough to have the right CONTENT in the lesson...this is what actually makes you play better. And the best teachers have both.
I have seen some nice playing and some amazing playing here. My favorite performances so far were a performance of La Montaine's piccolo sonata by Alyce Johnson and everything that Amy Porter played. I have decided that Amy Porter can do anything. She's invincible.
Tonight is concerto night! It's always the best gala concert. The first two pieces on the program are Rodrigo's Fantasia para un gentilhommbre, a special piece close to my heart, and Liebermann's piccolo concerto, a tour de force concerto--so exciting! It's gonna be great.
That's it for my update right now, I'm sure I'll have more to say after two more days. These are long days, by the way, with flute stuff starting at 8 am and ending at 10 pm. It's tiring! I'm kind of glad that it only lasts four days, I don't know if I could take it if it was much longer.
Things are going well here. I had a lesson with Leone Buyse from Rice and it's still probably my top choice. The next day I had a lesson with Katherine Kemler from LSU and it was good...I'm pretty sure I am still going to audition there. She bought me breakfast and gave me a free CD for turning pages at her recital...sweet.
On Sunday I am getting a lesson from Walfred Kujala (Northwestern). My experiences here have convinced me to audition at Northwestern instead of Michigan. I didn't expect my choices to change but I suppose I should have expected it given my opinionated and extrememly well-connected former teacher.
I have learned a lot about what makes a good teacher from all these lessons. To me, there are two important aspects of a teacher: style and content. Some teachers will inspire you with an amazing teaching style..this is what makes you leave lessons with that uplifted feeling. But that doesn't mean much unless you have knowledge enough to have the right CONTENT in the lesson...this is what actually makes you play better. And the best teachers have both.
I have seen some nice playing and some amazing playing here. My favorite performances so far were a performance of La Montaine's piccolo sonata by Alyce Johnson and everything that Amy Porter played. I have decided that Amy Porter can do anything. She's invincible.
Tonight is concerto night! It's always the best gala concert. The first two pieces on the program are Rodrigo's Fantasia para un gentilhommbre, a special piece close to my heart, and Liebermann's piccolo concerto, a tour de force concerto--so exciting! It's gonna be great.
That's it for my update right now, I'm sure I'll have more to say after two more days. These are long days, by the way, with flute stuff starting at 8 am and ending at 10 pm. It's tiring! I'm kind of glad that it only lasts four days, I don't know if I could take it if it was much longer.
Monday, August 04, 2008
Sunday, August 03, 2008
Saturday, August 02, 2008
"Love...women take to it like a duck to water, but when men try...they can be as powerful as Olympic swimmers."
--someone very wise
------------------------------------------------------------
I got a 1280 on the GRE. I don't even know if that is good. Is that good?
That test totally and completely fried my brain. By the final section (which was math), if I couldn't find an answer soon enough, I just started guessing. I hope that was the section that didn't count.
...stupid test.
--someone very wise
------------------------------------------------------------
I got a 1280 on the GRE. I don't even know if that is good. Is that good?
That test totally and completely fried my brain. By the final section (which was math), if I couldn't find an answer soon enough, I just started guessing. I hope that was the section that didn't count.
...stupid test.
