A brief summation of the last two years

Well, as promised in my last post, I will make an attempt to summarize my two years in Texas. It was just long enough for me to not quite get over the culture shock of moving there from New England, but long enough so that I still had slight culture shock when moving from Texas to New York City.

I received my MM from Baylor in May. During my time there, I became a much better clarinet player. Finger technique increased drastically, as well as my consistency of sound. I had two great clarinet teachers there, Dr. Richard Shanley and Alan Olson (a former student of Dr. Shanley). I gave two recitals. The second one was more successful than the first. I played the Muczynski Fantasy Trio and the Copland and Weber E-flat concerti on the first one, and on the second, I played the Bassett Soliloquies, Kalliwoda Morceau de Salon, Bozza Concerto, and a sonata from Jean-Xavier Lefèvre's method book. The amazing Dr. Kae Hosoda-Ayer was the keyboardist for both recitals, and Cody Green, a fellow Baylor student, was my collaborating cellist on the Muczynski and as continuo on the Lefèvre. Dr. Ayer's husband is a clarinetist and teacher at another Texas university, so it was great working with her, as she knows a lot of the clarinet repertoire!

I also had some great ensemble experiences. I learned what it was like to play in a fabulous wind ensemble, as well as getting experience playing in a high-level all-student orchestra. With the wind ensemble, we played at two conventions the first year. The Baylor Symphony is going to Belgium this year, of which I am extremely jealous! As far as chamber music is concerned, I learned a lot about woodwind quintets and what it takes to succeed as a player in that particular group.

Academically, I took the following courses to help me prepare for doctoral work: Research Methods with Dr. Robin Wallace, Woodwind/Clarinet Literature with Dr. Shanley and Amy Marinello, Symphonic Literature with Mr. Stephen Heyde (also the orchestra director), Analytical Techniques with Dr. Eric Lai, and 20th-Century Music with Dr. Jean Boyd. I can honestly say that all of these professors were passionate instructors, and the material covered was essential in my preparation for doctoral study. Research Methods helped me develop the necessary resources for source discovery, paper formatting, and clear writing, Woodwind/Clarinet and Symphonic Literature were important for giving me a broad knowledge of the history of music as it pertains to me as a performer, and Analytical Techniques and 20th-Century Music supplied me with knowledge that will help me as I go about research and analysis for my dissertation topic at NYU. I will be considering the 20th-Century French concerto through the historical, sociopolitical, and theoretical lens of works for clarinet and orchestra by Debussy, Milhaud, Bozza, Tomasi, and Francaix. Modern classical music and composition are integral to the livelihood of academic music here at NYU, so I am finding that the material covered in Dr. Lai's and Dr. Boyd's classes is especially relevant.

At Baylor, my professors were very knowledgeable about their fields. I can only hope that I retain a fraction of what they know and tried to impart to me during my time there.

The summer between my first and second years at Baylor brought me to the Scotia Festival again, where I was able to play the Bartok Contrasts and Mahler's Symphony No. 2, the "Resurrection" symphony. It was a great experience!

Now, my next post will be a summation of things since moving to New York three months ago! That's all for now.