So much to digest!

Okay, so there's lotslotslotslotsLOTS to talk about, and so much to digest from the past month.  I just don't have time to write about it all now, so another, much more extensive blog entry will be coming shortly.  

The concise version:  ScotiaFest and the UNL Chamber Music Institute were wonderful experiences that have inspired me to work harder and shoot higher.  I gained a little confidence from them, met wonderful musician friends that are scattered across the continent, and gained insight into who I am as a player.  Also, I think I improved more as a musician and a clarinetist since graduation, through these festivals, than I did the entirety of my senior year.

There you go.  Not very detailed, but all the important stuff is there.  Details later.

:-)

Nova Scotia, continued.

I am now at roughly the midpoint of my trip to Nova Scotia, and it has only gotten better. My quintet is performing the first and last (fourth) movements of the Brahms at a noon hour recital tomorrow, and I will be playing the final movement of the Weber Grand Duo Concertant on Tuesday's noon hour recital. Our quintet will also be playing the third movement of the Brahms quintet in a master class on Wednesday, and we hope to be able to get at least some work done on the second movement before the festival comes to an end, even if we don't get a chance to "perform" it. It's still great to get a chance to study this work. I think it is particularly great among the rest of Brahms's oeuvre a) because it is a major clarinet work, and b) because it is a later work, meaning that Brahms's compositional style had reached a wonderful maturity by the time this piece was written.

Nova Scotia is still beautiful, though it is a bit chilly. Yesterday we had a lobster boil, and I decided that lobster meat isn't worth the trouble of getting it out of the shell, and certainly not worth the money that you would have to pay for it if it weren't provided to you for free (as it was yesterday, though I guess it may have come partially from my festival tuition).

The other cool thing about this festival is this: we are given the opportunity to make friends with other folks of the same age who are serious about music, and these are friendships that I anticipate to welcome a reestablishment of whatever relationship was formed here at any time in the future. Also, it shows me that string players and wind players can get along (or at least clarinet players, anyway :-) ).

And on the location in general: my host family is the nicest one ever. I couldn't ask for anything more. They're so helpful in any way they can be, and it has been great getting tips from them about local restaurants, geography, and things to do. I've decided that if given the right opportunity to move to this area, I would probably do it. I actually prefer the chilliness to what I'll have to experience for the next two years in Waco. :-)

That's about all I have for now. More later, if you're lucky.

Do people wonder?

So I realized that people might want to know what or how I'm doing here in Nova Scotia. I have been here a full two days and a half. In short: it's awesome.

In long:
(Haha, I know that's not grammatically correct, so why is "in short" accepted?)

I got here Sunday afternoon and was told to skip registration since I got through a long customs line at the end of the registration period anyway. Nova Scotia is beautiful. I was brought by a Scotia Festival staff member directly to my billet family's house, where I got settled in and met the other festival participant they are hosting. His name is Jared, and he's quite a nice fellow. He's a young composer, here from Canada's west coast. I am one of no more than three or four Americans in a contingent of thirty-two Young Artists. I am surrounded by Canadians, and I like it very much. Since being here, I have thought on more than one occasion what it might be like to live in this country, Halifax or elsewhere. The text of this post is green in honor of Nova Scotia's greenness.

Most of the young artists have started rehearsals for the several chamber groups in which they are involved. My primary group is playing the piece I wanted most to play at this festival: the Brahms Klarinettenquintett in B Minor, Op. 115. Three of the members of the string quartet with whom I am playing are from the same quartet at Dalhousie University, where they attended last year and also where much of this festival takes place. They are Mark, a violinist, Paul, also a violinist, and Alejandro, a cellist. Alejandro is transferring next year, and Mark and Paul are going to be very sad. The other member of our quintet is Caren with a "C." She just got her master's degree in violin, but she is in the process of turning into a violist, and thus is playing viola in the quintet. She will also be beginning a performance diploma in viola in the fall so that she can get some viola repertoire under her belt.

I am literally quite ecstatic about this group, as we just finished a large chunk of work on the first movement in only our second day of rehearsals, so that it is now almost performance ready. What helps in this matter is that our personalities get along quite well. Paul and I have pretty strong personalities (I think he is more "type A" than I am), Mark is crazy in a lovable way, but a wonderful musician, Caren is mostly quiet but very musically perceptive and comes out with wonderfully zingy-one liners, and Alejandro is very laid-back. Actually, Mark, Paul, my roommate Jared and I have become quite comfortable with one another in these first two days. I'm very mush looking forward to the rest of these two weeks.

There. Now those of you who were wondering know what and how I'm doing.

It is finished.

And the sky turned black as the night.

I think that's from an old Petra song... I'm not exactly sure. You know, 80s Christian rock?

Well, actually, my undergraduate education is finished, and that's far better than any 80s Christian rock song you could ever think of. I handed in my last paper yesterday. You have no idea how annoying it is to walk across that stage on commencement day, get your case for your diploma that they will send you in the mail -- if, after checking on your grades, you have actually met all your requirements. I still had a paper outstanding for a 2-credit elective course. However, this elective course was one I needed to fulfill my graduation requirements, so I didn't have that oh-so-desirable sense of finality as I sat listening to Rick Warren go on forever and ever about things that will last forever, like his sermon did.

By the way, I didn't want a sermon for graduation. Oh well. I probably would rather have listened to Hillary Clinton for those 20 to 30 minutes in her strained, monotonous, half-yelling sort of oration. While we're on the topic of graduation speakers, I will only say this of the Baccalaureate address: talk to me if you want to hear my opinion.

So I found out for sure that I'm playing the Brahms clarinet quintet (clarinet + string quartet), Op. 115, at the Scotia Festival. If you have not listened to this piece, you need to do so. I'm also going to bring a bunch of other chamber music for clarinet, strings and piano as well, because we can probably work on more than just that one piece. I'm very excited for this opportunity - not only because we get to be coached by world-class musicians, but also because I'll be playing with other young people who are serious about their craft. In addition, while the wind program at Baylor is very strong, doing a festival like this one with a large string component will be good, since the strings at Baylor (from what I understand) aren't quite as strong as the winds, and there's not a ton of collaboration between strings and winds for chamber music.

A month is a long time...

and a lot has happened. I have now walked across that stage, and in doing so have been declared a college graduate (never mind the fact that I have a paper left to write).

Since my last post, I have also made a visit to Baylor, signed a lease, received my GRE scores, and performed at my final jury.

Working backwards:

The jury was interesting. I almost didn't have to do one, since Dr. Michael Monroe, my wonderful faculty coach (known less appropriately as an "accompanist"), had thought that at the beginning of the semester that he didn't have any juries to play for. All his students were graduating seniors, and normally one doesn't have to do a jury the semester one gives a recital. However, I was in the BA degree track, meaning that my three recitals were not degree recitals and that I had to perform a jury anyway. In any case, he had scheduled a rehearsal since he didn't think he had any juries, and thus could not make mine. So, instead of having me not do a jury (which the department chair would have permitted if my clarinet instructor agreed), Mr. Kirkley had me play the unaccompanied "Abyss of the Birds" from my recital, to give me an opportunity to polish it up a bit, or in his words, to "make [me] learn it." Though the performance at the jury was significantly removed from perfection, it was the highest grade I ever got from a jury, so I was very happy.

In a similar vein, my GRE scores were quite good, especially given the fact that I did hardly any (~ 45 minutes) preparation. I have just stopped worrying about things like this; in my mind, you get what you get, and usually it's what you deserve, so don't spend time fretting. If you're curious to know what my scores were, you can ask. I'm just not going to announce it on a blog - that's kind of lame. Turns out I didn't need the scores at this stage of my life anyway, since I'm not going to UGA for my master's, but it will be good to have it in the future.

So, at my visit to Baylor, I realized how different it's going to be from anything I've ever known - all of it: the climate, the culture, the school, the music. I had the opportunity to hear a graduate clarinet recital, a wind ensemble concert, and an orchestra rehearsal. The wind ensemble there is better than any band I've ever played in, including honor bands. In Texas, band seems to be the ultimate art form. I was also impressed with the clarinet players I heard there, both at the recital and in the ensembles. It will be a good experience for me, especially since I won't have to pay to go to school. :-)

While visiting, I scoped out apartments, and I had success. I just signed a lease with a roommate that I found through a service that caters to Baylor students looking for various living situations. The apartment is a 930-square-foot, 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom unit, and the rent is just $625. This includes cable, internet, water, sewage, and trash. All we have to pay for is electric. A place like this, for under $400/month per person. A steal!

In any case, I'm out! More later - I have music festivals coming up and am quite excited about them! I'll tell why in the next post - who's going to be there, pieces I'll be playing, etc. Tata for now, and there will be less time before the next post. :-)

As things draw to a close...

So, a short post to say: 

I sent in my contract to Baylor about a week ago.  Come the middle of August, I will be making my way down to Waco, TX, where I will be pursuing a Master of Music in clarinet performance.

My recital yesterday turned out not to be a disaster.  In fact, everyone to whom I have spoken who attended said they really enjoyed it.  It was far from perfect, but it was a good program.  I was pleased that I was able to get through it, as I had not gotten the chance to run the whole program consecutively and in order.  It was: Saint-Saens Sonata, Messiaen "Abyss of the Birds" from Quartet for the End of Time, Debussy Premiere Rhapsodie, intermission, Milhaud Suite for violin, clarinet and piano, and the Poulenc Sonata.

I will wait a bit longer before I listen to the recording.  Next up is a visit to Baylor (4/27-4/29) and then my final Gordon performance, playing Prokofieff's Classical Symphony and Stravinsky's Firebird Suite with the symphony orchestra.

So I was mistaken...

Due to my not receiving a confirmation email from ETS about the GRE, I thought that the exam I registered for was on Friday, though in reality (I found out Thursday) it was on Thursday. Thus, I had to drop another $140 to register for it again. This time I got a confirmation email. It's tomorrow. Oi. I really don't have the time to study, but it doesn't matter, because.........

I ALREADY GOT AN ASSISTANTSHIP!!!!!!!

I received three letters this morning - acceptances from Duquesne and Oklahoma, and an acceptance with assistantship from Baylor. Before I even knew about the assistantship, all my professors here at Gordon have been telling me to go to Baylor. I just yesterday bought plane tickets to visit Baylor at the end of the month, and this morning I got the letter. So excited. Hopefully I'll like it when I visit. So now the list is as follows:

Baylor - assistantship!

Duquesne - accepted

Oklahoma - accepted

Ohio - accepted

Georgia - unofficially accepted, pending GRE

BU - accepted, not going

FSU - rejected

So, a recital in less than two weeks, a visit to Texas a week after that, and a decision to be made very shortly.

Also, I found out recently that I have been accepted into the Scotia Festival of Music, which is a two-week chamber music festival in Halifax, NS, CA, where the Ying Quartet (faculty at Eastman) will be guest artists/faculty, in addition to clarinetist Todd Palmer and a bunch of other amazing musicians. It may cost me a grand or so, but I think I should jump on this opportunity. I'm excited to do a festival - something I've never done before - and to meet other passionate musicians coming from a different place than myself. Networking is everything in music.