I am the proud new owner of.....

1. Pump It (my all time favorite, David's all time NOT favorite)
2. Don't Phunk With My Heart (I like it....don't judge)
3. Hung Up (cause time goes by....so slowly.....)
4. Queen of the Night aria (sung by Sumi Jo=unbelievable)
5. Mozart Wind Serenade, slow mvt. (the one in Amadeus that I absolutely love)

And................

6. Strong Enough ("Was she worth it?? Was she.....worth it????????")
7. Believe (cause its awesome)

I couldn't live another day without the TMC 2006 Soundtrack to David's car (except the Mozart - that was my own idea). So there goes $7.50. But now I'm happy. :-D

Oh, and I already had Hips Don't Lie. And trust me, they don't.

Hello Brian! I am adding Madison to the list!!!! :-)

Liza just made chocolate chip pancakes....mmm....its so nice to have a roommate who makes delicious pies, bread, muffins, pancakes, etc.

Its a rainy Saturday in Boston. I have nothing today till tonight at 7:30, and then I shall be attending the Handel opera Orlando. Its almost 4 hours long....both Heidi and Whit are playing in it. I wish I was! I'm excited to go...from the little Handel opera we looked at in theory, aural skills, and history at Eastman, I think I shall enjoy tonight very much.

Last night I turned pages for Heidi's quartet concert (for the pianist - they did Dvorak piano quintet). It was kinda scary (in the Dumka mvt., there are SO many repeats) - the pianist is actually famous for his harpsichord and pianoforte skills, and he did a very good job last night, and he is VERY musical and sensitive - but every once in a while, right after I'd turn the page he'd fumble for a minute. Probably because he was used to turning his own pages and then missing the first few beats of the next measure. I still had fun though. I love to turn pages for pianists. And I got good practice doing it at Eastman for the piano boys every once in awhile. Hearing a piano quintet made me very nostalgic, too. (sigh)

I talked to the one and only Jonathan Ware on Thursday night, for a good long time. It was so nice to talk to him. I talked to Mary on Thursday afternoon (hope she is feeling better!), and David a few times this week in the everlasting TMC gossip. Oh, and Paul for a while last Sunday.

I'm kinda ready for Halloween to be over - last night on the train coming home, it was incredibly crowded with drunken college students all dressed up in costumes. I even got groped by a jerk dressed as a firefighter. Lovely. I'm expecting tonight will probably be more of the same. I can't wait for November.....soon is just not soon enough.

I'm eating lunch right now, taking a break before more practicing. I know there are some in this world who believe I should not eat turkey because it will make me sleepy during the afternoons, but oh my goodness, it is so good. Its called "Santa Fe Turkey", with spices and stuff on it - I love it. (I realize it might be idiotic to name turkey, but whatever - its good) I think I'm going to go get some more tomorrow at Shaws - I'm currently eating the last of it. Plus a few carrots. Mmmm.

So, whether I like it or not, the vast world of summer music festivals has one again intruded upon my life. I was talking to David the other night, and we agreed - it seems the only thing we do except for about April - August is worry about where we are going during the months of June, July and August. Once September hits, we're suddenly THROWN back into that world. And sometimes it doesn't even end till May, if you're on a waiting list. I had been all set at the end of TMC this year to take this entire next summer OFF from a festival. I've done a full 6-8 week one every year since 2001, when I was 17. Now I'm 22. Time for a break. Except that along with the choice of returning to TMC, the teacher of the clarinetist in my new music trio wants us to audition for something called the Hampden-Sydney Music Festival, in Virginia. It takes place late May - early June, and is for preformed ensembles (CCE, did we look at this program???? its completely free). This teacher is the Artistic Director, so we're pretty much in. He heard us play at the clarinet studio class, and while I thought it was pretty awful, he LOVED it. This festival is also during Spilleto (am I spelling that right????), so if I even thought about doing that, I'd have to chose. (sigh) Or just not do anything. I wouldn't mind an early three week one, but I just can't do both TMC and something else. Then I might really die.

Hope everyone is well in Houston, LA, Rochester, Philly, Milwaukee, London, Indianapolis, and Denver (hopefully Mary Keener has come back with a tan!). Oh my goodness, we are all so spread out now!! :-( I think thats all the locations from where this is read. If I missed someone, let me know.

Post Manchester Tour Entry

The tour got done on Monday morning, and Tatiana and I drove as fast as we could to be back in time for orchestra on Monday at 3:15 (I'm STILL having a terrible time remembering that orchestra is at 3:15 instead of 3:45. Still. Its terrible). However, she decided that Route 2 would be better than Interstate 91, and I'm not sure why it was decided that way, but Route 2 ended up being full of construction. So we were 15 minutes late to orchestra. Oh well.

Otherwise, life is returning to normal. I put together all by myself my new desk last night. My digital camera has offically died, otherwise I would take a picture of my handiwork for you all to see! Its really nice - nothing fancy, but definitely gets the job done. Last night while sitting at the desk with the computer on top I got somewhat nostalgic for Eastman. All the nights of writing papers at 3 am on that computer with Mrs. Mary Keener. And David playing Dvorak sextet with the volume up. And Hong just in general messing around and invading my files. (sigh) Good times. The internet at the apartment is now officially working for both me and Liza now, however, its not quite as fast as I was hoping it would be. DSL is DSL. Cable internet is cable internet. End of story.

I've been getting some good gigs here in Boston. The church where my sister plays a Bach cantata every week has asked me for three more dates through October-November. I'm doing another wedding on Saturday morning (apparently at this beautiful mansion) and have a Christmas choir concert lined up for the first week of December. This will be the only 2nd year in the past 10 that I will not be playing at WLC for their concerts the first weekend in December. It will feel slightly weird. However, its probably good to get the whole $380 for staying here instead of only $50 of the $350 at WLC because I would have to buy a plane ticket. And miss orchestra AGAIN, which would make D.H. pissed off. Again.

Octet is going well, but I miss a smaller sized group. A lot. Adding all those winds and a bass player is quite a challenge for group ensemble.

Its starting to get a little chilly here in Boston. Not bad, but dreary and cold wind. I haven't worn my winter coat yet, and there's been no snow and I don't think the heat is on in the apartment, but soon it shall have to be. This is the time of year where I start to get excited about snow. And to think - if we were all still in Rochester, we'd already have a whole bunch! Go figure.

Peter (my teacher) is wonderful. I've started working harder on the Nielson violin concerto, and its not easy, but I really am starting to love it. And I'm doing Bach b minor partita. I keep hearing Hoe-Young playing it in studio class. I'm not sure why. Anyway, Peter ALSO wants me to start some Ysaye and a Paganini caprice. Oh, and Faure sonata. Ouch. Sara, what else are you doing with K besides Beethoven concerto?

This is a long post. I hadn't written in awhile though. I miss you all so much.

Back in Boston after a 24 hour stay in NYC. Tomorrow is a little insane, and at the end of it, I shall be driving BACK to NYC with Tatiana, a Manchester friend also here at BU (who has a car - VERY wonderful of Tatiana to drive me with her back and forth!).

It was good to see the big apple, and some old friends from Manchester. I stayed with Joana and Ari (the festival director and his wife) at their house in Yonkers last night, and it was SO nice. Not only did they take me out to sushi, but I got a huge room and a bathroom (+shower) all to myself. So comfy.

Tomorrow is lesson, coaching, and orchestra, all taking place within the span of 6 hours. Time for bed here soon, after doing some much needed laundry. Lovely.

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/06/arts/music/06hait.html?_r=1&oref=slogin

Click to see a story about Bernie (aka Bernard Haitink). See also a picture of him conducting the BSO at Tanglewood this summer, and to read (I admit, a one line comment) about how he coached at TMC this summer!

I'm home alone and just cooked. I'm getting sentimental and wishful......

Life

Its been awhile.

Things have been crazy, with school, family, apartment, etc. I was very overwhelmed this week - so many things came up and slapped me that I had no idea were even issues. I've also been having trouble waking up on time in the mornings. Once again, like I do at the start of every school year, I try to have my alarm within arm's reach of bed. And once again, after the first month, it is a complete failure. Now I've moved it across the room, and must get OUT of bed to turn it off. And its helped almost immediately. I think from now on, that is where it shall always stay.

Apologies to Paul Miller. I WILL call you - I WANT to talk to you - I just am going insane.....I'm sorry, Paul. We will talk soon.

In other news, I leave for NYC/Manchester String Orchestra tour on Sunday. It could not be coming at a better time. I love Boston, and am SO happy here, and so far, the school has been good too. And my lessons are going SO well - I love Peter. Its so nice to have someone who knows what the problem is immediately and KNOWS how to tell you how to fix it! But some away time at this point will be very nice.

Liza's boyfriend is here visiting for the next week+. He is going to help get the couch here sometime this weekend. Very very nice of him.

I miss C house. Its just not as fun in the evenings without the ritual yelling down the hall to Mary and the boys.

And yesterday, I thought of Fimby all day, and her 23rd birthday. I miss her birthday parties. The last two were so fun.

Time to stop be dramatic.

CCE:

Our next piece should be Joan Tower's String Quartet No. 3, "Incandescent". I heard a performance of it tonight and thought:

CCE.

NEWS FLASH!

On September 30th, I will be playing for a wedding in Falmouth, MA.

Which is on Cape Cod.

And is otherwise known as the Cape Cod Experiment's birthplace.

Ahhhh.....memories.

Hello all!

I'm sorry about the lasps in writing. Mary, I STILL don't have internet at home! I got a phone line on Tuesday for DSL, but couldn't order DSL until I had the phone line, so now it will probably be at the most another week. (sigh) I'm so sick of this!

Speaking of sick - I have a really awful cold. I got it from Adelaide, who got it from her first week of 3-year old preschool. Thats what happens when you are first exposed to so many more germs, I guess. Heidi also got it, but I seem to have it much worse than she did. I only slept four hours last night because of coughing fits. When I say fits, I mean fits. I hope the people above and below me and poor Liza across the living room can't hear me - its loud and VERY annoying.

Things have gotten a little more settled. I'm playing in Heidi's quartet for the next two weeks because their second violinist can't do a concert with them on Oct. 4th. We started rehearsing that today - Bartok 1 and Mozart Adagio and Fugue. It was a good time. I also have my first wedding gig next weekend, and am playing a Bach cantata this Sunday at Emmanuel Church, the only church in the US that does a Bach cantata every Sunday, the end of Sept. - the beginning of May. Heidi is a regular member, and I have been asked to sub. I'm VERY excited.

Apologies to Paul Miller, for not yet returning his phone call. It will happen within the next 30 hours, I promise.

Theory is annoying.

The weather is up and down. Two days ago was 80, today was 60. I like it. Although it would be nice in theory to never have cold weather, I really think I would miss it. Especially in a couple months. I'm so excited to be in a big city during the Christmas season - it is going to be beautiful. (I've started listening to my Praetorius Christmas Mass cd again - Sara, would you like a copy so that it is still being played at the SLC front desk??? :-))

I just found out that my high school had a bomb threat this morning. My mother teaches there. I guess little Lutheran high schools in the midwest aren't safe from anything. I can't wait to hear how the principal is reacting to this.

Surreal

So, I just got done playing a non-paying gig at Marsh Chapel, the BU chapel on campus. It was for a 9/11 memorial service, and was a trio gig (unfortunely, there was no Pleyel - actually, thats probably a good thing - otherwise I would have started sobbing on the spot).

The surreal part is this:

Today, besides being a memorial disaster day, is also my sister Heidi and brother-in-law Whit's wedding anniversary. They got married on Sept. 11, 1999, in Marsh Chapel. Holly, Hannah and I were bridesmaids. I was 15. And now, exactly seven years later I'm playing for memorial services at the exact same location. It is very interesting to see where you end up while you look back. Very interesting.

I have my first theory assignment in 3 semesters to complete tonight, due tomorrow morning. Ugh.

I miss you all!!

BU is not Eastman when it comes to new music....

....but they seem to think they're incredible.

My orchestra audition was not spectacular.

However, I did scrub the sink, toliet, kitchen, and bathroom floors yesterday. Next project: the living room floor.

I am also a member now FOR CREDIT (imagine that, Ossia!) of the new music ensemble here at BU, called Time's Arrow. Since its a credit, volunteer class, the instruments availible are a little mixed. I am going to list the instruments availible and how many of them there are, so if ANYONE (hint: Paul, David, Kimby, Kitty, Cody, Arthur, Mary, David Plylar - do you read this, Ply? - or ANYONE ELSE) has any ideas let me know!

1. 1 string bass
2. 3 violins (me+2- and one of them plays viola - I did NOT volunteer my viola services after the disaster with Ricardo - whom I saw in Rochester a couple weeks ago - he is the nicest person ever - I digress)
3. 5 - yes, FIVE - flutes
4. 2 pianos
5. 1 clarinet
6. 1 mezzo-soprano
7. 1 soprano

Any ideas?

The end of the first week is near. 15 to go. (sigh)

Hello, from Boston, Massachusetts, my new home.

I have an apartment!

I have a bed and bookshelf that are NOT courtesy of a dorm!

I have a kitchen!

I have a bathroom with a tub!

Ok. Thats it for now about the exciting list. I still need a desk, dresser, internet, chair, curtains, etc etc etc etc. The list is VERY long and I shall not bore anyone with it right now.

I've been here since Thursday morning, and its been a slight bit hectic. Holly also came to Boston this weekend to visit me and Heidi (and Adelaide and Whit) so I didn't stay at my place until last night. Poor Liza - I kind of abadoned her, but now that school has started, I will be sleeping where I also pay rent to sleep. Imagine that.

I passed out of 8 am aural skills (thank GOD) and also one semester of theory. So I will be taking one semester of tonal theory and be done with theory requirements. There are no specific history requirements, so I can just choose a class that looks interesting and be done with that. Orchestra, theory, chamber music, lessons, new music ensemble....that is it for a schedule. Not bad, huh?

I miss all of you so much - the CCE picture from the Ossia Penderecki/Red Bull concert is up, as well as a thank you card from Mary (from the wedding), my Eastman yearbooks and a now dried rose. It will start to feel very much like a home very soon. The best part is the full size bed....now there is plenty of room. Ha.

I have a dry socket. On my lower right side. Sunday night/Monday morning I woke up around 3 (like I have every night since Thursday) and felt something in my mouth that was weird. I got it out, and low and behold - it was my stiches from that side. They had fallen out. They are suppose to dissolve by the END of the 5th/beginning of 6th day, and this was the beginning of day 4. Bad sign. Yesterday I was in a lot of pain whenever NOT on a completely fresh dose of 600 mg ibprofen, and today I went in and sure enough, dry socket. (sigh) This isn't what I need, since they put a thing in it to help it heal and kill the pain and I have to go in tomorrow to get it out and a new one put in. I am suppose to go on Thursday too, except that I'm leaving for Boston around 7 am. I told this to the nurse and she said - oh well - you can take it out yourself. ????!?!!?!?!?!??!?!

Not good.

In other news - I also had a physical today, and my PA has the same birthday. She thought that was absolutely incredible. She was fun. The blood test guy was not. I almost left because he was spending so much time trying to find my vein. It was making me a nervous wreck. Finally, he found the elusive blood vessel and proceeded to ask me if I ever have "fun" while playing violin. Quote: "Like, rocking out or fiddling." First, I told him that I am mostly classically trained, which means I usually ALWAYS have fun, even when playing classical music. Second, I told him yes, I have done a little fiddling. He seemed to be very skeptical about the "classical music is also fun" comment. Good lord. I would not be making it my life if I never had fun playing classical music.

Tomorrow is my last day home. Very mixed feelings about this.

Yoga Article in Boston Globe.

Read it. Then think of David and me - we are apparently two of twelve "most talented musicians". How nice of the Boston Globe.

Oh - and you'll probably have to copy and paste. This computer doesn't like blogger very well.

http://www.boston.com/news/globe/living/articles/2006/08/20/breathe_deep_play_well_can_yoga_aid_music_study/?page=1

In other news: I have 4 less teeth than I did this morning at 8:30. And they gave me a big prescription for vicadin (don't know if that's spelled right). There is no WAY I will use all of them. My parents are being very sweet, Mary called to wish me well and see how I was, and an old friend stopped by with ice cream and a rose. And I'm just watching movies all day. I guess surgery isn't so bad after all!

Home

I have been home since Wednesday night.

David and I said our final goodbye till who knows when. We were both very sad - I was crying, he looked a little teary too. We had a wonderful summer together. Eastman is over. Staying with Arthur was fun - he was a very hospitable host.

I arrived home to parents, Hannah, and Holly, visiting from Phoenix. Yesterday we went to the Renaissance fair. Last night we played cards till about 11:30, and drank over two bottles of wine. So much for TMC detox.

Hannah is leaving on Tuesday, and my surgery is on Thursday. I am SO sad she won't be here to take care of me.

Church was fun - my first service since June. The end.

Last Rochester Blog Entry (possibly ever)

Hello from Rochester, NY, home of the Eastman School of Music.

David and I made it here fine, and am now in Sibley. He is downloading the last of the CCE concerts from May (Mendelssohn Octet, Schumann Piano Quintet, Haydn Quartet). Arthur is being very hospitable with his very nice (and spacious) apartment at Chestnut. Apparently Matt Zerweck left for England just this morning. Too bad - it would have been so nice to see him too! I ran into Sam Reich about 5 minutes ago.

Tomorrow will be hard. When have I ever LEFT Eastman before in the month of August? David and I felt like we were just driving back to school after another music festival.

Goodbye Rochester. Tomorrow we will embark on the BT IV. I have a video camera (my sister left it with me for last night's party and the trip home). I am in the process of making a documentary. And, Mary Keener, we will play the Rochester Exit Music (end of Nutcracker) tomorrow morning in honor of you.

Awww, Gavid.....

Only three days left.

My concertmaster stint is going fine. The last three pages of the Hindemith is ridiculous. Not even the BSO member who gave us our sectional yesterday could play more than 3 notes in a row without messing up. Now THAT is pretty difficult.

But today has pretty much been awful. Really. Remember when your mother taught you to think before you speak, because you might not mean or regret something you said AFTER you say it?? And you can't take it back anymore? That is me. Today. All day. Grr.

Last BSO concert tonight. Tomorrow night is film night with JW (not to be confused with Jonathan Ware - or Jason Williams, come to think of it) and Sunday is Philly Orchestra with our ex-Dean of Eastman in attendance. To all Eastman people: I asked my sponsor here what the real story and deal is with all the Undercofler and Seligman stuff, and what we've heard is pretty much true. That is all I will say about that. I have no idea who reads this. Or gets the link from other people's blogs (eg: my sister Heidi found my blog by searching my name in google and David's blog came up. Very insteresting).

One Week Left

A List:

1.There is only 7 days left of TMC 2006.

2. The Sessions performance went very well yesterday, thank you. There were still stupid mistakes made, but we survived and Norman Fischer seemed very happy. It is over, thank the dear Lord.

3. Hindemith's Mathis der Mahler is not an easy piece.

4. I kinda want to go home....

5. Yet love it here even though I'm getting sick of it.

6. But home should be good, despite the wisdom teeth extravaganza.

7. The performance of Daphnis and Chloe last night was not as good as the French Concert at Eastman in Nov. 2004. Maybe because we only rehearsed it for about 4 days. I was all sentimental every time we played it, even last night. And I missed doing that stupid bird solo at the beginning - those harmonics were always a delightful challenge with Mario and Grace.

8. There is no 8.