Escondido Bassoon Teacher

The Berlin Bläserquintett comes to town!!!

2011-10-18T21:34:00.000-07:00

Today was one of those days that starts off horrifically, and then escalates to beyond your wildest dreams.
I couldn't go to bed until late due to the nap that I NEEDED to take yesterday. And then I guess was stressed about all the happenings of today and didn't sleep well on top of that.
So it started when I got up at 6:30am.. which is early for me, and biked to a hospital of which I was unfamiliar with the location. I found it after a few wrong turns. AT&T your 3G network could be faster...
At the clinic I had the privilege of undergoing the obligatory tests that women have when they turn 21.. if they haven't already. I can't tell you how much fun that is. Joy incarnate.
Then I showered and crashed for 30 minutes until my favorite class, piano. (ps. not my favorite class actually.....) But this is how the story gets better and better. I found that my current grade in piano is passing, which really was joy incarnate. I don't know how I have such a good grade, it's magic.
Then straight to my "Islam and Sexuality" course. It's lame, most of the kids just sit there and nod as the prof. talks, no one actually does the reading... and the prof. is catching on. lol
I enjoy that class if only because it encourages discussion, though my eagerness for discussion I think is often off-putting to the prof. as I don't always agree and have strong points to make.
Then I ran to bassoon master class which was being lead by Marion Reinhard the new bassoonist for the Berlin Philharmonic Wind Quintet, or as I remember from my German class "Bläserquintett." Jawoll!!
I got to play for her before the end of class, and though I felt like I didn't do that well I must have fooled everyone else. She never stopped me during the first movement and then asked for the second!! I was actually shocked, dead serious. But it was fun, she kicked my behind by playing stuff I could barely do 10X better when she sight read. It's crazy. CRAZY AMAZING!!! Anywho, it's all due to Leah's banana bread that kept my blood sugar at a normal level. Thank you Leah!!
Then I ran to music history lab where we listened the mice on steroids and called it music. Thank you Milton Babbitt, you can go where the other goblins of the underworld unite. Maybe there your music (which is more than 12 years old) will find some appreciation and autonomy. Hey, no one's gonna touch it down there, and you can get it out of our universities thank you very much.
I was proud to turn in my jazz composition for that lab with piano accompaniment. Here's the lyrics;

"It's a Monday, Monday Monday moo
My man Mikey, asked me what to do
And I told him, it's just a Monday moo."

No one else may be able to appreciate it, but I laughed. The back story is, I had a lame jazz composition due the next day (Tuesday) and had been asked by my friend Michael to come watch a movie.. which of course I had to decline in order to write this composition. So that is the story to my 12 bar blues lyrics. True blues. :p

Then I had a lesson immediately following lab where Ms. Jensen gave me the thumbs up on my performance in studio and then I had to attempt some "basic skills" that we get tested with for midterms and finals. I had been so caught up with recording for Meg Quigley that I hadn't been working on them. Ps. finally got my application and recordings submitted for that. WOOHOO!!! Oh to be DONE!!! but yeah.. basic skills was kinda bloof. She wasn't mad, probably due to the fact that the berlin quintet was in town.. but I was dismissed early if that says anything... lol
Then I went to have dinner with some friends who are part of a missional community at the music school. They're cool, it's good to eat dinner with people on occasion.
Then off to a lecture on the "difficult dialogues" courses of which I guess "Islam and Sexuality" is a part. It was hilarious because at one point the prof. made it a point to talk about students who "refuse to learn" and "stick to their old ideas" .. which of course could only have been directed at me. I know this because she referenced a specific discussion we had in class, where I and the prof. had differed. Regardless of who was right, I thought it was inappropriate to the lecture and mildly hypocritical. I say mildly but that is a weird habit I picked up from my mom, it's sarcasm and translates to BLATANTLY HYPOCRITICAL.
Now for context, the question was; "should homosexuality be punished in muslim cultures if the Koran does not prescribe a punishment?" For the first few weeks I just accepted that the answer was "of course not professor!" but then I actually read the Koran.. only to read this passage:

"SURA IV: 19-21

19. But whoso rebels against God and His Apostle, and transgresses His bounds, He will make him enter into fire, and dwell therein for aye; and for him is shameful woe.

20. Against those of your women who commit adultery, call witnesses four in number from among yourselves; and if these bear witness, then keep the women in houses until death release them, or God shall make for them a way.

21. And if two (men) of you commit it, then hurt them both; but if they turn again and amend, leave them alone, verily, God is easily turned, compassionate."

taken from site below.. which incidentally is the first thing to appear of you search "Koran homosexuality" in google

(http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/pwh/quran-homo.asp)

sooo.. after reading this passage you say, wait a second.. if homosexuality is something for which the men are to be punished.. how is it not a crime? esp. given context of previous verses?? Ok, ok. Here's what she says. "Only scholars are allowed to interpret Koran, and since you are not a scholar you cannot pretend you understand this text." That's solves it. No one read the Koran, you can't trust your EYEBALLS. Granted, there is some truth that only scholars will have an informed opinion on verses, but it's not like I totally ripped this verse out of context, in fact I'm relying on the given context to prove my point!
Now I'm the bad guy because I don't just swallow nonsense.
After getting chewed out publicly at this forum, I went to the performance that the Berlin Phil Quintet did. It was amazing.

I've never seen such liquid awesomeness on stage in front of my very eyes. Frau Reinhard has the craziest big German reeds I've ever seen!! She's got this sound that fills the room, you can almost touch it because of it's amazing presence!! Then something really cool, she let me get a picture with her, which was Laura's idea, and a good idea too! If and when I get that photo it will be directly below. SHABAZAM!!
This day started with ick and ended with SICK!!!

I <3 UT Austin. End of story.

2011-09-21T20:38:00.000-07:00

So bassoon over here at UT is really kicking off. Placement auditions went ok, the summer camp I taught at this summer, UT Long Horn Band Camp, was a great experience. I feel like I learned so much more from teaching all the middle and high school kids than I could have ever taught them. But that has come and gone all to fast and now I'm currently full swing into the semester with two competitions on my plate and two ominous papers coming up.. I don't mind the competitions as much, but papers are such a waste of valuable time!! lol
So things have generally been crazy, I am not sleeping due to midterms littering my schedule and the insane amount of preparation needed in order to make acceptable recordings for this first competition. I'm glad not to be doing my Junior recital until next semester, that will give me some time to prepare the Tango Sonatine that I really want to do. Yay!
The Trio I'm in is fantastic, we gel really well and though our repertoire choice is "easy" we're really making something out of it and having great time in the process. The large ensemble I'm in is New Music, and I have to admit that new music is not always my fav.. especially when there is contra bassoon involved. Don't get me wrong, I love to hear contra in the hands of a real contra player.. but that would not be me and so I don't love hearing it as much.. hahaha ps. New Music is really harrrrrd
more later, I'm exhausted. Ciao!

This is a really cute/funny reed making "how to" video, I don't agree with all the steps, but it's amusing nonetheless!

A whole 'nother year

2011-05-19T18:10:00.000-07:00

Since the Capitol Quartet has officially disbanded for the summer, I am reclaiming my blog for my own personal use.

I had just finished watching Paris Je t'aime when I looked out of the window to see the sun beginning to creep through the thick clouds giving a pinkish hue as it began to set. I was overwhelmed with nostalgia as I remember a day very similar in Rochester when I had to leave Eastman never to return. Getting in that taxi cab saying goodbye to Luke and his wonderful mom was probably one of the saddest things I had to do. As I sat in my apartment in Austin thinking of that goodbye it struck me that the weather now was almost identical as it was that day in Rochester, slightly overcast but not cold. It also struck me that this is the one year anniversary since I left Eastman and it summoned memories that almost brought back tears... except no tears happened, which is too bad as that would have made this paragraph more interesting. XD

However, now whenever I start to miss Eastman and all the wonderful people there I try

to remember why I uprooted myself to come to Austin. As I contemplated all the stuff that happened this year, how much I had grown as a person and a bassoonist, I find myself exceedingly grateful for the wonderful opportunities and experiences that have

literally been thrown in my lap since I came here.

I looked to my iPhone (another wonderful thing that happened to me since I came to Austin) and went through the pictures and videos that I would like to share.. it's a small snapshot of everything I saw this year. Granted, all of these things hold a different amount of significance to other people than they do to me, but hopefully these images and videos will communicate some of their precious meaning to the reader in a way similar to my understanding.

This is the pastor from All Saints Presbyterian Church in Austin, he runs a bible study called "Hill House" because it meets in a building over a century old that is a land mark in Austin. Cool guy, reminds me of Sean Connery in the way he speaks. Very interesting bible studies. I def. recommend.

This vid was taken while I stood through the sun roof of Paul's car, I cannot tell you how exhilarating the rush of wind through your hair is at 40mph.

On the left we have a large grasshopper that I got excited about, though I doubt too many people will sympathize with my fascination of a grasshoppers clinging to glass randomly.

Something I think the world should be able to appreciate

is Amanda's sexy s'more picture. This was a little random, we were in a shop, got s'mores and decided to send a taunting picture to our dear friend Matt back in Rochester. The sad thing about Rochester is that there is literally nothing to

do, so it was unkind to send this picture to poor Matt who was probably bored out of his mind, but is sexy no?

This happened on a little excursion downtown with Michael. He had a rain cloud over his head so I did the kindest thing I thought to do and pulled him into slightly sketchier alleyways in Austin where he felt so uncomfortable that he forgot how miserable he was. Notice my attempt to camouflage with the green trash cans.. events later that night included going to East 6th, being harassed by the homeless, frozen yogurt, and a bizarre event where a hippie lady that we didn't know forced us to hold hands in a chain until we had reached our destination...

yay for hippie love?

Contra bassoon reed thread! JK it's actually just some colorful wiring that was being used in construction of the music building.

This takes place in the reed room and is indicative of what happens everyday in that room. The pop music comes on and we get our reed making groove on. Thanks to Leah for being a sport, I think the vid only made her a leetle uncomfortable.

And this post wouldn't be complete without an appearance from the male spectrum

of the Capitol Quartet, Michael (up close, and who didn't write his blog post nudge nudge) and Pearson (on the far end)

Amanda and I met a horse on the drag (the local term for Guadeloupe st.) The drag is in no way what its name implies, as it is one of the most interesting streets one might ever have the opportunity to traverse. There is literally no knowing what you will see next out here. This is just one example of the interesting things you might see. However, he's not a police horse, or a carriage horse. I'm not even sure what he does, though I do know that he was part mule and it was nice meeting him. hahaha

On the UT campus it was hilarious to see how my tuition was being spent. Thank you large yellow signs, I have noticed.

These were some cool looking 'shrooms I saw on a bike ride, they looked more orange in person and made me think of UT. Hook'em!

On the drag, just an ordinary sunny day.

The capitol at night.

Amanda and I got spruced up for a shopping excursion to the mall, it was spantastic!!!

Another reed room movie

Caught Bevo struttin' his stuff by the stadium

And finally some End of School Studio Class candid Vids!! I love my studio!! Featured teacher and performer are Nathan and Nicole. Congratulations to both as Nathan is graduating with his PHD and Nicole just finished her first semester. It was Nathan's task to help Nicole in her interpretation of Bordeau's Premier Solo through his interpretive dancing skills. UT laughs boldly in the face of convention, we don't have time for that in Texas.

PS. We will really miss you Nathan.

Capitol Quartet Update #3

2011-03-23T14:01:00.001-07:00

My apologies for taking my sweet time in uploading this post, it was due exactly a week ago!

-Katie

After two days of blogless granting the Capital Quartet has decided to resume our blogging and keep the rest of the world informed of our Houston activities.

Tuesday was a low key day for us. We had initially planned to attend a Rice bassoon studio recital, but it was canceled so instead we spent the majority of the day at the University of Houston shaping cane, working on reeds, and rehearsing our quartet music.

In our spare non music time we went to the Houston Museum of Natural Science and gazed in wonder at prehistoric fossils, rare gems, and mollusks. It was awesome. After getting our science fix we walked to a nearby park and enjoyed the sunshine. The nature inspired our bassoon playing, as did the science.

Wednesday was more eventful. We were coached by UT alum TK Dewitt, who is now the second bassoon in the Houston Grand Opera. Working with TK was great and revealed a lot about our quartet. We mostly focused on line and bringing out parts that were more important than others. Essentially we finessed our performance. Thanks TK *thumbs up*

Before our coaching we wandered around a museum-rich neighborhood. Our first stop was the Rothko Chapel, self described as a place of art, spirituality, and human rights. We thought visiting this museum would provide interesting insight to spiritually connecting with our music or whatever it is that “artistes” do. Katie was frightened of the Rothko Chapel though and didn’t stay long. Next we took a stroll through Houston’s photography center. Fun. Finally we took some time browsing through the Menil Private Collection, one of the finest private art collection in the United States.

After gallivanting through museums and bassoon coachings we decided it would be fun to spontaneously go to Kemah Boardwalk… so we did. And we were right, it was fun. We didn’t do anything at the boardwalk other than stroll along the ocean and take in the sights.

Thursday our day began yet again at our favorite spot in Houston, The University of Houston. We worked on our quartet music before jetting over to the Hobbit Café, a middle earth themed lunchtime getaway. While Katie was disappointed that the food was not authentic Hobbit food we still had a great time. Afterward we rushed over to Jones Hall to be coached by the Houston Symphony second bassoon Elise Wagner. Elise focused on our phrasing and exaggerated musicality. A nice aspect coupled with TK’s coaching the previous day.

After a hard two hours of coaching we vegged out and did some very important shopping at the Galleria.

It was a good day.

-Pearson

Capitol Quartet Update #2

2011-03-14T20:07:00.000-07:00

We have finally arrived in the magical land of Houston! It was magical and it was rainy. We almost didn’t make it because of the torrential downpour and strikes of lightening that threatened our drive. Luckily, Katie and I had Pearson, the strong, courageous driver and his trusty Ford Taurus, to guide us through the storm.
After navigating the maze of pavement and anxiety we finally came to rest at our super shwanky hotel, the Alden of downtown Houston. We were quickly beckoned away however by our 2 o’clock appointment with Cheryl and Benny Huddleston. Only to be stopped yet again by the raging traffic of Houston.

“And when we say stopped, we mean LITERALLY STOPPED” –Pearson.

Lady Gaga and Rhianna brought us through the cars and debris to Cheryl’s house where we were greeted by her smiling little

5-month-old son, Benny. For 2 hours Cheryl walked us through the steps of Herzberg style reed making.

She provided us each with blanks and taught us how to scrape and test the reed. We all found this new style of reed making very unique and beneficial. The Herzberg style really stresses the importance of response, intonation and a core-centered tone. I am lookingforward to using these new methods in my personal reed making time.

After leaving Cheryl’s house we were lead by the GPS to a botanical garden… only to find it was a playground.

The little kid park turned out to be quite pleasant and we sun-napped, swung and talked about black-widow spiders. Thanks to our resident quartet black-widow

expert, Katie.

Back downtown again we found an overpriced parking garage and wandered around only to find more overpriced food. We settled on a nice little Chinese/Vietnamese restaurant and filled up

on chicken, shrimp, rice and jugs of Hoisin sauce.

We sauntered back to our hotel rooms ready to practice, relax and take advantage of the 24-hour fitness room. And now we are currently planning our day tomorrow!!! Hopefully tomorrow will find Pearson relaxed enough to drive again. I’m not worried though because he is taking a stress bath tonight.

~Leah

Capitol Quartet Update #1

2011-03-03T21:02:00.001-08:00

So this was our second rehearsal with the Capitol Quartet, and it's super exciting to see how we are coming together as an ensemble. Our first rehearsal I think we were kind of clueless as to what to expect or do, but we are starting to blend and work together.
Finding how the leading role in the music shifts from one person to another is also something I think we started to touch on. Though contrary to popular thought, the leading line isn't limited to the first bassoon part.
The whole idea of contributing your line tastefully to make the whole group sound good, and not thinking of yourself constantly as a soloist I think is so cool. I guess you could call it passing the baton from one bassoonist to the next, and not hoarding it for yourself... so like teamwork. It's so cool. I could say it's so cool all night.

Also, the idea of making "music" out of bassoon quartet music isn't as easy as it seems. As a bassoonist, my personal opinion is that the bassoon isn't always that aesthetically pleasing to the ear all the time. However, the key to making it worth your time is making music out of the line you have with the tools you have. Wow. It takes an immense amount of creativity and attention to detail. Plus, bassoon can't play fast interesting lines like the flute, violin, or clarinet... so that means one more limitation.
Yeah, it's not an easy job but it is very rewarding to do it successfully. I think our quartet is capable of creating truly interesting music through our teamwork, that can rival even the prettiest instruments. We have the soul, they have the good looks... it's all in what you're looking for I guess. (those of you who play pretty instruments.. no offense intended)

Tomorrow we have our COFA meeting where we'll brainstorm ideas for our project, it will be exciting! We'll probably follow that with a rehearsal in preparation for a few coachings we'll have with Ms. Jensen next week.

Ok, time to study for tomorrow's music history quiz... *sigh*

laterz

The Capitol Quartet is going to Houston!!!!!

2011-02-21T20:19:00.000-08:00

So y'all may have remembered from the last post that I and some other bassoonists, collectively referred to as the "Capitol Quartet" managed to win the grant to go to Houston!!!! W00T!!!!!
This was such a fun group effort, just because there is so much bassoon love within our quartet. Working on writing our application and collecting all the paperwork just to submit the necessary materials to be considered for the grant has already brought us a lot closer together than we were before.. can't wait to see how things are after the trip... lol
But one of the requirements of this travel grant initiative is that we have to blog about our activities and experiences. I volunteered my blog since I had one and it was already (supposedly) about the bassoon. So heads up for those of you who normally read this blog for ulterior reasons, this blog is about to be filled with stories, project details and our learning experiences.

:D

I am SO EXCITED for this!!!!!!!!

So, we filled our paperwork, created our budget, tweaked our resumes, contacted famous bassoonists in Houston and are currently working on hashing out our schedule. The people we intend to study with are famous bassoonists such as Cheryl Huddleston, Elise Wagner, TK DeWitt, and Ben Kamins.
So far the plan is to stay in a decent hotel (which may even have a pool!!), Pearson will be our chauffeur as he owns the car (yay for road trips!!) and we'll try to catch some dress rehearsals/concerts while we're down there. Sadly this travel plan initiative is supposed to happen over spring break, and that appears to be dead time for a lot of the performing centers, like the opera and ballet. However the Symphony is doing a pops concert, and that will be fun. Since we're musicians, we're hoping to catch some rehearsal.. it is invaluable to see the process of art as it is being cooked, it helps to inform our understanding of how to deal with problems and issues that invariably come up for musicians.
I remember when I was studying with Valentin Martchev full time, he made a mistake while sight reading my etude to show me how it was supposed to be played. That mistake opened up a whole new world to me, it made me realize that as amazing and untouchable professional musicians are, they screw up too, they are also imperfect! It gave me hope that one day I would be able to attain that level, since I knew that my playing would never be perfect. But seeing rehearsals is just inspiring like that, it gives you hope that one day you can become like this, because you see the human side of things rather than the shining bravura that musicians put on to impress their audiences.

But anyways, Pearson and I met for lunch last Saturday and tried to work our schedule out. We'll probably meet again at some point soon with Leah and Michael to get more solidified. There's supposed to be a meeting that we'll all attend, but that date hasn't been released yet... that being said we should probably find some bassoon quartet rep... haha
I'm not worried yet about things, as of now we kinda have a head start, but the ball needs to get rolling a little faster.
I found one thing written for sax in C, so that should work, and it is a transcription of something Villa Lobos wrote for his bachianas brazillieras, so it will probably super sexy on bassoon.. just because bassoon is 10X more sexy than saxophone... oh yeah. ;)

AHH!!! This is so exciting, I can't wait for this trip.. but until then I need to start working on the basic skills reqs that Prof. Jensen has us do... it's tough stuff man.

ok laterz.

Little things?

2011-02-11T20:22:00.000-08:00

Life is so unpredictable. Earlier today I had made plans to go to the grocery store. I planned to pick up some basic food items, including some oatmeal. On the way to the grocery store I decided that it would be yummy to add apples to the mix and have apple oatmeal. That was plan change number one. It was small and insignificant, but aren't all decisions that way? I then planned to cook the apple oatmeal and store it away for the rest of the week, which was fun.

-I'm in the process of reading the book of Mormon, and related articles. It is an interesting experience.

-I then crashed for a nap around 5 and got up at 6:30pm still feeling exhausted from an unproductive night previous where I was haunted by nightmares and sleepless from 4-5am due to intense cold. There isn't too much heat in my building...
But after napping, I dragged myself out of bed and went to this brief lecture/Q&A about premarital sex and marriage. I learned that the rate by which marriage has been happening is decreasing rather than increasing with population growth. We discussed reasons why that may be, and specifically how difficult it is for christian (chaste) women to get married. There was a lot of panic going on it seemed and proliferous wringing of hands with little to show for it.
My attitude is that if God has decided that you will be married, it will happen and there is no use worrying about it. Not that I'm a fatalist, I just don't get the wringing of hands and wailing. Maybe because I'm cool with the idea of being single.

-Then I got a call from Leah who invited me to hang with a bunch of musicians that evening. So much for homework.
On the way back home we decided to crash the mormon dance party, it was fabtastic. Everyone was wearing pink at this dance, and though I had not planned it, I too was wearing pink. It worked out well and I had fun getting sweaty with the mormons.

I'm in this weird place mentally, it think it's called "transitioning" but I would not be an expert. Things are always in flux.
I find myself dipping my toes into waters of different temperatures, which is progress for someone with such a feline attitude towards water. It does however create a whole new set of problems.
A new concept that I've been dealing with is the idea of "being true to one's self" ..most of the time I know what I want and I find a way to get it. Being unable to get what I want ironically brings uncertainty of what I want and it is tortuous. I make it a point and quite literally every effort to make things work out. If they can't it drives me crazy.
However, backtracking somewhat, I have recently questioned if I know what I really want. I'm trying to be objective and see things from a more "obvious" kind of view. This involves stepping back and coldly analyzing facts. It can be helpful. Not always but usually. Transition points aren't always fun I'm guessing. But up until now, I have been seeing things in a very binary sort of way, until I realized that binary is bogus. Just because you can't see a 3rd or 4th (or more) options, doesn't mean that they don't exist. I'm starting to see more, and it's like a tidal wave.

Ok ok bassoon stuff. I love UT and Ms. Jensen. My studio is incredible, but y'all knew that. The Capitol Quartet, comprised of some studio mates, has applied for a grant to go to Houston and study with some of the best bassoonists evAr over spring break. We'll see how that turns out. I'm learning 5 sacred trees which is a bassoon concerto originally written for Judy LeClair. My teacher Valentin also played it and I have memorized every second of that recording. It is golden. But strangely enough I have never heard Judy's rendition. I need to do that before I perform it. haha My placement audition went a lot better this semester, I placed into the top orchestra on principle for Tchaik's Romeo and Juliet.

Somewhat unrelated (but not really), I would like to point out that part of creativity is realizing that hitting bumps and being wrong on occasion is actually good for you. It can show you what not to do. This is called process of elimination, and usually how I live my life. haha
But it is also how creativity is born, Picasso didn't get every painting "right."

Like every one hit wonder there are several duds that go with it, until they find that one recording. Most of us are too scared to make the mistakes necessary to find the right answers, but there is no respect or honor in being too scared to move. I learned this from dancing, and strangely it applies to most everything. It's funny how little things really are everything. It's the difference between reality and perception... another concept I'm learning from music.

This blog is getting out of control and needs to be raked in. I don't know how I turned a bassoon blog into philosophical steam, but I did. In future there will be more bassoon stuff. For example: click here for bassoon things!

This is Ms. Jensen's website, it's totally free and it's a great learning tool. There are few people I would trust more than Ms. Jensen to guide a young bassoonist to creating healthy expectations and practice habits. So, check it out if you haven't, it's hot stuff with tons of fun activities. Totally awesome in this cyber world we live in.

Peace and love!

Are You Stylin'?

2010-12-25T14:14:00.000-08:00

"All our controversies concerning doctrine relate either to the legitimate worship of God, or to the ground of salvation. As to the former, unquestionably we do exhort men to worship God neither in a frigid nor a careless manner; and while we point out the mode, we neither lose sight of the end, nor omit anything which bears upon the point. We proclaim the glory of God in terms far loftier than it was wont to be proclaimed before, and we earnestly labor to make the perfections in which his glory shines better and better known. His benefits towards ourselves we extol as eloquently as we can, while we call upon others to reverence his majesty, render due homage to his greatness, feel due gratitude for his mercies, and unite in showing forth his praise. In this way there is infused into their hearts that solid confidence which afterwards gives birth to prayer; and in this way, too, each one is trained to genuine self-denial, so that his will being brought into obedience to God, he bids farewell to his own desires. In short, as God requires us to worship Him in a spiritual manner, so we most zealously urge men to all the spiritual sacrifices which he recommends.

Even our enemies cannot deny our assiduity in exhorting men to expect the good which they desire from none but God, to confide in his power, rest in his goodness, depend on his truth, and turn to him with the whole heart; to recline upon him with full hope, and recur to him in necessity: that is, at every moment to ascribe to him every good thing which we enjoy, and show we do so by open expressions of praise. And that none may be deterred by difficulty of access, we proclaim that a complete fountain of blessings is opened up to us in Christ, and that out of it we may draw for every need. Our writings are witnesses, and our sermons witnesses, how frequent and sedulous we are in recommending true repentance, urging men to renounce their own reason and carnal desires, and themselves entirely, that they may be brought into obedience to God alone, and live no longer to themselves, but to him. Nor, at the same time, do we overlook external duties and works of charity, which follow on such renovation. This I say, is the sure and unerring form of worship which we know that he approves, because it is the form which his word prescribes, and these the only sacrifices of the Christian church which have his sanction."

So, I don't know if you can already guess the direction of this blog post from the first 2 paragraphs, but I stole them from Calvin. I've been doing a lot of thinking about our copious types of worship "styles" within christian denominations. It's a fascinating thing. The way calvinists of yore used to worship was on hard wooden planks that they sat on, otherwise known as pews. The service was simple with probably one speaker as opposed to more contemporary services that have 5 or 6 depending on where you go. There were no instruments, the singing was melody only and they stuck to biblical text.. ie. no hymns. As you can imagine, there were also no big tv screens (this may have been a product of the late 16th/17th centuries) and no head bopping tunes, no revivals, no testimonies, no miraculous healings, no one spoke in tongues (unless you think french counts) and there was a surprising lack of religious images in the church.

Calvinists today are nothing like these guys from way back when. They sit on padded chairs and their churches are usually adorned with flowers and crosses, and doves, and triangles and whatever else they can come up with without actually drawing pictures of God and thus very obviously violating the 2nd commandment. They sing hymns and love'em! I talked to one elderly lady in the OPC that I currently attend, she told me how she was raised in the RPC and as such had a much more traditionally "calvinistic" worship service without instruments. She felt much happier being in this OPC because it was "more liberating" to have instruments and to sing hymns, and she may have said something about legalism in reference to her previous more traditional calvinist upbringing. But services have changed, and we have huge TV screens, loud speakers with rocking music, multiple speakers (sometimes it takes me a while to figure out who the minister actually is..) we have tons of instruments, we can sing anything we want because we're free to do that. We aren't bound up by the legalistic restraints of traditional calvinist practice. Now mind you there are some churches that are much less entertaining than others, and they are usually populated with old people, once those peeps die off we'll have rockin praise music in every church, because it is only the unprincipled stodgy old-fashioned preferences of the church's old folks that is holding us back.

The morning service that I attended at a slightly more hip PCA had 4 women and various dudes come up to the pulpit and read passages from scripture, and make announcements. They had a manage of musical instruments, recorder, flute, french horn, guitar, clarinet and I couldn't see what else. This was the most hip Reformed service I had ever attended, we didn't have any big screen tv's- but we had a choir, and almost open communion, we had some sort of menorah like advent candle holder next to the pulpit covered in christmasy evergreen fronds, we didn't sing any passages from scripture- it was entirely comprised of hymns and traditional christmasy tunes like "come oh come Emanuel

Another church I attended had a contemporary service. I enjoyed it, I thought the music was rockin' and the preaching, though simple, compelling and inspirational. They had a praise band combined with choir that was so loud that my skeletal infrastructure shook as I stood and I was forced to cover my ears to retain my sense of hearing. (now you know it was good)

Getting all the way back to the first couple of paragraphs by Calvin, he says "[we are to] worship God neither in a frigid nor a careless manner; and while we point out the mode, we neither lose sight of the end, nor omit anything which bears upon the point..... and in this way, too, each one is trained to genuine self-denial, so that his will being brought into obedience to God, he bids farewell to his own desires. In short, as God requires us to worship Him in a spiritual manner, so we most zealously urge men to all the spiritual sacrifices which he recommends."

I think about the stodgy unprincipled old-fashioned preferences of the church's elderly, and I think about the rockin' services of the church's hip contemporary youth, and I see what Calvin has written as a criticism to each equally.

The elderly have unprincipled preferences, which I accuse of being unprincipled because preferences is all that they are. There is no biblical or theological basis for them, and they can't back it up with any credence. The young people are just doing what feels good too, this is their preference, and they have an equally hard time backing up what they do with theology or scripture. Though, in favor of the young people, I do think they do a much better job of pursuing the idea that "God requires us to worship Him in a spiritual manner" because I always feel much more worked up and giddy after these services than with the old stodgy folks. Whether or not that is actually "spiritual" is up for debate, and scientific study. Both of these styles are perfect examples of "will worship" a dutch term meaning that we disregard any constraining principles of worship and do whatever ever the heck we want.

Where has the idea that we should seek to praise and worship God in a way that He has prescribed gone? It is almost non existent. Today we worry about attracting crowds by doing what people like and conforming to the culture. I propose a mind blowing idea, namely that we attract attention through being totally and utterly biblical, countercultural sometimes, and even possibly agreeing with the culture should it jive with the teachings of the Bible.

_______ _____ ______ _______ __________
Not everything that feels good IS good.

To address the those people, who, from an emotional basis,would protest any sort of change presented. Whenever I suggest changing a tradition or possibly rethinking something we do that we previously never questioned, I usually am confronted by people swayed by sentiment rather than reason. They just don't want to think about it and will cling to their previously undoubted practices like a corpse with rigor mortis.
Recently when discussing the possibility of images of angels being sinful, one lady from my church said "but God made us to be emotional creatures and to enjoy things" so the conclusion of that statement is (without her finishing)

-and these images give me joy, therefore they can't be wrong-

It was a beautiful statement, and one is inclined to just accept it for what it is. If it makes you happy, it can't be bad! So anything that makes you happy, is a good thing. Ok ok, so if I enjoy getting drunk on a routine basis, that's ok because I enjoy it? I enjoy misdirecting tourists to parts of town that are dangerous, possibly life threatening. I like stealing small pieces of candy from convenience stores because candy is yummy but if there was something else that size I'd steal it too, because it's fun. Now none of these things are actually true of me, but you can see it happening and it's kind of horrifying. If something breaks the law, it is wrong, no matter how much fun it is. In fact, I would go as far as to say that breaking the law (and not getting caught) is WAY more fun than keeping it.
When you were a kid, and your parents told you to do something.. or worse yet, NOT to do something, did you always obey them? Or did you take perverse pleasure in undermining their authority in any way possible? This one I'll admit to.

But it's most definitely wrong. All that to make the point that not everything that sounds good, even from sweet innocent old ladies, is true. Now that we've established the complete falseness of that statement (actually i hated geometry) let us backtrack. So something that makes you happy isn't always good or right, but how do you know? Well, see if it violates any laws, that can be helpful. So we back up what we know not by our feelings, but by something concrete like laws.

NOW going all the way back to my statement about trying to serve God best in the way that pleases Him rather than ourselves, has God given us a way to worship Him? Has He given example? How do we know how to worship God in a way that pleases Him? What is this "genuine self-denial" of which Calvin speaks?

I'm not here to answer that question conclusively, how do you think we should conduct our worship of God?

Happy Holidays everyone!

something crazy

2010-11-26T21:26:00.001-08:00

so I've had this urge to do something out of control and crazy for a while. Nothing significant has manifested itself, it's mostly come out in smaller interactions with other people.. again nothing life changing but something different.

I like it when things keep changing and moving and progressing. If things hold too still I feel like I'll burst! maybe that's why I had to transfer.. haha

I saw this interesting song that was posted on my friend Michael's fb wall. I didn't like it at first but after listening several times I find it strangely interesting. but then again I have an obsessive personality because I like to digest things thoroughly.

I was sitting in chipotle today with some other musicians and I stopped in the middle of a conversation because my mind was immediately drawn to the background music in the restaurant. and then *blushes* I analyzed it in front of them.

Thanksgiving night I was talking to dearest Torsty-poo and complaining to him about what aural skills has done to us. I said to him, "don't you hate it that you can't hear a song without breaking it down to it's constituent elements?" and he responded, "why? I love knowing what's going on" and I said "well it's like not being able to stop thinking about grammar when you hear someone speak" and he responded "but I LOVE grammar!"

lol and that is the difference between Torsten and I. Though admittedly he has a point.

Finals are soon approaching. I have to do several stringent requirements for Ms. Jensen in order to get an A in bassoon... wow. And then also in contra. lol and then for reeds... and then I have jury on top of that. oh yeah and finals. goodness gracious.

I really can't wait to go home. It seems like I haven't been there in forever, but then when I skype my family it feels like I never left.

I like Austin. I gives me sinus infections and if I can graduate with something of an immune system left over, after all the antibiotics, I'll consider myself lucky. I love the place where I live, it's SO funny!! Firstly it's a dump, secondly, every evening these birds called "grackles" come out of nowhere and everywhere and circle my apt. whilst screeching to each other. Mom thinks that they're trading roosting locations and suggestions. But when they start doing that, they're thick! They make Hitchcock's "The Birds" look like nothing. And the air reeks with the smell of bird. It's inescapable. When you're going down the drag sometimes you get a strong wiff or two of car fumes or cigarets or fast food etc. but in the evening you smell nothing but bird. Or maybe it's the smell of bird crap? who knows. hehehehe lurvely.

but that's the other thing, the sidewalks under these trees are quite literally painted with the vivacious colors of bird sh*t. I've been welcomed to Austin with the kind greeting of one grackle who was kind enough to share his digested lunch with the top of my head as I passed underneath a tree. Then I had to ride a bus home and really hope that no one could see that I was sporting the latest fashion de birdet.

My 21st birthday is coming up, and it's going to be BIG!!! :D I think I'll go to a pub or something like that. What fun it shall be! I can't wait until I'm allowed to drink already. I think this drinking age is stupid. It should be when you turn 18. If you're a legal adult then then you should be a legal adult, none of this half-way goofiness.

Ok I'm going to stop because I feel rant mode coming on... so this probably a good time to stop.

peace.

TSA in SAN?

2010-11-17T17:01:00.000-08:00

So a friend of mine posted this link on Facebook. After I checked it out, I was so enraged that I think I'll be driving back to CA this year. Thank you TSA.

http://johnnyedge.blogspot.com/2010/11/these-events-took-place-roughly-between.html#comment-form

Some sheep bleat louder because they can see what's coming.

ps. I like mutton (don't try to analyze that.. it don't work)

Midterms

2010-10-24T18:20:00.000-07:00

We're almost done with our midterm exams here, my last few happen this week and I am very much looking forward to being done! UT has been such a good experience for me. I'm digging the weather here man. It's almost always perfect outside. We've had a little bit of rain, but only for 3 days. The fun thing is, it will rain at night, and then be warm and sunny all day. WIN! I'm also much more fit during the school year than I have ever been in my life, save for when I was doing basketball and Tae Kwon Do.

Bassoon is coming along, though I do find it more difficult to find serious practice time here than I did at Eastman. That might simply be because I'm taking 17 credits, which is more credits than I've taken for a while now. Next semester won't be so bad. I won't be taking any non-music classes, so I'll spend all my time in the music building. huzzah? I dunno man. At least I can practice in my Apartment after 2pm till late most days. Why do I have to wait until after 2pm to practice you might ask. WELL... that is directly tied to the nocturnal activities of the other college students the previous night. But whatevs. If I had I life I might be more sympathetic? nahhh

So I usually enjoy the thrill of living life on the fly, ie. running around with no actual formal schedule to organize my day for me. I reject the constraints of ordering my life into a box, it should just flow naturally. I've discovered the hard way that this doesn't work. After missing a few appointments, my teacher had words with me and I now have a nice daily planner that helps me to stay organized. A brilliant friend of mine pointed out that having a schedule doesn't put your life in a box, it illuminates where the perimeters of the box lie so that you can make your escape and not trip over yourself in the process.

So the few of you who are silly enough to suffer from the same anti-scheduling syndrome, let this be a warning and an encouragement. Life doesn't have to be this way, it can get better. Buy a small planner and keep it with you.

Today was Sunday. It was a good day. The Terpstras picked me up for morning worship and I went over to the Engelbrechts for lunch. Many thanks to both families for transporting and feeding me. And thanks to the Van Dams who schedule my Sundays for me.

So, halloween is coming up. I think I'll just do a toga or something. Pearson mentioned that I could go as a sorority girl buuutttt I dunno. He also said something about dressing up as Internet Explorer... that might be amusing. XD

But there will be a big party at Aaron's house, and I ACTUALLY got invited!!! YES!!! I only had to pry a little bit...

So last week was the shopping adventure. Without a car I rely on the bus system. I should have asked around before I attempted this, but instead I relied on google maps to guide me. Bad idea. The key word I used was "grocery store" and all that came up were a bunch of convenience stores, and at the very end of the list, Whole Foods. I checked it out on the website, it looked like a very nice place, there were no prices listed but it appeared to be a grocery store and not a convenience store, so I hopped on a bus and headed over. When I got off the bus to cross the street, a van pulled up next to me at the cross walk (very unexpectedly) and of all the crazy things that could have happened, a very small child was leaning out of a window thrusting a purple flower at me. I confusedly took the flower thinking that it was just some childish game and the best thing to do would be to humor the child and take the flower. The driver of the van, a younger lady in her late 20's, informed me that they were doing "random acts of kindness" so I said thank you and smiled as they whizzed off. It was very strange, and it happened very quickly! A few minutes later after bumbling my way around I found Whole Foods. When I went inside I was amazed at how large the store was, how clean and the fantastic array of exotic foods. Coconut water was one of the first things that I saw for sale, besides the fresh gourmet deli that looked and smelled amazing. But I went off to find more practical things like fresh fruit and pantry items. I soon found that Whole Foods it not geared towards people on a budget. This was very frustrating when you haven't had dinner and just want to buy something and go home to eat it. However, I saw an amazing array of fungus from all over the planet for the cultured, aristocratic taste buds of Austin's rich. I do find it ironic that people who have "made it" in our society end up eating glorified mold. It certainly has variety, but the irony stands. I've never seen so many types of mushrooms in one place. It was an experience. I ended up buying some apples and crackers and similar such items so that the trip wasn't an absolute washout. But on the way home I hit my now favorite cigar shop.

When you walk inside the smell of all those fresh cigars hits you. Probably one of the best smells in the world. I bought a few really small "hazel" cigars, and they are sooo good. I originally asked for cherry vanilla, but they didn't have that. However the richness of the hazel cigar is just fantastic. As long as I don't get hooked it will be ok, but I'm going to bring some home to my peeps in San Diego and expose them to the awesomeness that is the small hazel cigar. It's strange that after coming from a non-smoking family that I can even tolerate the smell, let alone appreciate the smell of cigars. But now the smell of those few cigars has perfumed my room for days now. Every time I come back to my room the cigar smell hits me, and I know it's a good day. ;)

UT Austin Bassoon Day!

2010-09-20T16:41:00.000-07:00

So it's the annual UT Austin Bassoon Day! I'm really excited about this event even though I can't go this year because it's on a Sunday :( but I do get to be the PR! Woot!

http://utbsnday.weebly.com/

If you live in Austin, or anywhere near, check it out man! ;)

Austin!

2010-09-13T14:53:00.000-07:00

So it's been forever since I checked my own blog, so I can't even remember if I posted anything about transferring, but it has happened. I am here at University of Texas at Austin living in my awesome apartment. Everything here is pretty sweet, my teacher, the school, the weather, the food, my studio mates, the single dwelling apt. which is all mine.. mine.. mine...... haha but seriously I am excited not to have to share a room with anyone. I have two different Bible studies I can attend, one called hill house which is run by the PCA minister at All Saints, and the RUF bbl stdy that I haven't actually attended thus far that meets on campus... I should get around to that...
but here we also have free access to a gym, which I find totally exciting! I get to go running in a state of the art facility with air conditioning! I would run outside if it were less humid, but there's something addicting about being able to look down and see exactly how many calories you've burned, how long you've been going, incline, heart rate etc. I like machines!XD ok this is a false statement half the time but whatevs.
I also have a fantabulous church community who has opened their arms to me every Sunday. I can't even remember everyone's name, but they all know me! Everyone greets me and inquires as to my well being with a warm heartfelt smile. The Van Dams have been incredibly kind in driving me to and from church almost every Sunday, except when they are out of town- and in that case thank you Hannah Benoit and Mr. and Mrs. Hughes! Every afternoon someone from the church takes me into their house and feeds me lunch, and the way people just line up to ask me into their homes is just so amazing. I really feel I have found a fantastic church community that will take care of me in my state of relative dependance as a student without personal means of transportation.
So my bassoon studio is the bomb. In every studio you have the really good people, the people in the middle, and the people at the bottom of the totem pole.. but in this studio everyone I have heard so far is a kick butt bassoonist. Kristin Jensen is the bomb and even though I'm having to relearn tons of old habits, I have complete confidence this will make me a better player in the long run. Ms. Jensen, is such a good teacher!!! I have learned more from her about how to play the bassoon than ever before! It's changing my sound, her big thing is aiming for "Zing!" and using proper posture/support. She is really attuned to how it's important to pay attention to what you are doing physically, since it will ALL affect your playing. All of her students get really amazing bassoon sounds out of their instruments and I am so excited to be a part of this studio, aaaand I'm so glad she likes transfer students! haha
So classes have been going well, I like my written theory prof. waaay much, never thought I would say that but she's super cool! I can't stand theory profs. who are anal and insecure, she's such a refreshing change! (with a smaaaall exception of other theory profs. I've met) However aural skills isn't going so hot. I didn't think I would need to register for it, but things changed and now I'm taking this class for the 3rd time... it is not exciting and the story behind that is gross and involved. no more shall be said.
So, on a completely different note, I have died my hair a dark blonde. I like it, it goes well with my tan. XD
I'm painting my bathroom, and have moved my furniture multiple times for the optimal space efficient setup.

<-- LOOK HIPPIE PAINT JOB!!!! :D dude that's Rockin'!

-I am studying jazz bassoon again, back to square one. Evidently I was missing some crucial fundamentals which I am learning now.

-It looks like the piano dept. will graciously let me test out of 3 semesters, leaving only 1 more before I'm completely done with piano forever.

-My trio is awesome, we are comprised of flute, harp and of course bassoon, and we're playing Jolivet's Patorales de Noel. It's purty.

=And the fun stuff, I had a TeRRible placement audition and was placed in the lowest group for music majors, but they had a concert on Sunday, so I have placed into the non-music major band. It's cool, the peeps there are talented and it's a good experience. You learn different things in every group, and though I am not taxed nearly the same way I was when playing next to Steve Dibner, it's good experience.

speaking of which, there is a super cool picture on Facebook that I just HAVE to post here because it is Hilarious!! haha

AIR-BASSOON!!!!!!!

{}~ <-- look, it's a bassoon emoticon!!! hahaha!!

|||

[]/

ok, it's sleepy time, I have an early morning bible study, if I can raise myself out of bed :p

2010-07-30T20:17:00.001-07:00

So I'm as close as I can get to our massive internet server here at Marolt, I think I can feel the radio-activity boiling my brains slowly, or it might simply be the heat of the laundry dryers, behind which I am hiding so that I have priority in the war for internet access. lol
The highlight of my stay so far was having my parents come out and visit me, it was great to see them. It made me seriously want to go home and brought some pretty intense home-sickness. But I'm doing better now. If I can just avoid thinking of home I'll be fine.

<-- dad and me dueling for the best picture, with mom laughing

So religiously it's been a battle here, in more ways than one. The church I'm attending believes in modern day miraculous works of the Holy Spirit. I got a book from the pastor here called "praying heaving down to earth, a practical guide to everyday miracles" or some shtuff like that... I was skeptical until I saw this miraculous service in which people were healed! it was crazy. I came this close to becoming charismatic. But thanks to the impressive learning and even more impressive skepticism of my father, I am not suffering from that tendency any longer. Evidently context and a thorough investigation of the bible are necessary before making possibly heretical claims. I say this all with a certain amount of very dry sarcasm, maybe it's because I am still upset about wasting 75 cents on the dryers here due to an incredible amount of incompetence. I've done dumb stuff before, but this takes the cake.
I have so much stuff going on, studying with Nancy is great :) Per taught a master class yesterday in which I played duets with my bassoon friend Pei wen. She's really nice and is something of a composition wiz! It went well and afterwards we ate dinner at John's house. I found two books in his place that were of particular interest to me one was about how we are the center of life (each person individually, a concept I find absolutely dizzying) and another one on how religion poisons everything. (?) what can I say? I am willing to bet that this book is selling some sort of theory on how that now we are enlightened we don't need religion and it's antiquated bassackwards ways. I would also go as far as to accuse people who advocate how modernly enlightened we are as a religion unto itself, which, like the previous book, put US at the center of the universe. Talk about a religion of selfishness, if you believe in selfishness anymore.
But back to bassoon stuff (lol) I get to play with Steven Dibner this next week, I'm so scared and excited! It will be awesome. Evidently his theory and practice on reeds is very minimalist... hahaha but that's just some good ol' bassoon gossip. My awesome sextet which just played the poulenc is regrouping to form a quintet with piano, it's really cool :) and I'll be playing in another group doing poulenc again but this time as a trio. I heard our doctorate bassoon Darrel play it today for my first time. It was an interesting piece. Some parts were so beautiful, the only word I can think to describe it is ethereal. Next Monday I'll be going on my first serious hike since I got here with our bible study. It will be fun. My laundry is still wet, and it needs to be hung out to dry :p

peace

2010-07-02T11:17:00.000-07:00

So it's been an obscenely long time since I posted anything whatsoever, but I have a legit excuse! I'm in Aspen, CO for the summer music festival and internet here is sketchy. So is phone service. I denounce you AT&T. Verizon be yo daddy. Plus I have to get a new phone due to this one being on the ritz. Touch screen View by LG, just say NO! Heck NO!!! Pictures are good though, and to that end I have some video to share that could be found on facebook, but I've never posted video here before so here's to something new!

Speaking of new, the ants here are GIN0RMOUS!! Some of these suckers have to be a good 3/4 inch long! Other slightly more interesting sightings were of the bear (cub?) I saw behind the music building and the snake I found and pursued.

Aspen has been really fun. I had my first rehearsal this morning with the concert orchestra and yesterday I rehearsed with the bassoon band! It was fun, there will be a performance this Saturday evening. I also had my first lesson with Nancy Goeres this Wednesday and it was great. We talked about stuff, and I played piard etude #4 in e minor with relative success. She gave me some tips to get low notes out more easily (esp. in this altitude) Reeds, though I hadn't figured them out for my audition yet, are working really well. A quick shout out to Stuart Garlock who very awesomely sharpened my reed knife, thus enabling reed awesomeness.

I just left the concert happening at the music tent, Nancy was Amazing!!! but I did get caught in the rain. :p Aspen and it's weather, ok more later!

Graduation!!!

2010-05-16T17:48:00.000-07:00

I just left Rochester, I stayed just long enough to say one last goodbye to the Judds (thank you Mrs. Judd for the card!) who by the way are probably some of the best people on this planet. They took me in and became a second family to me, they nurtured me mentally, spiritually, physically and emotionally- as well as provided a little Godly perspective (the most expensive commodity on the modern market.) I also got to see Luke, Andre, Jeremy, David Wygert., David Fisk, Tim, Ellie, Ashlee, Alex, Bopp, and Brett graduate. It was a good class. Sitting through that graduation ceremony watching all my friends graduate made me feel like I graduated with them- it's fun to think of all the places we're going to. Luke is going to PA, Andre to France, Jeremy to WA, David W. to TX, David F. to CO (and then where I'm not sure...) Tim and Ellie I have no clue, Ashlee and Alex are going to FL, Bopp to CA, Brett to Yale (which is a location...)
I am going to miss people so much, I finally decided about transferring and I am going to Texas.
I was just thinking to myself on the flight to JFK, "wow, I must have really enjoyed sophomore and freshman year- so much so that I was desperate to redo them! ugh. Maybe I'll get it right this time"
But I ran into an eastman mom on the flight to JFK and she told me about how her daughter had to transfer from a great music school to study with someone else in Eastman- which makes me feel less bad about leaving Eastman- if it can work for this girl it can work for me. Everyone keeps telling me how beautiful and bursting with creative energy Austin is, I'm so glad to be heading to this environment. haha I've never been to Austin- it may seem crazy that I want to go to a place I've never seen before but I think it will be ok. I have reasonable guarantee that it will be worth it. ;) I'm excited about the idea that I can pursue my insane idea of learning jazz bassoon. haha I have almost no talent for it- but it's getting better considering how little time I put into it. It's also helping me to improve as a bassoonist.
I'm sad that I only get 1 month with my family, in the midst of which is Orientation, which means a quick trip to Austin, then back home, then Aspen and then it's straight to TX. Whew. I don't cope well with new things, or change...

Ugh, I need to learn this etude for my lesson on friday and the etude is hard... it wouldn’t be so bad, but I haven’t played in 2 and half weeks, so I’ve got some practicing to do. I probably won’t even get through the whole etude at the lesson. As for lessons, I get to teach my little bassoonists starting tomorrow! I’m excited. I love my students and I love teaching them. It’s so great to see their eyes light up when you tell them something they’ve never heard before.
The plan for this summer is to get fit already. I try to do this every year... but I think I may be able to actually make some headway this time. And since I’m going to Texas I won’t have to worry about being holed up for 4 months at a time due to miserable weather conditions. And it sounds like the food will be better too. :D

2010-04-25T18:02:00.000-07:00

I just realized that I haven't been posting my previous posts, one of them only consisted of a couple sentences, but the last one was several paragraphs long! so I posted old info.
Finals are coming up, it will be the end of my Sophomore year (and possibly last) year at Eastman. I'll know for sure on the 1st of May. It's going to be crazy between now and then. UT reaccepted med *yay!* and there was much rejoicing. Now we're just finagling credit issues. I've been going to a music school for the past year so I actually have almost as many academic requirement from this school as musical... lol I just lurrrrve academics...
but whatevs, maybe if UT is particularly understanding I'll be able to fulfill some of those online over the summer.

It's raining outside after a gorgeous week and church was weird today because pastor was out of town- so we're acting like weird charismatic church. haha I only say that because the elder opened the service.. for an HALF HOUR haha and then we had some emotive dude from an abortion clinic (who may or may not have actually opened his Bible) lecture us on how we need to realize how terrible abortion is. It was a good lecture, and I agreed with him on most everything. However it didn't have the Law/Gospel approach I have come to expect in sermons. I've been spoiled. And there wasn't too much structure, just a lot of good ideas strung together. At LEAST we didn't have a praise band, but my understanding is that will change Next week since some of my Eastman friends (blushes) are actually going to help us institute some good ol' Mosaic practice in our New Testament service. Thanks guys, Uzza thanks you.
I'm going to have to leave for the RPC pretty soon. lol

I actually like the rain, it makes me feel like the world is taking a shower- and I am all in favor of cleanliness. no joke.
It's also very calm spring rain, slightly warm and friendly. but this is just subjective artistic rot. Reality says I just got a hair cut and the humidity is doing it's best to ensure that I have a fro. Admittedly I'm still very very white, but my hair is confuzzled.

btw I've a new word for pop-culture. It's called "Fizzual" like the words; visual, physical, and fizzy all mashed together. It could totally make it. Never mind that it was something that I came up with in a TA meeting for aural skills... hehehe
tiz ultimate nerdiness me thinks...

This past week was jury week, and I didn't actually have a jury. It's a good mix. XD

By the way, I just want to thank all of the people who have been praying for me in this transferring thing, I've tried to be really cool about it, but it's been driving me crazy. Your prayers are very very much appreciated.
Today was also fun because we made fried tortillas, taco meat, mac'n'cheese and we chopped some onion. We played catch with a small stress ball and also "see who can hit Luke while he vacuums as many time with the ball in the most witty combinations possible." Luke's a good sport. haha

Well, I was supposed to be reading reformed books, but then I got distracted. I don't like reading anyways. I like hearing, arguing, intellectualizing, but analyzing written material is not ma fav... which is bad for the academic world. Good thing I'm a music major. lol

ok peace, I can't write anymore and there's no way you could read another word of this. XD

cUrTis?

2010-04-13T20:33:00.000-07:00

Good news and bad news. I was excepted at UT Austin and offered significant scholarships, bad news is that they rescinded their offer shortly afterwards. Why? It's confusing but it all started with the application that I submitted. Evidently there was a typo. I must have put down that I had been attending Eastman since Spring of 2010 instead of Fall '08. I have literally NO idea how I could have done that and would like to blame the way the online application saves it's data.. or not.
Anyways they operate under the assumption that my application is correct and never request my Eastman transcript, which I remember thinking odd at the time but dismissed since it seemed logical that they would wait until after my credits here are complete, aka when this semester's grades have been added to my transcript. And that's why I didn't submit my Eastman application by the deadline March 1. *whew*
So they accept me and there was much rejoicing. Then I start thinking about how many years I will actually end up spending there, and in order to calculate that number I send them my Eastman transcript so that my existing credits can be added to my degree audit page. Well the next morning I get an email from admissions saying;

"Good Morning Kathryn,

blah blah blah your transcript that we never asked you for is being considered late and we don't want you anymore. If you don't like this, write us a letter and we'll think about it.

All the most sincerest and very best,

Your friendly admissions people"

The part that stuck with me is the "Good morning Kathryn," I love it when people say good morning. It's so cheerful. I hate mornings, I hate how I feel in the morning. Most of the time I just want to crawl back into bed. That aside, I always enjoy a cheerful "good morning" it makes life seem less bleak at that hour.

So I appealed their decision, I'll call them in a few days and we'll see what happened.

On top of that, I wasn't chosen from the finalists at Curtis, but at least it was a great experience. Philadelphia was awesome, the people were awesome to me, and I learned a lot about playing under pressure. One big thing is alway ignore the judges. They may be smiling, laughing, passing notes, staring off into space, staring straight at you, writing little notes when you make mistakes, just don't think about it. Because as soon as you mess up, it's all over and they call the next candidate.

Today was fun, and way busy. I have run out of money on my college food plan and am therefore forced to buy food from restaurants and stores. So I got real breakfast this morning. It was good. I have discovered that I really like breakfast, I might get up early just to eat some tomorrow. It's not a luxury that I usually have time for, I usually stick to the nutrigrain bar and some apple juice to tide me over until I can get brunch which doubles as lunch. Today my chamber group, a sextet known at Eastman as "the Sexytet" went to Fischer college and gave an oral and musical presentation. Each member of the group said a little something about the composer, the use of instruments and then we played. It was a good performance. That was the second presentation I had to do that week, the first was for German film class, which is awesome. I love prof. Steingrover. She is so inspiring! She makes me want to be a better student- and to take german, I'm just so scared of all the time it would take!

Despite all the dull drab and awful, summer plans have been set. I will be attending Aspen summer music festival in CO, and it should be fun. If nothing else, I will get to study in Nancy Goeres studio for 8 weeks. Valentin has told me so many good things about her, I almost applied to Carnegie Mellon (where she works) but that didn't end up happening.

Finals

2010-03-07T23:24:00.000-08:00

So I took my last Curtis audition and it went well, I ended up playing some repertoire that was NOT on my list.. lol it went alright I guess. The committee got me confused with another Kathryn and I ended up playing Scheherazade. I was only listed for Bolero and Figaro- so I hope they realized that it was unprepared at some point. XD

Absolute craziness.

It feels sooo good to be done. I was really really stressed but now I feel like a new person. I won’t find out the outcome until April, I wish I could know now! So much drama! ehhhh!!
I’m on the train right now. It’s supposed to go for 7 and an half hours! Bleah!! Whatever. I’m seated next to a nice lady, I’ve learned my lesson and I make it a rule not to sit next to men. This automatically rules out the perv factor that I so often have to deal with when I travel. As Daniel says “Katie you don’t have common sense, you have uncommon sense” which is true, but I’m learning to have common sense.

Everyone has been so helpful and supportive throughout this entire audition process, I just want to say thank you to my parents, my sister, Valentin, Luke, Andre, Seth, Alex Z., Jeff, Daniel, Conrad, Amanda, The Harts, and Lisa Ryken. You guys have been so helpful and supportive, I really appreciate it. I couldn’t have survived without you.

So sadly enough, I did not get to try the famous Philly Cheesesteak. But I did get to try the s’mores from Cosis. It was too much sugar for one person, but it was gooood and super fun to toast the marshmallows over the fire gel stuff.
Probably the best part of this whole experience, besides all the audition stuff, was living on my own, pets included, for a few days in a busy city. It was quite fun. I didn’t enjoy the constant solace, but it was still fun. :)
Also, I avoided all pervs on this trip and managed to survive quite well on my own without loosing life or limb. There was the incident with the doorman, but it could have been worse.
Only 3 more hours till we’re done. I wish it didn’t have to be such a long ride. But it had to be the train because I am poor and cannot take plane rides to places as close at PA. lol
I couldn’t wait to get out of Rochester, but now I will be grateful to get back and have food and my own bed to sleep in. I do the 4 inches of memory foam topping for my bed, and I strongly recommend it for anyone who has trouble sleeping. It’s the most comfortable thing ever, and the hardest part is getting up in the morning.

So I heard the most interesting sermon this morning. Usually in protestant circles we’re quiet, mild, understated people. We avoid controversial subjects and refer to the weather when in doubt of what to say. We never talk about things like sex in public settings. It’s just too awkward. The sermon today was about sexuality and I was gratified to hear strong AMENs from the congregation as the minister spoke. The people were listening and engaged, not trying to awkwardly tune out the minister. Have studied at Eastman I have encountered a variety of sexual sins that people struggle with (or not). It’s a plague and I think that part of the reason for this is that it can be an awkward topic to address, people don’t talk about it and the problem just gets worse. The minister pointed out how we as a culture have been driven crazy by sexuality. We no longer see it at the expression of committed love between a man and his wife, we see it as something that we can take into our own hands as some sort of play toy. It’s not serious, it’s just something pleasurable. Then why is there so much negativity, angst, depression, and pain when sex is abused? It doesn’t make sense and people don’t want it to make sense because when you think about it, right and wrong becomes clear. It’s not about what you want sometimes, it’s about doing what is wisest, about protecting yourself emotionally and physically. People are extremely vulnerable and don’t always realize it. The only way to protect yourself is to run the other direction. If you walk to the edge of a cliff and stare over the edge, what is the likely outcome?? Ok so you might not fall over, but what is the sense in putting yourself in that situation?It’s seriously not worth it. Yeah, sex used wrongly is NOT worth it. That’s coming from a 20 year old.
I would even go so far as to say that sex outside of loving committed marriage is not worth it. It certainly shouldn’t be about how attractive or “sexy” someone is. We’ve gotten so obsessed over this idea of “sexy” that we have people inserting plastic into their bodies and literally going nuts over this stuff. Girls become anorexic because they are obsessed with a certain ideal which is supposed to be “sexy.”
What is “sexy” really? It’s objectifying people. It’s seeing people as function of sex and not seeing sex as function of people. We are sexual, meaning capable of sex, but that is not who we are and does not define us at all.
Why am I talking about such a topic on a public blog? Because I’m tired of sex being hush hush. More people should address this topic. People are hurting and sometimes you need to say something.
The thing that helped me most is when pastor pointed out that we are not our own, sex is not something we get to decide to explore on our own terms. That is not what we were created to do and that’s why it hurts when we deviate from used rightly. The question to ask ourselves, even when our minds are consumed with sexual thoughts is “is this glorifying to God?” if you can’t say yes, then remove the temptation before you if there is temptation, or think about something else. If you have trouble, try praying. :)

ok now I’m done. That was tough and embarrassing, but that’s because I’m a female WASP. lol

So dinosaurs... just kidding. I need to stop, I’ll get tendonitis if I keep this up.

laterz.

btw
every time I travel, I get an opportunity to talk to other passengers, and it’s usually enlightening. I learn so much, just by bouncing ideas and pondering them. If I’m lucky I’ll get to sit next to someone who is older and more experienced than I. This means that I learn even more and can get some perspective (the most expensive commodity on the modern market) and I grow from it. This makes taking the train totally worth while.

Craziness

2010-03-05T18:37:00.000-08:00

So I haven't said anything on my blog thus far of the actual important bassoon things that have happened in my life, but everybody knows so there's no point in hiding it.
I've been trying to transfer from Eastman for a while now, and the two places I'm seriously looking into are UT Austin and Curtis Institute. It's been quite a journey I've been thinking about this transfer halfway through my freshman year and decided I would give it a shot during summer break. I considered a lot of schools, Rice, Colburn, Oberlin, and I'm probably forgetting some here, but it ended up boiling down to UT Austin and Curtis.
I got admitted to the Butler School at UT but I'm still waiting to hear from the University. With Curtis, I just took my preliminary audition and passed, so we'll see what happens with that tomorrow.
With summer festivals I actually got waitlisted somewhere! ahh! Aspen finally wait-listed me. Music Academy was a no. (again) and this year I deviated from the normal pattern and applied to RoundTop. I haven't heard from them yet.

It's been quite a year, with lots of developement. Kristen Jensen taught me how to breathe, which is harder than it sounds. XD This has led to a new understanding of where and how vibrato works. I'm still working on that though, since I only learned about it a few weeks ago. It's already made a huge difference in my sound. I feel like a different person! It's also shown me flaws in my reed making- so now my reeds are generally better. That and some hertzburg exercised I got from Lynn Hileman and Mr. Beene.
Everything is still a learning experience. I don't cope well with "new" but I'll find a way to survive.

Feel free to pray for me, it is much needed and appreciated.
So I've discovered that doormen are really really rude. If they ask to help you, don't believe them. They don't really want to help you, they want proof of residency. To decline their offer of "help" will put you in a bad situation. I wish they would say what they mean. sheez.

I'm gonna go blow some air into my bassoon now and then hit the sack (if they dear puddy tats will let me. lolz) But seriously, they're adorable.

oh that's the other thing, I'm staying at the Hart's home. They were super generous and even gave me their bed. Thank you Harts for housing me, keeping me company, getting me apple juice, muffins and feeding me dinner! Daryll is an amazing chef!

2010-02-07T16:44:00.000-08:00

So it's Sunday night, everyone has superbowl fever. Except me. lol
I really don't appreciate sports that much, I'm to busy with being a musician. Needless to say, the reason that I'm not taking part in these festivities is partly for religious reasons also. As the main character (Tom Watson) from "Chariots of Fire" put it; "Sabbath's not a day for playing football." The word "Sabbath literally means "set apart" so I agree with Tom in this. Sunday is the day you have to rest from the work you do the rest of the week and especially to study God's word and have fellowship with God's covenant people. The rest of the week is for other stuff.
And since this all I can think to say on this sunday. I'm going to leave off for now. bleah.

Monday-

this semester I am taking 15.5 credits. lol
I feel like a senior. It's great! I feel like in some ways I have a chronic case of senioritis from high-school that gets inflamed periodically. Like right now, I just played in studio class and did a good job- I surprised myself! But I feel really unmotivated to practice now. In some ways I disappointed myself because I know the mental performance behind the music was not entirely collected. I have such a hard time focusing, it must be some sort of ADD. I remember closing my eyes and then opening them and not being able to find my place! I was lucky that my fingers remembered what to do, but it was only by the grace of God that the right notes came out! Then there was the nightmarish part where I inhaled so quickly that my hair flew in my mouth- without having time to move it, I had to keep going! Then when I inhaled again I got more hair in my mouth!! Moral of the story, use hairspray or tie it up! lol
ok, I need to get back to it.
but first! it's Mu Phi pledge season. haha
this means that all the pledgelings will have to do the embarrassing Mu Phi wave to me. hehehehehe
I think I'll have to think of more embarrassing things that they'll have to do for me... hmmmm
ideas?

2010-01-08T03:31:00.000-08:00

So I feel like the only time I ever write on this blog anymore is when I'm bored and sitting in the airport.
In the infamous words of Brett Judson; "whatevs"

So I'm here in DC airport it's 6:33am. Back home in San Diego it would be 3:33am. My flight leaves 8:16 and then I'll be back in the freezing jaws of death called Rochester. I miss my friends.

If there weren't people in Rochester it would not in any shape, way or form be a good place to live. With people it's not a good place to live but without would be so utterly pointless.
you know how some people go purchase great expanses of land in CO or CA or even in some of the more deserty states, just because it's so beautiful and they live on their own because they are totally happy there? Rochester is not one of these places. but enough about negative subjects.

I've been going crazy this break. I applied to several summer music festivals which means lots of recording (thanks dad!). I've been trying to get signed up for classes (not as easy as it sounds). I've been preoccupied with emailing profs and arranging lessons. All in all, I've been extremely busy over break and only took off 4 days (not including sundays when I don't work anyways) It wasn't very break-like, but I'm sure good things will come from all this effort.

So I found it interesting observing an old lady reading her Bible. My first reaction was "oh no, a crazy old person with senile zeal" I actually felt embarrassed. Her public, unabashed reading of scripture I found awkward. I realized that my reaction to this sort of thing was almost akin to my reaction to PDAs- not while people can see you!

But then I realized that my reaction was very culturally based and not the appropriate response of a christian. I should have seen a faithful servant of God diligently and sobermindedly trying to faithfully honor God in all of her actions. I am ashamed of myself.

The flight out to DC was long- I slept through most of it and the result is a sore neck. For some reason I'm not at all tired. I'm doing what I usually do with long layovers. Sitting, blogging, drinking a "fruit" smoothie that I pretend is healthy.

It's snowing here. I'm sure it's just the californian in me- but I hate cold. and snow. This time however, I have a serious coat to battle it, and feel like I am blending in with the eastcoasters! hahahaha
I'm sitting here hoping that the el creepo dude who tried to take me to "dinner" at my hotel will not show up. It's unlikely, but I would not be glad to see him.
It's a funny story, but last time I got confused with "departing time" and "boarding time" and the consequence was me watching people board what I thought was a previous flight (which was actually my flight). I didn't hear any announcements, and when I asked the people behind the counter when we could board they said that boarding time was over and I would have to talk to customer services. ps. if you ever get sent to customer services be prepared to be very very very patient. And when you finally make it through the long line that doesn't move be prepared to be uncharacteristically pushy. They won't listen unless you push. fun stuff.

So the story is I was walking over to customer services, depressed that I had missed my flight over such a dumb mistake and scared because I didn't know what I was going to do, when this cute airlines worker (a dude) walked past and asked me what was wrong. I told him about missing my flight and he offered his sympathies and told me to talk to him if I needed any help with anything.
I just thought he was a really nice guy and so I later did ask him for help, but only after they put me on standby for a late late flight which I couldn't board. They gave a brochure with hotel info and I went and tried to figure it out. Never having booked a hotel before or using the phone service they gave me I just sat there stewing. I'm not stupid, but understanding, esp. taking the time to read even simple things like signs goes directly against my personality. I like to fix the dvd player without reading the instructions thank you. :p
So I'm sitting there and the same cute dude walks up and asks if he can help me. I said yes I was trying to figure out this elaborate system they had and he took my phone and started talking to the operator I had reached, started telling her stuff like "no don't send a van" "can I get the address?" I told him promptly that he was not driving me anywhere and to give the phone back. He called me "mean" and I told him "I'm not getting into a car with you"
but he wants to have dinner with me so I said fine, go in a separate car and I'll have dinner with you and his face dropped. I thought something fishy was up so I called my bible study boys in rochacha and they informed me that "dinner is not actually dinner..."
so long story short, I don't want to run into this guy.

I still have over an hour before my flight, and people are starting to show up in the airport. I'm hearing overhead stories of 15 cold related deaths this winter. Why did I leave SD???

Jubin is going to pick me up from the airport when I get there, and I can't wait to see him. He's an awesome dude.

I'm starting to suspect that my ADD is aggravated by staying awake when I would otherwise be sleeping. I make it a general rule to not say things that I think past 1am since it tends to get me in trouble, and I usually don't blog exactly what I'm thinking as it comes, but this will be an experiment. I can always delete it later if I found I regret saying something later right? wrong. damage will be done. but I am so curious...

so I was watching that show about the 4 nerdy guys who live together and the sexy chick who lives across from them named Penny- it's so funny! I find myself strangely relating to the tall, excessively anal, nerdy guy who irritates everyone with his random and often overly convoluted statements. These statements I feel are intended to impress the intellect of the general public. People are too easily impressed, all he does is recite random facts at seemingly appropriate times (the time is in actuality rarely appropriate). Heck I do that all the time, and it is just as annoying and inappropriate. Though, I don't think I'm quite as anal or socially retarded. and no one thinks I'm a genius...

So what gets me is when they come over and say I'm going to tag your bassoon in case it doesn't fit on the plane. I inform them that there is no way this bassoon will be removed from my person and they always respond "just in case" and tag it anyway. They're wasting tags to put it simply. What about "this instrument is worth more than I am and will not be removed from my person" do they not understand? It's very simple. Maybe they don't take me seriously. I have no idea why. It's not like they know me or anything...

only 45 minutes till we gooo

people are running around with fresh food in their hands and it smells amazing. It is still wayyy to early for breakfast though.

ok. I'm done. before I get tendonitis or any such rubbish.

ciao.

2009-11-11T12:56:00.001-08:00

So it's been forever since I wrote anything.

This first half of the semester has been really really interesting.

I have discovered that when you are not drowning up to your ears in credits, you suddenly have time for people and extra curricular activities.

New life experiences which were direct results of having time for life;

got a hair cut. it used to be over 3 feet long- now it's a scanty foot and a half! and it's layered!!

went to see a movie on a Monday night. totally irresponsible. btw, it was district 9- I love peter jackson.

fell in love. the real thing, not a crush. not infatuation. not physical attraction. the kind that comes from your soul that causes both joy and pain.

learning tango and it's awesome! I have private teacher who teaches for Free! complete with partners -courtesy of my bible study boys. :D

can now make small talk seem convincing and not so small.

Won an eastman bassoon audition- for Beethoven 4. :)

got hit on by cute random airlines worker...

learning Jazz bassoon. I can improv? no way!

I'm getting really invested in my own religion. before it was just sort of a thing my family did but now I'm coming to a better understanding of it and I am now embracing it practically, in my own life for the first time. baby steps...

gave a recital. yeah, about time. it was Mozart and Weber, with a 5 minute break in between.

bought my own plane tickets, to a destination other than home!
________________

so, that basically sums it up. the freshmen bassoonists are super cool and totally fun to hang out with. I'm making a lot of reeds these days and they're good! :D

I switched from lysol to clorox in preference for the fresh orange smell clorox has. teehee

ok, more later.

2009-10-15T20:27:00.000-07:00

So it's midterms over here, and this is my first blog post since the summer? wow.

despite the fact that I'm only signed up for 14 credits, I've been remarkably busy. :/ Admittedly it's a different kind of busy, but that means I've been practicing and not studying theory. W00t. I cannot describe how much I hate music theory.

2009-08-19T22:08:00.001-07:00

Valentin Martchev on Facebook

Hey Yo!

So I created a Fan Page on Facebook for Valentin- here it is. If you have Facebook you should become a fan. If you don't have Facebook you should join the 21st century already!!!

Peace!

2009-08-05T22:38:00.000-07:00

So I just gained a much better appreciation for what my dad does all day. A friend of mine asked me a detailed religious question- actually he forwarded a link and said in essence "deal with this link, it says stuff that confuses me"so I responded to some of the ideas in the post-which turned out to be a 7 hour project. blahhhhh

My dad is amazing for doing this stuff, esp. since he's a pro and isn't being paid for it.

moving on;

So I ordered some bocals from midwest musical imports they arrived today I had a lesson and now I have a new bocal! It went so fast, i love it!

rewind and slow down;

sooo, I go to order bocals on thursday of last week and get expedited shipping ($30) so that they will arrive in time for my tuesday lesson. Well the shipping gets screwed up. Thanks UPS.

So it arrives today mid afternoon. I then run down to San Diego to see what Valentin thinks of them (i was rooting for the vcd #1 silver heckel)

Valentin eventually decided that he also liked my bocal- so much so that he wants to order them now! It must be the magical Z alloy that makes the bocals harder.

And that's it. I have a new bocal. AND IT'S FANTASTIC!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

ohhh. I look at my other bocal and I wonder how I did it.

This is probably way too soon to start talking about spending money again, but the next thing I have my hopes and dreams set on is a tuner that will clip onto my instrument. That would be cool, but even more importantly would be a tip profiler. That would be it.

I doubt it will happen anytime soon, but one can dream. :D

This summer has been amazing- I have made such leaps and jumps with the bassoon. They're not even going to recognize me at Eastman!

I'm looking forward to this next semester. My plan is to focus on bassoon and not so much academics, and with theory out of the way for a semester, I'll be able to do as much.

I'm so happy because now I have the tools that I need, I'm able to know what I need, get what i need, use what i need... it sounds so simple but it can be so much more complicated.

I'm experimenting with different kinds of cane and different kinds of reeds also. It's awesome. My comprehension of music is much more mature and I am ridiculously happy with the direction I am now headed in.

So these past two weeks were full of International Youth Symphony stuff.

We played Beethoven 7, Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto, Gabriel Faure's Pavane, and Mozart's Overture Cossi fan Tutti. It was a good concert.

During intermission I went to the edge of the stage and met some old friends and made some new ones. A little kid asked me to play something for him- so I busted out the theme from Glenn Miller's "In the Mood"

It seems like just yesterday that I was that kid going up to the edge of the stage and asking the performers to play something for me.

But it was 4 stinking hour rehearsals at 8:45 every morning for two weeks. We had a lot of repertoire, but not enough for the gross amount of time we had to rehearse. goodness gracious.

I made several friends there, and one of the things I love about these international events is all the language stuff you can pick up. Being in America isolates most of us from experiencing any other cultures or languages and so being surrounded by these things is one of the most amazing experiences ever. And you pick things up. WooT!!! I learned some some spanish from principal clarinet (Ester) , second bassoon (Marcella), and second clarinet (Solenesky) who were all fluent. Some dutch that I can't remember from dear Kimberley (flute), turkish from Beyhan (violin), and made an ass of myself trying to speak German with one of our viola players, Paula. :D She was really nice about it though, and it got better!

well, it was fun. I'll put fun pictures up when my peeps post them on facebook.

Until then, ciao!

this is me and Ester, from Venezuela. She's an awesome person and clarinetist. <3

away from school

2009-07-11T00:14:00.000-07:00

So I'm on summer break and it's great. I'm back home now and have one student.

I am taking a lesson with Benjamin Kamins this Monday- it should be interesting.

For this past month while Valentin was in Bulgaria, I've been studying with Ryan Simmons, Curtis graduate and the Second Bassoonist of the San Diego Symphony. He's a really great teacher. He had me working on the Bach Suites. We didn't make it past the first one before he stopped me at Minnuetto II and asked me to play it more sadly. I tried to concentrate the way he was telling me and focus all of my sadness into the instrument... but alas I had no idea what to do- esp. on the spot and burst out laughing.

yes there I was trying to play this beautiful sad song and all I could do was cackle. It was appalling.

On the flip side, I have been fortunate enough to have experienced very little sadness in my life, and what little I have experienced did not want to come out as music... more like sniffling sobbing. Not something you pay to hear (unless you're very sick...)

So Ryan set me on slow 'sad' etudes. Back breakingly slow.

The etude I'm working on for Ben Kamins is #20 Milde Concert Studies. It starts off slow, but it's enough of a technical etude to tax me in that direction too.

Just when I thought I had gotten everything to work just fine for this etude, Valentin comes back from Bulgaria and I go to the lesson. He makes me think about this etude very differently and I suddenly couldn't play it. It was totally weird. He gave me some musical pointers, and made sense of the etude's structure.. ideas which I might be able to back with my Eastman theory... but am not going to.

So my goal is to come back with this etude and be able to play it cold. Under any circumstances. Even if it turns out that the cat has rabies and is chewing my toes off.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tUGIDZfCNX4&NR=1

I am positively addicted to Phillipe Jaroussky- he has the most amazing voice.

--ahh back tracking--

ok this is random but I bring it up because of my previous comment about the cat having rabies (and it's late...)

My sister saw this little ditty online posted on facebook by a friend and we both love it sooo much! It comes from our cold heartless british background. haha

Hushabye baby,

hush quite a lot,

bad babies get rabies

and have to be shot.

Anyone who shares in my distaste for noisy children will appreciate this bit of frigid nonsensicality.

So the parents were in Switzerland for the last week and have returned. It's nice they're here, but I wish they would stop being sooo... how do

we say... parenty?

They're here to offer guidance over every single little thing that you've done a thousand times without them knowing, but since they're there they might as well interject some helpful advice just in case you could figure it out for yourself.

yes sarcasm is the refuge of losers... and I'm happy to be hiding there. Because when I do something stupid and immature it's usually delibe

rate and there's no use in hiding it. Making it painfully obvious... it adds flavor.

Lesson tomorrow. Yay. Valio is going tell me what I'm doing wrong with my reeds and help me not to be so "sloppy" I hope. Though that reference was to their basic construction last time.. so hopefully these blanks won't be so bad. ahhh :/

I'm going to put a new poll on the bottom of this blog... this one shall read;

Is it lame to keep a blog you started in highschool through college, and beyond?

Yes/No

Don't forget to check the bottom of this blog to poll Your answer!!!

ok. now it's really late.

A quick shout out to Andre, Tabs, Daniel, Lynnann, Carl, Seth Man, Hillary, Brettt, and Lukeyloo. I miss you.

(ps. Congrats to Hills on the competition :D)

I like this photo emmy took at mission bay... I look super emo but it's also kinda artsy. :D

2009-06-13T01:50:00.000-07:00

so, in case anyone didn't already know this (because I know I don't put it on my blog that much) I am in fact a Calvinist. Shocking I know especially if you've payed attention in your history classes. Yes most of them were killed off, but their theology survived and it is to this theology that I subscribe. If you don't know what Calvinism is, a similar religion is Puritanism. One of the more popular beliefs of the early American pilgrims.
Anyways, my pastor of the URC (United Reformed Church) that I attend has this fantastic website;
http://www.sermonaudio.com/source_detail.asp?sourceid=oceansideurc

check it out if you too are a Calvinist or just curious to see how this bizarre, antiquated religion managed to survived the many many years, near extinction of it's subscribers and the great onslaught of modern enlightenment. :D

Here's a random page on Calvin from wiki- I think it's pretty accurate, but didn't spend extensive research time on it;
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Calvin

ps.
Happy 500th Birthday Calvin!!!

My dad has this really amazing reformed blog where you can ask any question you like, it's called the Heidelblog
and you should check it out- it is pretty deep.

summer break

2009-05-29T20:09:00.000-07:00

Well I'm back for the summer, and loving being home. The lack of stress here is very refreshing.

I'm hoping I can start teaching again, and spend this time really focusing on playing my instrument.

Goals for summer;

practice

get job

study german

study piano

eat right

figure out reeds

get fit (a six-pack would be nice too)

We'll see how much I get done. Every new experience is a chance to learn and grow. Hopefully that's what this summer will be.

time to practice! :D

jury week

2009-04-25T20:32:00.000-07:00

Eastman

Wind

Orchestra

pre-rehearsal goofiness. ;)

so, it's this was jury week.. which means No Classes!!!!! YEAH!!!!!!

This week was fantastic. I feel so much better having been active and interested in life again. lol but seriously, I think the strain of all the work we have

to do was slowly eating me. So much so that I feel like a different person now. I'm visibly healthier, mentally happier, and the weather is fantastic. I've been using that word a lot recently, fantastic that is, because everything has just been fantastic. FANTASTIC!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

And it's all because of the way we kicked off jury week, (we being my small bible study and I) which was to go watch movies at Luke's Apt. till all hours, and then dance to loud stereo music. haha The neighbors probably hate us!

So we did that again the next night, minus the dancing but we stayed up talking till all hours.

The next day I went over to Luke's apt. whilst he cleaned and vacuumed and I half-heartedly did german homework.... always german homework. He mentioned that he was subletting the apartment for the summer and I made a poster for him with the pages program on my mac. That was exciting.

That evening, Tabitha, Seth, Luke and myself went to an awesome Mediterranean restaurant called Sinbad's. It was good. yum yum. Then we got a movie from Block Buster and watched that in Luke's Apt.

The next morning I was actually more productive than the rest of my week combined (except today) because I organized my week, cleaned my desk (mostly), fixed my printer, printed luke's apt. advertisement, made copies of it and posted them in the dorms and school, finished the german homework that I half-heartedly done the previous day, showered, napped (because 7:30 is just too darned early and 2:30 am is way too late) had an aural skills coaching, and ran to the beach with Tabs (Tabitha), Luke and Lynnann. We ate Chinese food, took lots of silly pictures, declared vehemently how cold the water was on such a warm day! (82 deezgreez) I hit the swings with luke while the girls chatted (they're so grown up...) then we hit the pier, which is where the real excitement happened.

So we're walking down the pier which is about a half mile long and on the way we meet this fisherman who had some serious attitude. The reason we met him is because we saw a fish on the pier that we assumed had jumped up by mistake and couldn't get back into the water. We were wrong. The fisherman yelled at us to leave it alone and just let it die because it was not an indigenous species to the area. It was some type of goby from the Mediterranean, and it's because of some Russian ship that accidently picked up these fish in some part of it's hold that these fish even exist in Lake Ontario. They're breeding faster than rabbits and eating all the microbey thingys in the water (not sure if it's plankton or algae), which is causing the rest of the fish to die off.

So I confront the fisherman and ask him if we can put the poor dying fish out of it's misery instead of just letting it drown in the air, since he wouldn't let us throw it back in. He asked why I cared and I told him it had to do with my philosophy behind being a vegetarian (and bizarrely humane...) and that it bothered me to see it just dying like that. Instead of doing something about the fish he avoids it and asks if I smoked. I told him no and he then informed me that they make a part of cigarettes out of animal fat. I asked him again whether or not he could do something about the fish... well no he'd rather just try to make a hypocrite of me instead of doing something about the situation at hand. Oh people.

So we're still on the pier, we walk to the end of it and it starts to rain. So we head back. In passing the crazy fisherman we hear him yelling violently at everyone to "GET DOWN!!! THERE'S A STORM COMING!!! THERE'S LIGHTING AND IT'S GOING TO STRIKE!!! GET DOWN IF YOU DON'T WANT TO DIE!!!!!" And that is when I noticed peoples' hairs standing strait up in the air (or maybe luke noticed first- our stories differ on that point)... my hair is about 3 feet long and there were strands standing strait up, just because of all the electricity in the air... wow. So we're laying on the ground, just chillin waiting for the fisherman to stop yelling and to give us the all clear. The guy himself was scarier than the prospect of being struck by lightning... yeah...

AND then it rains. Not little cute droplets like in CA, but really rains. Huge massive droplets which were surprisingly warm. That's when we all made that half mile dash for the shoreline. Obviously we survived, but the fun thing was the fact that our hairs were still sticking up even though it was raining! lol

Then we had dinner at Lynnann's watched The Soloist in theaters and went to bed.

Today I got up called my parents, did some other things I don't remember doing, and hit the practice rooms. I was there for many many hours, not practicing (tho that did happen) but practicing aural skill material for the upcoming final. Aggghhh!!! So that evening I make plans to take Tab's car with Luke to Wegmans and get a money order for the insurance policy on my broken blender (the same one from Thanksgiving- procrastination is my middle name..) but that snowballed into dinner at a couple's apartment with some other friends from church and then a game of some sort. Wegmans had actually closed their money order section of the store six minutes before I got there so I ended up not getting that done. Came back and studied aural skillz, contemplated my crazy crazy week and then admired the wet though perfumed air of the outdoors as I also admired the source of the perfume, which was a great tree covered with thousands of beautiful white blossoms. The weather is absolutely awesome and peachy right now. I don't want it to ever end. I want to be perpetually stuck in my 19th year with Luke and Tabs and Lynnann and Seth and Hillary with this wonderful weather and the flowers, studying music and having the most ridiculous amounts of fun during our free time.

Tomorrow is church. Reality check. lol

This was an awesome break. Now time to rock the 5 formidable tests I have this week. Esp. the aural finals. But hopefully also the piano ones and the german one.

I'm not taking german next year. It is really really Really time consuming and I already have 23 hours of french I've taken extra curricularly at Palomar College. Those credits better transfer. lol But this year of german has been really good for me. Now I can actually understand most of what my Austrian friend Lorenz (from SDYS Musicamp) writes to me on skype. :)

Ok, I just got texted by Luke to go to bed.. I don't know how he knew I was still up. lol

I must obey- I'll be back after hell week has come and gone. :)

peace out.

this is Tabs, me and Lynnann from left to right- Luke is taking the pic

2009-04-18T23:33:00.000-07:00

So it's Saturday night and I should go to bed, but I delved into the Nutella- since I don't have any actual food in my room. Eating chocolate before bed is a bad idea. I'm wide awake, and exhausted. My parents are probably groaning as they read this. Let's not talk about that... lol

So finals are coming up. Again. More importantly however is jury week. This Tuesday I will have to perform for a group of judges who will decide weather or not I have a future at this school.

I'll be fine if I don't freak out the way I did at studio class today. That was scary...

That incident was a combination of pent up everything, stress, fatigue, poor diet, poorer exercising, in-practice, the reed (which was awesome just a few days ago), lack of electrolytes and this wicked adrenaline rush that left me shaking beyond control. It was so intense.

But after I calmed down again it was better. I need to play for more people.

So, I spent about 12 hours on this thing here at Eastman we call a Listening Module.

You listen so some pieces and write in prose a series of theoretical observations and then elaborate on them and how they affect the piece as a whole. You also try to give your ideas on the what music means and how it effected you. (yes affect and effect- am I using them correctly?) So I spend every available free minute on this listening module, and complete it the day before it's due. Wow how diligent am I? It only made me sacrifice much valuable practice time, added much undue stress, and prevented me from thinking about anything else. Well at least it was done on time right? Wrong. The day it's due we all hear from the head honcho of the theory dept. that there has been an extension on the due date of this listening module because it is unreasonable to ask for this assignment right before juries. Un huh. Too bad I already spent my jury practicing time on this bleeping module. 12 hours? What could you do with that time? Yet another example of the smooth function of the great cogs running this well oiled clock that we benefit from. No no, I'm not complaining. How could I possibly hold faculty up to the demands that they place on us, the underling students?

German is tough, but you know what's tougher? MUSIC THEORY!!! oh wait.. I meant to say English... lol... whoops....

I feel really bad for those who didn't grow up with English as a native language, because it is a series of broken rules, exceptions, irregular verbs and run-on clauses. (oh wait, that's my blog... lolz)

I heard our native german teacher say an english phrase in which she made what should have been an adjective, an adverb. And why not? It was seemingly modifying the verb... except it wasn't really. It was the weirdest thing, because when you try to figure out why it's wrong, it's hard to explain.

It appears to be modifying the verb. So if I said; "That sweater goes nicely with those pants." That would be a grammatically correct statement. However, if I said "That sweater looks nicely with those pants." That would be wrong... how

do you explain to someone on the spot why that was wrong? :D

It boils down to how the verb functions in the sentence.

I think we can say without a shadow of a doubt that "goes nicely" is correct. The adverb modifies the verb (in this case) and the knee joint connects to the hip joint and so on.

However, does the adverb "nicely" really want to modify the verb "looks?"

Well let's see, if your sweater had eyes and was in the habit of looking at things, it would be ok to say that it "looks nicely " however if you want to say that the sweater itself is nice in appearance, then you would say "That sweater looks nice with those pants."

The word "looks" is not what you are trying to modify, you are in fact trying to modify "sweater." This is why you need an adjective (which modifies nouns or pronouns) instead an adverb (which modifies verbs, adjectives or other adverbs)

These two sentences "goes nicely" and "looks nice" both mean (virtually) the same thing.

Grammar grammar... tisk tisk

You'd think I'd have more to say about the bassoon at this point...

I hate reeds.

Beyond that, just pray that I totally trash (in an awesome way) my jury and kick butt on these finals.

The Nutella is slowly wearing off and there are an increasing amount of typos in my writing...

Church is tomorrow and every new day brings a new adventure.

Getting up and being on time are adventure enough for me. One day I'll figure out how to do it. :p

Can't wait to see CA again and my fabulously family.

yes. just to bug you.

This is my Quintet at Eastman which never actually got a name, thought I pushed for Quordal 5th, it never stuck. This is our end of the year concert, we played the Nielson Quintet- huge bassoon solo. :D

2009-02-27T13:01:00.000-08:00

ok, the weather here is absolutely out of control here! We go from strong (and I mean very strong) winds to cool, sunny, calm weather almost over night. Yesterday it was sunny and windy, today it is really really windy overcast and raining. Tomorrow it will snow. Oh yes. The the blizzard conditions will return.Life is so crazy here. I am getting what is known as the Eastman plague. It's an actual bacteria/virus that makes people really sick here, but not enough to keep them from infecting those who don't have it. (STAY HOME YOU SICK PEOPLE AND STOP BREATHING ON ME!!!!!)

Now it's audition season, and all the little auditionees are here... it was cute at first but now it bugs me. (ps. I'm in a very foul mood right now)

I just got out of the most harrowing german exam ever. EVER.

But back to auditionees, it's sort of a joke amongst those of us who have actually made it to the other side of the audition process, and we like to freak out the visitors. hehehehe }:D

There was one story of an upperclassmen who was literally pointing to certain auditionees and saying very loudly "NOPE.... well MAYBE" "Definitely NO" "YES, YES OH OH YES!!!"

lolz I love it.

I just got out of a really depressing orchestra rehearsal, and as I was walking back to the dorms there were a group of auditionees standing in a circle around some tour guide asking questions. Just as I was just shuffling past them in my moody glory, some girl asked "What's the food like here?"

I couldn't help myself- I laughed very loudly and sardonically. I was greeted by the sound of uncomfortable silence behind me as people processed the connection between the laugh and the question.

It was pure gold.

quick disclaimer; the food can be really good here. it really depends on who's cooking (and when it's time to renew a contract... yes again being a rain cloud)

Good news is that now I can go to my bible study since classes are over for the week, I'll make dinner with Ms. Judd and it will be awesome. The next day I'll have another very depressing rehearsal, go to the pastors bday party, and then the Winter Dance. In fact I need to go get the appropriate clothes from my very awesome Bible Study friend Tabitha, so gotta run.

love and peace (which admittedly have no part in this particular post)

Here at Pastor's house we're having Bible study. Present is the good Darcy, Seth, Mary queen of food on face, Tabs and my knees under the grey blanket. It is Cold at pastor's house!

2009-01-12T10:58:00.000-08:00

Well it's been a fabulous Christmas break- I missed my friends at Eastman terribly but I'm going to be missing San Diego even more when I get there.

I'm waiting for my flight in the SD airport (got about a half hour)

Just so you know, the weather is incredible. It just took a turn for the better. It is completely sunny and the Santa Anna winds (local term for desert breezes) are making it warm, dry but totally comfortable. The sun is just awesome. haha

I am not looking forward to leaving. I would like to spend my whole life in this place.

Over break I got to go to the beach twice, Coronado island and Carlsbad right off the Pacific Coast Highway. I actually tanned and feel so much healthier than when I was scraping by in Rochester on 6 or fewer hours of sleep.

ok, well peeps are boarding...

2008-12-22T14:05:00.000-08:00

I'm home! YaY!!!

You have no idea how good you have it until you leave.

On the other hand- I'm going crazy here.

I attempted the impossible today- aka cleaning the house. I didn't even vacuum the floor I just did the heavy lifting stuff. Lysol will have to wait till later today- if I can find any here. haha

But it's the messes that you don't notice until you leave that I'm talking about. Now I'm back and I notice. That added onto the fact that I have become the most incredible neat freak. Everything in my dorm is kept clean. Or will be cleaned as soon as I get the chance to clean it. I have a lysol canister the size of a bread box sitting on the shelf that I offer morning and evening sacrifices to...

Also, I think I'm getting sick. Again.

I don't know why- but I always feel rundown. Well, not always but recently I have and I don't know why.

So I'll be making recordings and getting a drivers license with photo ID instead of the piece of paper with scrawl on it. Yes, loosing a wallet (or having it stolen) is not cool.

The recordings are for summer festivals. It will be fun. I have the tools to do them all by myself now- which is so exciting. I also have time to practice! It's a miracle.

Having time to myself means that I can teach myself how to sing parts, sleep, learn about Organ stuff, see people I never see anymore, and eat rea

l food. Yum!

SD is amazing. Can't wait for the rain to stop so we can go dooooo things!

Mom and I put up the Xmas lights! :D

2008-12-19T19:05:00.000-08:00

Sooo, I'm in the airport. On hold for the 44th minute. Trying to track my baggage.

The airport has been really trying today. I started this day at 11:30pm eastern time and should (if all goes well from here) at 9pm something pacific time. And I'm doing this amazing 25 hour day on 4 hours sleep. Yes I am amazing.

First, on the flight from Rochester, NY they put too much fuel in the jet- so that it was too heavy and 9 people had to exit the plane. =Delay

Then the flight to Detroit the pilot was late. No biggie, they found a new crew. But a new problem arises- something again with the weight of the plane and people who didn't board the plane right away had to find a different flight. Tant pis pour ils. Except I was one of ils. lol

Ok so now I go to Pheonix. But that somehow gets delayed for 2 hours as we wait forever to board and then drive in circles for an hour. Long story short, I miss my connection to San Diego.

So here I am waiting for my 9pm flight in Arizona and they decide that I look like I should be searched. You know those bassoonists with their suspicious back backs that make menacing ticking noises as their uber sensitive dr. beat buttons get pushed.

ok, so now I'm sitting here waiting for my flight and trying to trace my baggage. 58 minutes on the phone has revealed that i must fill a baggage claim to find my bag which I must do pronto. So that is my day of not-heavenliness. lol

ok- time to fill a claim.

college

2008-11-14T13:22:00.000-08:00

this place is crazy.

I feel like I've been dumped into a blender with everyone else for some sort of experimental blended drink.

People are strange here too. I usually don't have a problem with other people- it's they that have a problem with me. So either it means I'm weird or they are. -I'm going to err on the safe side and say they are... ;P lol

There's been no blogging for a long time because life is so busy here. Have I complained about my 21 credits yet? hehe

I've never gotten so little sleep in my life. My joints sound like cement mixers and still the homework does not always get completed! I'm supposed to be resting before my concert tonight, but instead I'm blogging. Bad life decision #1.

Not getting enough sleep really impairs your concentration as well. I have a hard time remembering things, but that might have less to do with lack of sleep than I would like to admit.

We have to enroll for classes this week, and I'

m debating Organ and/or French.

I've already taken so much French, this would be to keep from losing it. However Organ would be really cool. On the other hand I cannot coordinate two hands in different clefs to save my life- let alone two hands and two feet. However- I've been told that people worse off than myself can do it, so I might just give it a try.

Anyways, I miss home and feel almost like a completely different person here.

Lastly, I just heard about Mr. J. back home- we'll be praying for you man. We love you.

gotta sleep before the concert, so peace out.

Eastman Lower Rotation Orchestra. I'm sitting Second Bassoon- between 1st and contra. :)

2008-10-09T17:29:00.000-07:00

My first Music Theory teacher, Dr. Weller, told me once that "most of the stuff you learn at college does not happen in the class room." lol It's so true. It's like an intensive "how to grow up" experience that just costs way too much. ;)

But yeah, the thing about work, esp. entering a professional field, is not about how perfect you are, but how hard you try and the attitude you bring to it. The truth is; however hard you try, you're going to mess up. That's the most important thing to keep in mind. How much you mess up however should change as you continue to work in your field. And as you keep in mind that you will always mess up, that should motiva

te you to practice so as to minimize your number and severity of mistakes. You can never be perfect.

That's just how life is, with time constantly marching on. It's completely up to you how you deal with every new situation. All you know is that you need enough money to survive and to be happy. To have money, you must work. To have work, you must be kept employed. To be kept employed you must constantly (as an entertainer) satisfy your employer. To satisfy your employer you must give 100%.

On the other side, to be happy you must enjoy your work. To enjoy your work you must love it and have a positive attitude. Because, if you do it without caring, it won't make you happy and chances are it won't be so good. Doing a poor job is never satisfying and doesn't make you happy. If you do it because you want to do we

ll (keep your job, and be happy with your work), you will learn to love it, and in loving it you will give 100%.

So that's why it's ok to make mistakes, because they will never disappear but as long as you give 100% those mistakes will slowly be les

s obvious.

I know I'm not being as clear as I need to be, but I'll come back someday and edit this page so that I can be happy. ;)

This is my bible study on our camping trip over fall break. It was so much fun! -the bugs and germs.

from left to right

Seth, me, Brett, Andre, Luke, and Tabitha- all sitting on a log next to the play ground

2008-09-24T02:00:00.000-07:00

Well life has been really busy here in Rochester, NY.

I finally have a little time to myself because I am quite sick with a cold and fever. I'm going to the nurse tomorrow to see if I have strep- and get proper documentation that I am indeed sick so that I don't get marked down in classes for not showing up without a reason. It's a pain, but it's just one more of the many circus hoops to jump through before anything can happen.

Before that I managed to lose my wallet- so AAA card, medical insurance, drivers license, debit card, bank account card, pictures and substantial amount of cash were either left someplace by me, or taken from me while I was not paying attention. :( It's kind of ghetto here, just one block down and the entire neighbor hood changes. I have reordered the d

rivers license and have a new bank account and thank goodness no one was able to use my debit card but until then I will be sticking to the campus since I am broke without plastic. lol

Blah, away from the humdrum and awful

I am really exited about the German class I am taking right now- which I believe bumps me up to 21 credits this semester. haha

Why is she taking German? -you ask

To go to Frieburg. -she responds

What's so hot about Frieburg? -you ask

The conservatory. -she responds

Yes, in two years I hope to be a student at the Frieburg Conservatory in Germany. I know I've talked about going to France to get a better understanding of the language and study at their conservatories, but it just isn't the best place for studying bassoon- unless I want to switch to French basson (yes basson) instead of staying with the German model, which is what pretty much everyone uses outside of France.

But here at Eastman, though it feels like there is never time to practice- they do manage to keep you inspired. Here's a clip that I find incredibly impressive and was shown to us at Eastman Colloquium (yet another class)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K7PTeoDDZNA&feature=related

In Aural Skill class I have discovered that I have a pretty low voice- like I can sing lower than an alto... ha ha? Whatever- I think Philippe here is smoking hot.

I miss San Diego just a bit, and can't wait to go back. The weather here hasn't been too bad, but SD weather always always kicks butt. It just doesn't get much better.

The lessons with Mr. Hunt are very interesting- we

go kinda nerdy about the bassoon at lessons. He is very good about finding my problems, pointing them out, and then telling me what I need to do to fix them. The scale study he makes us do is brutal. If there are any problems with your playing, this scale study will make them obvious. I really need to work on two things, pitch and rhythm. lol, rhythm esp.

The last lesson his comments on the etude were more stylistic than anything else so I think maybe that is a good thing. But he is a strong advocate of long tones, and I hate long tones. So I will be doing long tones. They're just really tough. You have to keep the air consistent and really pay attention to how the reed, embouchure, support, and throat combine to make sound with good tone and intonation. Btw, tone and intonation are Not the same thing. You should never sacrifice one for the other. If you do it right you shou

ld go for tone before intonation, because having good tone should cause you to have good intonation.

I never realized how important it is for college students to talk with their friends and family still living at home- you can go a little crazy at college and forget about really basic stuff like eating properly and sleeping properly and a hundred other little things that just add up. The problem is just that there is never enough time to do everything. So the things that go usually have something to do with personal comfort. Do not worry! I shower everyday and that will not change. But also you can pick up some pretty unhealth

y mentalities when you're under so much stress- so that's why it's really important to talk to peeps who still have their head screwed on properly. lol

Another thing about Eastman is that there isn't much hand holding that happens here. They just expect you to know it and do it. bang. You're at Eastman, so be perfect. Nnnnow! LOL but soo true. So far I haven't fallen into any of the normal holes students fall into, but I did miss a lesson because I scheduled it for the same time as the German class I was taking. Yeah I know, smooth move. Then I slept through reed class and y

esterday I couldn't make it to Master Class because I am sick. Or any of my other classes for that matter. I still don't think I will go to classes today, because even though I am not currently running a fever, my tonsils are pretty bad. I don't want to share this newfound joy with anyone else. Also, I'm pretty sure that I got this cold from a moron who went to class when they shouldn't have and was coughing their head off behind me. I'm sorry, I tried not to breathe but that just did last for very long...

If you're going to class sick (with a cough like that) please turn to a direction where no one is sitting before you cough and if you could, cough into a jacket or your shirt, that would be terrific.

One last thing, I no longer have a dorm mate. We had our

differences and decided to get separate rooms. I think we are both happier people now. And she moved out just in time, I got sick the next day. haha

My lil sis likes to joke that I drove her away, so now I am the girl who made her Kindergarten teacher cry and drove away her dorm mate. LOL I love it!

Well, can't say when my next post will be- but it will be. So there. :D

Guten Nacht!

Katarina

Eastman Quintet!

# 41 -Musicamp, leaving, Eastman

2008-08-17T22:04:00.000-07:00

SDYS Rotary International Musicamp at our first concert

At the Farewell Party

Those crazy Austrian boys... LOL just kidding Lorenz!

Roberto and I

Don't ask me! Que pasa?!

Wilfredo, me, Roberto

Hola...?

Well, it's been a fun few weeks with the International Youth Symphony. The people you meet there are some of the best people ever. Mr. Edmons is always making speeches about how the musicamp is wonderful/life changing experience/fantastic/etc. and though haven't the patience to listen then, you realize latter that what he was saying was so true. This group of students has become like family to me. We're all going to stay in contact and are even planning a new performing escapade. :D (shhhh, it's under wraps. ;)But the great thing about being international is that we all come from so many

different cultures that we end up creating our own unique culture in which we all fit perfectly. We're also a really tight orchestra and though we had to spend 2 weeks to play Beethoven and Mozart -it was after the first week and a half that we really started to gel -and I think we could have played anything after that point. :) just my opinion.

But yeah, these peeps are awesome and I will miss them like crazy.

1st Clarinet Martin and I

Both Martin and I agree that we make a good team :) btw, Martin is awesome to work with.

The Venezuelan String Quartet

from left to right;

Wilfredo (violin), Roberto (cello), Omar (viola), Jairo (violin)

Wilfredo looks like Jim Carry *haha*

Looking a little more formal... ;p

Wilfredo, Jairo, Omar, and Roberto

On break

Christoph, Lorenz, Magdalena, Marjan, Kimberley, Marie-Luise, Nicole

Warming up before the concert

yes that's me on the ledge- practicing that devilish solo from beethoven 4. haha

red hair on left is Andrea, the Bassist is Henry, and the crazy Frenchman Gaeton is on the right. ;)

It's kinda sad, these people mean so much to me and now we must leave. Thank goodness for the internet! Otherwise I don't know how I would cope!

Wilfredo and I

And of course the reason I'm still doing orchestra;

Valentin Martchev, my awesome teacher, who is constantly an inspiration and the person I want to be just like when I grow up. Outside of my parents, he is the one person who has had more influence on my life than any other. I can't thank him for all the lessons he has taught me over the past 5 1/2 years, not just in music, but life lessons and how he always made an example that I wanted to emulate. He is my hero, the best musician ever, and the best person in the world.

Away from my bassooning life, my best friends Stephy and Leah are heading off to college this week too. It's not quite as sad because we will see each other for sure many times yet to come but still a little sad.

When we were little we all swore to go to college together, which we kept since we all attended the community college together during highschool -but real college has finally come and hilariously enough we are all moving to the four corners of the USA; WA, NY, GA, and CA.

Stephy and I (at my grad party)

Emmy and Leah (Coronado)

I am leaving for Eastman and NY soon, but until then I intend to enjoy the SoCal weather if possible. It's all packing and cleaning over here so I won't get out of the house much. :(

I'll probably be the most ridiculously prepared person in the world by the time I finally leave. ;p

peace!

Universal Studios (splash zone!)

#40

2008-08-02T23:27:00.000-07:00

Sooo, it's been an incredible summer so far- I'm always learning new things and learning how to act when in new situations. I'm kind of a nerd, so social interaction is still something I have to work at, but it is getting better. I'm seeing people outside of the work environment and learning how to fit in with this crowd (I know, it's hard to believe!)

I've already been to 5 parties this

summer! 2 grad parties, 2 birthdays, and 1 orchestra party.

(picture stolen from Nicole's blog, thanks Nicole!)

SDYS International Musicamp - Pool Party

Currently I'm doing the SDYS International Musicamp which is awesome. I'm sitting with one of my bassoon friends of two years ago (Banri) and a Clarinet (Martin) from Bulgaria, the same country that my teacher comes from. I'm learning bits and pieces of Bulgarian, and it's a fun language! Very challenging, especially since it requires you to make noises not found in English. :p

Zdravei! Means hello in Bulgarian, better yet there is "Costa!" Means "Wassup?" in Bulgarian :D

It's very fun hanging with all the international students, we come from so many different cultures that when we hang together, the common language is laughter and music. You can't tell what he's saying, but between the hand gestures and the facial expression/pigeon english (not always) we can usually understand each other. Musical ideas are another thing entirely. You don't need to speak any language to express those ideas. Everyone gets it. It's great how we try to verbalize our musical ideas and everyone is mystified, until you pick up the instrument and demonstrate- the comprehension is instantaneous and ridiculously gratifying! haha

We have a Venezuelan group of boys who play in the orchestra and in their own string quartet- they are very young, talented, and romantic. That's mostly because they are Venezuelan and hugging/kissing is totally a cultural norm. I was even told by one that he loved me. Too bad he's only 15. ;p LOL

They are going to teach us to Salsa before they leave, which is very exciting for me since I recently became infatuated with the idea of dance! It's so exciting and passionate yet controlled that you can get goose bumps just from watching it! :D

As for the music, we are performing, it is Beethoven 4th Symphony and Mozart 35th Symphony- both are big pieces for double tonguing.

Double tonguing is a special technique where the wind player has to tongue the reed/mouthpiece with the tip of the tongue and then quickly chop the air flow with the mid section of the tongue to give the illusion of tonguing. It works and is the only way to play Beethoven 4 which has a crazy hard/fast solo for bassoon- the strings disappear and suddenly the Bassoon is busting mad double tonguing with the spotlight fixed upon them! It's that bad. Everyone pray for me. I need it!

That's the hard technical part, the other hardest part is the intro to Beethoven 4, it's deathly quiet while the woodwinds play a series of chords where intonation is perilous.

It's laaate, so until next time! Caio!

(here's a picture of us right after rehearsal is finished. As you can see the bassoons are always the last to leave because it takes 7 minutes to properly clean the instrument. I'm the one with brown hair half covering my face, and Banri, bassoon is on the right. I'm talking with Martin at the moment. That dude is hilarious!)

(Omar is the Venezuelan guy putting his viola away, and the bassist on the right in Henry) For those of you still interested in the musicamp and it's happening- please visit Nicole's blog you can find it by going to the comments section and clicking on the blue stuff by her picture, it will take you to her blogger profile, then scroll down and it will have another link blue that says something like "the Turners" and that will take you her blog which features even more pix and a video in which Wilfredo stars on cello (he plays violin) and features his brother Omar on the left. I show up in as much as I appear on the right and so does Andy.

#39 la nature est belle

2008-06-06T09:18:00.000-07:00

I know this is a lame topic to blog over, but the realization of the biggest difference between SoCal and the Midwest just hit me!

When I first moved to SoCal about 11 years ago, I used to get up early in the mornings because it was cool and I could play outside before starting school. (Also there was this really cool palm tree that had hundreds of those little round seed pods that were so much fun to play with! - haha, they make great ammunition! lol)

But whenever I got up in the morning, especially my first few weeks of living in SoCal, there was a particular smell that I had never noticed before in any of the other places I had lived before, and that was always the air. Anymore I take it for granted, but after having gone to the east coast for auditions just recently, I found that I really missed the SoCal smell. The smell isn't just the air, it's really the smell of plants and flowers- mostly because there is so much plant life here in comparison to similar suburban settings in the midwest or east coast.

I think I'm going to turn my dorm room into a hothouse and bring a few lizards. jk

Yes the difference is not only the weather, but the plants. Especially the plants.

I am totally into plants and nature, I can see a spider 1 mm in size from 5 feet away and can usually identify them as toxic vs. nontoxic,

our hibiscus is so awesome,

I love our lizards (wild),

our bird nests with their chicks (wild),

our apricot tree which has the best apricots,

our cute rabid rat (wild),

our snails (wild, which we paint neon colors with nail polish),

our fuzzy caterpillars,

our bumble bees,

dragon flies,

heavily scented jasmine bush,

butterflies,

not so keen on the ravens but whatever.

The smell of plants and flowers is definitely an opium of sorts as far as I am concerned. I am an addict.

This is the view from my house, just this afternoon. Actually, though the palm trees give an incredibly tropical feel, they are not indigenous to SoCal, or so I've heard. People have said that SoCal is more of a desert than anything else, tropical plants just do really well here.

What about the bassoon? Hmm, well since we're on the topic of air, the air is usually just perfect here for reeds. I love to practice with the window open- and it keeps the neighbors' dog from yapping too much- for whatever reason. :D

Catch ya next time!

#38

2008-05-29T22:31:00.000-07:00

Ok, so it's been a while since I did any blogging... but there's a good reason for it! I've discovered Facebook! I am insatiably addicted. Completely and utterly so. It's where I found this funny little clip;http://carmina.ytmnd.com/

It's the lyrics for Carmina Burana... lol

This is the piece that first convinced me to play timpani, I'm glad my mom said no. Though the instrument I chose is insane, I'm sure it will be worth the effort once I master it. The bassoon is an incredibly challenging instrument which is constantly requiring some sort of fine tuning whether it be reeds, fingerings, keys, and a hundred other little things that all need to come into balance for the thing to work. One hundred is an exaggeration of course, however it can feel pretty crazy at times.

Right now I'm trying to find a way to cope with the way the bassoon sits on my left index finger/palm joint. There is a vein right there that gets squished after hours of playing and starts to cut off circulation to my hand. I have to stop and shake my hand out every so often to get the blood flow back, until eventually the pain of the bassoon sitting on the joint becomes to great and I have to stop practicing all together.

The other part to the fine tuning that I'm dealing with right now is perfecting the capricious reed. They're never the same, and I keep reminding myself that whatever I have to deal with here is only going to get worse in Rochester. If I don't go insane it will be purely providential. I'm sure Mr. Hunt will know what to do.

I have two concerts coming up, for which I am very excited. One is with soloist Eugene Fodor (you have to see this guy- he talks while he plays!) who will be performing Lalo's Capriccio Espagnole. The other concert is Beethoven's 5th Symphony.

We recently played our last Trio concert at the Neurosciences Center which was a blast! Our Trio just has the most amazing dynamic that I've ever experienced in a small ensemble. From right to left we have Chloe; Jazz extraordinaire, Mark; Wiz kid, and Me; hmmm, sorry can't think of anything. :D lol

Ok the picture itself isn't great, but the memories associated with it are more precious than five really spectacular reeds.

Now I need to go to bed, so catch ya next time!

On dit que...

2008-05-13T14:56:00.000-07:00

On dit que l'amour est beaux,

C'est brilliant comme le soleil!

On dit que l'amour est douce,

et touts qui pass sont enchanté.

On dit que l'amour est fort,

coeurs sont son stabilité.

On dit que les coeurs sont faible,

pleine d'haine et passioné.

On dit que l'amour est fait

des coeurs qui sont amoureux,

L'heine se lutte contre l'amour

et tout qui passe est disgracieux.

This poem was an optional assignment for the French 215 class that my lil sis and took last semester. This week I will do the formal graduation from the French program offered at Palomar Community College. Thanks to my lovely professors Chantal Maher and Judith Fauconnier I have enjoyed all five semesters very much, and hope to go to France one day to see what all the fuss is about. ;p

Translation for those who speak English:

It is said that love is beautiful,

all shining like the sun.

It is said that love is sweet,

and witnesses are enchanted.

It is said that love is strong,

hearts are it's stability.

It is said that hearts are weak,

full of hate and impassioned.

It is said that love comes

from hearts in love.

Hate pits itself against love

and all that happens is unpleasant.

Yeah, it definitely sounds better in French! :D

Salut!

PS,

On joue du basson, en français.

#37 Eastman!

2008-05-09T11:10:00.000-07:00

Ok, I promised everyone I'd post all about the colleges- this is that post.

Eastman: Accepted

So that's what happened, and my school choice is Eastman. YaY!

Oh yeah, I was offered a free ride at Wyoming U, but I really feel that I belong in a conservatory so that's where I'm going.

Music is such a funny thing, the more you know, the more you don't know.

Anyways John Hunt, the bassoon professor at Eastman, is great. He actually called me and asked me if I had any questions about Eastman- how's that for nice? He's super tall (well everyone is tall standing next to me) and nice, and the first professor to say "It's important to have fun, you gotta have fun!" :D

It think this is going to be quite a year. My parents are certain that I am going to get my butt kicked at Eastman and I agree completely.

Well, I need to go participate in the activity called Life now so I'll catch y'all next time!

Free for All! -Discussion Board

2008-04-21T23:59:00.000-07:00

Ok, guess what? This post is all about You the reader!

If you have questions or comments on anything bassoon related please post it under "comments." Anyone is free to answer those questions, follow up on comments, post a link, or whatever! It's all good. :D

Have at it! And I hope it is a beneficial experience for everyone!

Oh yeah, and don't forget to cast your vote at the bottom of the page!

Best!

Katie

2008-04-15T11:17:00.000-07:00

Yes I'm a nerd, but I just love this cynical joke attributed to Neoclassical Economics!

"What are three things you should never believe?

1. The Cheque is in the mail.
2. Of course I'll respect you in the morning.
3. I'm from the government, and I'm here to help you."

So hilarious!

So the new developments are few but exciting, I got a new reed tip clipper from Rieger and it is GREAT! Absolutely no danger of cutting off your own fingers, completely consistent with every chop, every time! It's so much easier to use too! I had been using a fairly dull knife on top of my mandrel handle to chop the reeds and they were coming out uneven and my teacher was justly scandalized (jk.) but he did tell me I needed to change what I was doing, and the change was totally worth it! Now I have to bring my reeds to visit his lovely profiling machine. lol

Most of the conservatories have gotten back to me about my acceptance or lack thereof except for one but I still don't feel at liberty to divulge all the names of those conservatories yet. I will after I've finally made my decision.

So it looks like I may be getting another student, I got an email to which I have responded and am awaiting a response in return, so this could be fun. :D

Catch ya next time!
Katie

2008-04-02T00:29:00.000-07:00

Here is Ray Pizzi in action in his "Ode to a Toad" This is the song I played in San Francisco when I got the copper bassoon, but not quite. I played the Bulgarian version. lol

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jAd4aLg-lv8&NR=1

Haha, and I just found this one with Ray Pizzi live. At the very beginning he says "Now I would like to say you can dedicate this song to anyone you like- I call it Ode to a Toad"

LOL

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DJwV8FsrOYI

Here is the same thing only done with all bassoons and without Ray Pizzi. It's so totally reminiscent of toadiness!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aynSrgVHXfA

2008-03-29T22:52:00.000-07:00

Oh my goodness. I just found a clip on youtube of Milan Turkovic! One of the greatest bassoonists ever. My teacher is always talking about him and Claus Thunemann.

Here's the clip;

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3wNr_fmXtyY&NR=1

I'm going to have to search for Thunemann now! I'll put it up if I find it. :D

ok here it is;

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MFZaqszKAdg

1st movement of Mozart cello/bassoon duet;

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ylBxJx9g2Us&NR=1

2nd Mvmt;

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_WiVINepc98&feature=related

3rd;

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a3v4H5l_P30&feature=related

and I don't know this one;

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pdlshBhv7Iw&NR=1

but that's enough, you get the idea.

I love YouTube!

See ya next time!

Katie

comment linx

2008-03-29T10:39:00.000-07:00

I just saw that someone left a comment on one of my posts lol. So since the links he left didn't turn blue, I've reposted them here. Have fun!

http://www.youtube.com/jazzbassoonpaul

http://www.jazzbassoon.com

http://www.abstractlogix.com/xcart/product.php?productid=23463

LAst audition

2008-03-27T15:57:00.000-07:00

LA was AWESOME!

Check out the beautiful sunset!

All my friends and family have all made smart remarks like "nice smog" instead of appreciating that smog can be beautiful! Just look at those colors! *cough cough*

Anyway it's been a fun trip. Stopped at Chapman U. to check it out, it is one of the most beautiful campuses I've ever seen. Unfortunately I don't have a picture but it was just gorgeous! It had an impressive fountain and sculptures with well kept lawns and buildings that looked like roman temples! Highly cool :D

The next day at Colburn I auditioned, took a Music Theory test (yeah!) and wrote an essay. I got got to hang with my friend there and we had a great time. She was the student of both of my teachers; Tammy Harris, and Valentin Martchev.

On another note; that part of LA is so pretty! There are fountains everywhere and art and all the people are really nice. We stayed at the Omni hotel, and it was the best hotel you'll ever stay at. I shouldn't call it a hotel, it was more like a palace!

On a slightly nerdy note, did you know that the word Omni is derived from the Latin word "Omnia" which means "all"? It totally fits because this hotel is so comprehensive -it has it all!

Oh yeah, if you are going to Colburn, make sure to stop at the California Pizza Kitchen (right across the street), it's worth it.

Colburn is across from one of the coolest pieces of architecture in the world, Disney Hall.

Unfortunately I wasn't able to go to any concerts there, but maybe someday I will.

The bassoon lessons continue with my one and only student Jason. He's very talented but really doesn't have time to practice, which is sad. But since he is so talented he makes progress anyway. We worked on one of his ensemble pieces and reeds. Next time he will bring his own blanks and I will show him how to wrap them. I'm very proud of that kid.

I am still in limbo concerning conservatories, I've heard from some but not from others and it's just a matter of time now. :-/ When it's all said and done I will tell which ones said yes and which one's said no.

Until my next post! Chookas! (means "good luck"in Australia and is way cool!)

The Big #30

2008-03-12T22:25:00.000-07:00

I'm back from New York!

It's been a lovely trip with uneventful flights that braved the New York weather, and everything in-between.

First stop was Rochester, NY, where I auditioned for Eastman School of Music. Seen here is the center area over with the student housing.

It was a very good experience. It had just snowed 6 inches of snow the night before and was below freezing, but if you decide to go to a school it really shouldn't be based on the weather. So I tried to block out the weather from my decision. Later it snowed another 3 inches just to test my principals.

It was much better indoors. The bassoon professor, Dr. John Hunt was so much fun! He's really tall and has a great sense of humor. He had a lot of constructive advice as to my approach to the bassoon and making music. His pupils say he is "picky", but I say that "picky" is what makes a good professor. The reeds were so dry there that they became thin as paper, and Mr. Hunt had all kinds of solutions which were interesting.

Moving on to New York City, Manhattan, Mannes, and Juilliard.

I honestly don't know why they call it the big apple. Any clues? It's not red, or shiny, or round.

Anywho the sights were marvelous and slightly less cold. It got up to a high of 54 degrees and stayed decent while we were there. The funny thing was that the weather turned foul just after we left. lol!

I saw many things while I was there and I grew in my comprehension of music and how to approach it. It's interesting how much one's mentality can change about something with each new piece of information that one gleans.

Anyways, one thing we saw was the Twin Towers, or lack thereof. You can actually see the crater left behind by their absence.

That was depressing and so was Staten Island (if you have the chance, do not go there)

Slightly less depressing was the Statue of Liberty.

It is incredibly regal and breathtaking as she reaches for the sky with a torch that has meant so much hope to immigrants coming across the seas in the hope of becoming Americans.

It's really quite moving. It's the story of people who wanted freedom, a fair chance at success without handouts, and were willing to work as hard as it took to make it. I know that story definitely applied to my ancestors. I saw a museum on Ellis Island that demonstrated the horrible things that immigrants had to go through in order to enter the United States. It wasn't a quick trip across the Atlantic, it took forever! When they got there they were imprisoned, tested, poked, stripped of all human dignity and their clothes. And if that wasn't bad enough, not all of them were allowed to enter! They had to take that miserable trip back home for reasons of being "mentally retarded", "unhealthy", "poor" or "violent". A lot of these reasons were bogus, and based on unscientific/superstitious tests. I'm glad it's 2008.

Ahhh. America the melting pot. The place where those who sought freedom and a fair chance at success could go if they got past Ellis Island. My ancestors somehow managed to get across and even after the indignities that they underwent, wanted to assimilate to the American culture. They wanted it so badly that they did everything they could to learn English. If they hadn't I would speak: Swedish, Gaelic, French (I mean fluently), Dutch, and many other things- that is if those people had been willing to marry someone they couldn't communicate with. Come to think of it, I might not even exist if it were not for the melting-pot-ness of America, which would otherwise be rank with small divisions of people refusing to learn to communicate with each other. What confusion that would cause. Could a nation undergo such division?

Another amazing view was Grant's Tomb.

Outside:

Inside:

It was HUGE and I mean massive. There was an upstairs and a downstairs and the upstairs was a small museum. What you see is just the ceiling, everything is made of marble, and it is so quiet and imposing that it makes you stop for a minute to catch your breath.

It's interesting that a man who fought in such a controversial war ended up with such a big tomb. I mean the Civil war split the nation in half as far as politics go and yet this man, who was on the winning side, has the biggest tomb ever with the exception of the pyramids.

The thing about New York is that there are way too many people packed into a very small area. Good news is that you can go on foot to most places and take the subway to others. It is not a driving culture.
The streets are packed anyway so there isn't much incentive to drive. We only missed one of our engagements due to public transportation so overall it worked well as an experiment. The subway is a little complicated though. You need a map. And there is no cell phone reception under-ground, so if you need to contact somebody, it's dashed difficult-nigh impossible unless you come above ground.

Only one more audition to go!

#29

2008-02-19T11:11:00.000-08:00

So, you might have notice my fancy blog title. Yes I'm learning. Click on it for a pic I took in the plane. (btw. the legroom was actually quite good, I was just bored. :D)

So I'm back from San Francisco and what a trip it was!

I've been on more public transit than ever before.

Did you know that SF is a haven for pastries and other baked goods?

Everyone is super polite.

Too many people.

I love China Town!

Alcatraz has it's own swim team that "Swims for it's life"

Cable cars are too cold to ride.

Watch your step, or you might find yourself on a quick trip to the wrong end of town.

What idiot invented a machine that spews nickles? Give me quarters at least!!! you need 30 of the blasted things just to get a muni ticket. Can you imagine standing with a long line behind you as you carfully put 30 nickles into a tiny opening at the top of the gate?

SF is a place for everyone. The incredibly lazy to the filthy rich. There are so many different characters that I now question my own sanity.

SF looks better overcast, which is good because that's how it usually is.

A quick shout out to Angelito at the Hyatt hotel. Stay cool!

Colors everywhere.

If you get the chance, some of the best jewelry you will ever buy comes from the little stands on each corner. Don't forget to haggle!

Everything goes up not out.

The Golden Gate is actually Red.

That's San Fran.

"So how did the audtition go?" you say.

"I think it went well." I respond.

First I had a lesson with the principal bassoonist of the SF Symphony, Stephen Paulson. I played etude no. 11 from Milde Etudes Op. 26, Mozart B flat Bassoon Concerto, and Ode to a Toad by Ray Pizzi. He really liked Ode to a Toad and I enjoyed playing it so it was a fun lesson. :D
So for the audition I played Telemann and Scheherazade.

It was fun and a good experience but I'm glad to be home.

Next stop: New York

Catch ya next time!
Katie

Just a fun little story here;

So it's after my lesson with Stephen Paulson and my mom and I are walking back to our hotel. On the way, we meet a homeless guy on the street corner making candleholders and other miscellaneous items out of copper wire. I saw he had made images of a few musical instruments, so I asked him if he could make a bassoon. He informed that he could and I offered to show him one so he could look at it as he made his design. Well we stood there in breezy 40-ish degree weather at night as he made the copper bassoon. While we were standing there mom pulled out Ode to a Toad so I picked up the bassoon and started playing on the street corner. It attracted a small crowd that listened until the light turned green on the corner. I got a few mystified stares, but no one stays put for long in busy SF.

See the copper bassoon!

As you can tell there is a treble clef on the left and a bass clef on the right and a bassoon in the middle standing up. And he only used pliers. Way to go David!

#28

2008-02-15T22:27:00.001-08:00

So a lot of stuff has been happening, and I've been to busy to blog it. I should be getting ready for tomorrow as is. So to keep it short:
SDYS did a Side-by-Side rehearsal with the San Diego Symphony, which was awesome. I'm sorry I didn't announce this before so that y'all could come but it totally slipped my mind.

Anyways the Side by Side was incredible. I got to sit next to my awesome teacher Valentin Martchev and he even let me play some of the solos. It was so exciting! However, even better, I think I made him proud in front of all his colleagues, except for that bit at the end where I couldn't tell what the conductor was doing and got a little off from the strings. Other than that is was a smashing performance! :D

Last item:

I have my first audition coming up soon (scary ;). The other day I got my finger caught in the beater while I was trying to insert the mixers into the sprockets. Little did I know that the stupid thing was on and bent my finger backwards for about 8 seconds. Not long enough to break, sprain, rip, pop, or tear anything but still long enough to cause serious pain and anxiety.
I had to drop all the sports I was involved with to protect my fingers and now I am being attacked by kitchen tools. *sigh* Since then, mom has banned me from the kitchen. This is the second beater incident. The first time the beater attacked me was when I was mixing dough with it, when suddenly it grabbed a stray wisp of my hair and before you knew it was holding 75 percent of the hair on my head in a vice grip- dough and all!

Ok I really should go now; I will tell you how it all goes when I return. Wish me luck!

2008-02-10T19:38:00.000-08:00

Well, I had my lesson with Mr. Beene who is a really nice guy, and a great teacher.
Colburn itself is amazing! It's convenient, clean, asthetically pleasing, and the people are lovely! I thinks it is definitely an awesome place. And it's right across from Disney Hall.
Highly cool.

Note;
I am just loving more and more every day this reed he made for me! It's crazy amazing!

More next week, the parents are cracking down on bedtime... lol.

2008-02-07T22:53:00.000-08:00

Woot! I am SO psyched about my Bassoon lesson with Mr. Beene! He's the bassoon prof. at Colburn school of music. I'm not sure if it's because it's late or because I'm so excited, but I've got the jitters! brrrm brrrm! Can't wait to see how it goes!

Anyways, I'll do a follow up on this post to let y'all know how it goes. :D

Later!
K.

#27

2008-01-26T23:46:00.000-08:00

So it looks like I may get my first student soon! So far a couple of people have actually contacted me, but one of them thought I lived in Long Beach, so that didn't work out. The other hung up on me when she found out that I was in High School...

-Still in the scramble to apply to colleges. It gets more hectic every day!
Here's the list. If anyone would like to put in a good word for me at any of these schools, I would be much obliged!

Colburn School of Music
Eastman School of Music
Mannes the New School for Music
Manhattan School of Music
San Francisco Conservatory
Juilliard School of Music

You know what this means... practice practice practice!

#26

2008-01-17T17:25:00.000-08:00

Go see my sissy's blog!

She's a grammar crazy person, I have to be very cautious about what I say around her, lest she should find fault. ;)
But not to give you the wrong impression, she's really nice and funny so enjoy! :D

Ok, just needed to add this clip from the web, it's San Diego Youth Symphony with it's end of the year present to Jeff Edmons Artistic Director (0ur conductor) near the end of last year. I remember this happening exactly but I was seated in the back of the room and this angle is from the side.

Watch Jeff Edmons open his end-of-the-year present!

So hilarious!

#25

2008-01-10T12:00:00.000-08:00

Yes, I admit it; this is stolen from a chain email. But it's so funny! It's about people who just forgot to put on their thinking caps before they left the house that morning. :D

IDIOT SIGHTING:
We had to have the garage door repaired. The Sears repairman told us that one of our problems was that we did not have a "large" enough motor on the opener. I thought for a minute, and said and that we had the largest one Sears made at that time, a 1/2 horsepower. He shook his head said, "Lady, you need a 1/4 horsepower." I responded that 1/2 was larger than 1/4. He said, "NO, it's not." Four is larger than two."

IDIOT SIGHTING:
My daughter and I went through the McDonald's take-out window and I gave the clerk a $5 bill. Our total was $4.25, so I also handed her a quarter. She said, "you gave me too much money." I said, "Yes I know, but this way you can just give me a dollar bill back." She sighed and went to get the manager who asked me to repeat my request. I did so, and he handed me back the quarter, and said, "We're sorry but they could not do that kind of thing." The clerk then proceeded to give me back $1 and 75 cents in change.Do not confuse the clerks at McD's.

IDIOT SIGHTING :
I live in a semi rural area. We recently had a new neighbor call the local township administrative office to request the removal of the DEER CROSSING sign on our road. The reason: "Too many deer are being hit by cars out here! I don't think this is a good place for them to be crossing anymore."

IDIOT SIGHTING IN FOOD SERVICE:
My daughter went to a local Taco Bell and ordered a taco. She asked the person behind the counter for "minimal lettuce." He said he was sorry, but they only had iceberg lettuce.

IDIOT SIGHTING:
I was at the airport, checking in at the gate when an airport employee asked, "Has anyone put anything in your baggage without your knowledge?" To which I replied, "If it was without my knowledge, how would I know?" He smiled knowingly and nodded," That's why we ask."

IDIOT SIGHTING:
The stoplight on the corner buzzes when it's safe to cross the street. I was crossing with an intellectually challenged coworker of mine. She asked if I knew what the buzzer was for. I explained that it signals blind people when the light is red. Appalled, she responded, "What on earth are blind people doing driving?!"

IDIOT SIGHTING :
At a good-bye luncheon for an old and dear coworker. She was leaving the company due to "downsizing." Our manager commented cheerfully, "This is fun. We should do this more often." Not another word was spoken. We all just looked at each other with that deer-in-the-headlights stare.

IDIOT SIGHTING:
I work with an individual who plugged her power strip back into itself and for the sake of her life, couldn't understand why her system would not turn on.

IDIOT SIGHTING :
When my husband and I arrived at an automobile dealership to pick up our car, we were told the keys had been locked in it. We went to the service department and found a mechanic working feverishly to unlock the driver’s side door. As I watched from the passenger side, I instinctively tried the door handle and discovered that it was unlocked. "Hey," I announced to the technician, "its open!" His reply, "I know. I already got that side."

STAY ALERT! They walk among us... ;)

I don't know if these things actually happened or were just figments of someone's over-active imagination, but they're still funny!

And now for something completely different...

In my great search for colleges to which I should apply, I stumbled upon a bassoon professor at Indiana University named Arthur Weisberg, who is Senior Lecturer of Music (Bassoon) at the Jacobs School of Music. Anyways I was impressed with his new invention. "What is this invention?" you ask. Well I will tell you.

It is a new way to avoid a problem that has plagued bassoons for years. Can you guess what it is? Correct.

It is the Whisper Key! The butt of every bassoon joke in SDYS. And for good reason. This tiny key gives bassoonists no end of grief. Just the other day I went to play an orchestral excerpt, only to find all the notes cracking like there was an air leak in the instrument (not cool). Well it turned out to be the whisper key. again.
But! With Mr. Weisberg’s new invention, he can significantly reduce the amount of trouble bassoonists have to deal with on a daily basis!
Click here for the Web page.

Either it is the future of bassoons, or it will create a new wave of musical thought amongst bassoonists.

That's it! Peace out!

#24

2008-01-01T00:09:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year!!!

So it has been a while since I blogged anything, but it has been that busy!

Anyways, just to have a little fun; here's one great phenomenon that swept 2007.

Click here for the phenomenon.

Ahh yes, nothing like a dramatic little rat to liven up your day! Ok, it was a prairie dog... gerbil... chipmunk... oh whattheheck! It's still a rat! ;)

Ha ha, so what do I have to say on bassoons you ask? Well that's a good question. Let's talk about the Brown Ribbon fund. Donate only one dollar to the brown ribbon fund and you'll be helping a college bound high school student in their efforts to begin their musical career.
This is a really good use of your money, as it goes directly the the person who needs it with no middle man. I strongly suggest you donate to this fund because it's a great way to kick off the New Year!
What will you be doing to make a difference?

Ha ha. Figure it out yet? It's a joke, because I'm the student. Get it? haha. BUT you can still send money! Don't let my tasteless joke deter you from a worthy cause... OK it's late already yet so soon! I am fatigued and need to swab out my bassoon. Happy New Year to everyone!

K. out.

(On a little English note, did you know that the word Faggot is not only a noun with many meanings (chief of which is Bassoon), but also a verb? In old English it meant "to work really hard (imp.; to the point of exhaustion)" usually on something like homework. It's more of a mental fatigue than physical. So an example would be; "Julie fagged over her German studies.... consequently she became all fagged out." It can be used both ways. This brought to you by the Brown Ribbon fund, making education possible for the next generation. ;)

2007-12-10T17:39:00.000-08:00

Finals week!!!

This is good news and bad news. The good news is that the semester is almost over, which means more time for practicing and college apps. and sleep and all that good stuff. Bad new is that until finals are over I have to study my rear off.
Well off to studying I go!

I'll post something for real after Thursday. :)

Cheers!

#23

2007-11-25T15:57:00.000-08:00

Well we've seen how the bassoon is expressive, versatile and all that rot... but where did this fascinating instrument come from?
It's so exotic! It can play every role, and speak with any voice. It is truly amazing!

Here's an article that touches on the origins of the bassoon;

http://www.cnn.com/interactive/career/0103/ny.phil.bassoon/frameset.exclude.html

It's very interesting. For those of you who think this is all just a bunch of talk, here's an example of the bassoon's versatility and powerful expression, just ignore the insane beard...

http://youtube.com/watch?v=5IBwilB05oc&feature=related

This one shows how truly earthy the bassoon can sound, plus as a female bassoonist I find it interesting to see a bassoon section comprised entirely of women. It's a strange occurrence, I have only had the opportunity to play with four other female bassoonists besides myself in an orchestra, and it was never for any extended amount of time. Every other bassoonist has been male. Not a bad thing at all. ;-)

http://youtube.com/watch?v=phIRRINOF-M&feature=related

Here is Jazz bassoon, something I'm interested in, but haven't studied much, I think it's a lot better than listening to a saxophone, but of course I'm biased. :D
Did you know; the saxophone started as an experiment to make a metal bassoon? Something must have gone terribly wrong... ;^)

http://youtube.com/watch?v=dzc4MX5ozT8&feature=related

And lastly I wanted to include some pictures of early bassoons, before they were even called a "bassoons." You're probably familiar with the word "dulcet" which means "sweet", well older bassoons were called "Dulcians" -probably from the same root.

Moeck Dulcian -you can actually buy these things online for $3,497!

Basson d'Amour
Bassoon of Love, or lovely bassoon

And now for something completely different...
Faggott, Fagotto, Fagott, are all different spellings for the bassoon's more common names in Europe. It means bundle of sticks, because that's what the bassoon actually was before it evolved.
I don't know if this is necessarily the case, but when I was in Russia I asked the shopkeeper of a store selling sheet music for; "bassoon music," when she didn't understand I said "Fagott?" and she immediately understood and showed me what they had. -Our entire orchestra descended upon and invaded the shop that day; I doubt they've had such good business since! ;)

#22

2007-11-21T14:13:00.000-08:00

Ok, this is totally AWESOME!!!

Miniature Bassoons! So adorable! Check it out;

http://www.millermarketingco.com/bassetto/index.htm

They're called Bassettos, or Faggottinos, whatever you prefer.

Bassettos may be just a little less conrtoversial...

I love 'em! I wish I had started playing at such a young age as to have bought one, but that's ok maybe this will open the eyes of some parent wanting their young child to start playing the bassoon.

Ok, catch ya next time! :)

don't forget to ask a question, be it a 'how to' or a 'how much' or 'what if...' I love hearing from people!

#21

2007-11-11T16:13:00.000-08:00

Ok guys, this is the real deal. If you want to hear THE most awesome bassoon playing in your LIFE this is THE time.

Check it out, Valentin Martchev, a boy from rural Bulgaria whose love and talent for music put him in the big time. He will be playing John Williams' (that's right, the Star Wars, Indiana Jones, and Harry Potter guy) "Five Sacred Trees" and the bassoon solo in Shostakovich Symphony No. 9, E-flat major, Op. 70. Keep your ears open for the Star Wars theme, it's there!

Don't miss it! Just tune in on your computer to http://www.kpbs.org/radio/listen Or you can tune in with your radio to "kpbs 89.5"

The entire program is;
Haydn: Symphony No. 85, B-flat major ("La reine; The Queen of France")
John Williams: Five Sacred Trees: Concerto for Bassoon and Orchestra
Shostakovich: Symphony No. 9, E-flat major, Op. 70
Need more? Read up on it! http://www.sandiegosymphony.com/uploads/pdfs/pdf_mw0607_8.pdf

How often are you gonna hear something like this anyway? Might I add (on a slightly nerdy note) that this concerto is the first in history to be played with a wooden bocal, instead of metal. Yes my teacher is a real pioneer. Have a wonderful Sunday, and God bless!

November 11, 2007
- 7pm PST
David Lockington, conductorSan Diego Symphony
Valentin Martchev, bassoon

Ok, so if you missed it last night don't give up! I am requesting a link from KPBS so you can hear it online! Who knows? Maybe it will work! I'll put it up as soon as I get it! :)

I've gotten a few questions about my teacher's wooden bocal. What's it like? How does it sound? Who made it?
Here's the link http://www.robertronnes.com/paraschos.bassoonbocal.html
you can see them, you can hear them! You can read about them!

It's a very new thing, and totally revolutionary -in an old world way. :) I'm gonna have to get me one of those.
So go check it out! It's so awesome!

Until later! -oh yeah, feel free to leave a comment or a question and I will be happy to respond when I get it, I love hearing back from you!

2007-10-26T00:01:00.001-07:00

#20

So I had to take the SAT yesterday. I'm pretty sure I didn't do well, because I'm sick and while I was in the testing room there were way too many cobwebs in my brain. I only finished answering two sections completely, the rest was all left incomplete. Both of the sections that I did finish, however, had to do with writing. They were 'the essay' and a 'revising paragraphs' section. My math skills got me through high-school with A's but this SAT math seems like it's always out to get me!
Did you know that; Some colleges (more with conservatories) don't even look at your SAT score, because it is soooooo subjective. Especially the essay part, (bad for me, good for others) which is thought to be soooooo subjective that it routinely goes unnoticed. Have I said sooooooooo subjective enough yet? My SAT study book says that the SATs are hardly a good measure of how you are doing in school, and that they should be done away with. YIPEEEE! I'm all for that! Just look at our GPAs, if they're not a show of how well we do in school, then nothing is! I'm not a bad student, I almost always get A's, but the SAT could ruin all of that for me, when colleges look at it and say, ''Well, she's above average, barely, so we know she has a brain... but not much of one. So should we let her in? Naaaa, ok out she goes!"

Ok away from the terrible and hum-drum. Last Halloween I dressed up as a mix of 'the mummy' and 'the creature from the black lagoon'. So hilarious! We put a big, thick rectangular piece of foam across my shoulders and a trench coat on top. Now what did we do? Haha! I stood of the side of the walk-way to our door and waved at the wall in a mechanical motion. The funny part is that people could not tell whether or not I was a machine, and would come up and poke me to see if I was real, then I would startle them by jumping a little towards them. They screamed, jumped, then ran off laughing at what a good joke it was. :)
It was hilarious, especially when you're listening to them say, "It's real! I saw it blink!" and "Hey check out the machine! Wait, is that real? Naaa, here let's poke it to find out!"
Hehehehe. Little did they know... BLAH!!!!

Well, it's time to go back to sleep, I'm exhausted! (because I'm sick)
Until next time!

#19

So the voting is over and I now know everything you think about the bassoon! Muhahaha!!!
And the winner is 'Expressive' with 8 fabulous votes making it the number one choice of audiences and musicians alike! Runners up in order of top to bottom are;
Solid (6 votes)
Ponderous (5 votes)
Dulcet (4)
Buzzy
Heavy
Comic
Dramatic
Exotic (3)
Gorgeous
Complicated
Low
Fuzzy
Farty (2)
Pure
Hard
Beautiful
I'm not going to count adjectives with only one vote to back them up, because those (I think) were done by my ornery sister who just wanted to skew up the results. Thanks munky, you're a pal.

I just wanted to comment on the diversity of opinions that got the same amount of votes...
I noticed at the beginning the votes were pretty unified, for numbers 8, 6, and 5 there was only one adjective selected, it's when you hit 4 that there starts to be a little diversity of opinion. In 4 the biggest diversity I can see is the difference between Dulcet and Buzzy. To me those things don't seem to go together.
In group 3 it doesn't really seem to contradict itself, unless you have a problem with Gorgeous and fuzzy, I don't. I happen to be both gorgeous and fuzzy... ...........
Here in group 2 we have the really juicy stuff! Farty and Beautiful. Hmmm... not the first thing you'd find put together in your thesaurus... but ok. Or maybe it was the case that some kind soul took pity for the shamefulness of farty and tried to balance the emotional seesaw with a polite complement. In which case farty is really the winner here, because it beats a pity vote by 1.
Overall I think this is a really good case for the proof of the diversity of the instrument itself. The bassoon has so many characteristics, that it's hard to put your finger on it exactly. All you can say with any amount of clarity is that the music moved you, you're not sure why, you're not sure how, but there was something in there that you liked, consciously or subconsciously. That being my theory, I think it's safe to say that expressive is a pretty logical conclusion from that.
And now the complaint. The word expressive could describe any ol' instrument.
I guess as far as definitive goes, I'll just have to assume that the bassoon is more expressive than let's say its fellow double reed instrument, the Oboe....

Ok, it's wandered a little bit from the topic of voting, just a little bit, and it's way late, so I'm off to hit the hay. See ya next time!

#18

2007-10-01T22:45:00.000-07:00

Just a bit of French, because I can't help myself!
If you can't read it, skip it!

Quel sens sans lequel est-ce je ne pourrais pas vivre ?

Le sens que j’aime le plus est l’ouïe. Je pense que c’est un sens sans lequel je ne pourrais pas vivre. Je suis musicienne et je trouve que sans l’ouïe mon travail serait très difficile. Eventuellement trop difficile. Si je ne pourrais pas entendre la musique ou les voix de mes amis, je serais vraiment triste. Il n’y a rien chose qu’on ne peux pas faire si on ne peut pas entendre, mais vous pourriez perdre votre joie de vivre. Si on peut entendre seulement, il faut qu’on pense pour comprendre les mots (et la musique). Je pense aussi que le bonheur est atteint par la capacité de penser. Si on ne peut pas penser on ne va pas être heureux. Si on n’est pas heureux, on ne veut pas vivre, et la vie serait banale et terriblement ennuyeuse. C’est pourquoi je pense que l’ouïe est le sens le plus important.

La vision et aussi très importante à moi, j’aime beaucoup la télé, mais je pense qu’une personne est plus intellectuelle si elle peut entendre les autre gens, qui donnent des conférences, et des conseils. Je pense aussi que la vision (esp. La télé) rend on stupide. Avec la vision, tout est expliqué, ce n’est pas nécessaire de penser. Mais on ne peut pas conduire si on ne peut rien voir. On va perdre la liberté de marcher, et ça n’est pas pratique.

Je pense que les deux sens sont importants, et pour la vie pratique il faut qu’on voie, mais pour une vie heureuse il faut entendre. Je ne suis pas pratique,

et c’est pourquoi j’aime l’ouïe le plus.

Vocab;

sens -sense (ex. hearing, touching, seeing, ect.)

l’ouïe -the sense of hearing

pratique -practical, adj.

conseils -bits of advice

banale -boring, assinine

atteint -attained, verb en passé composé

lequel -the which

2007-09-29T11:06:00.000-07:00

Oh yes, the voting marathon is still going! If you haven't voted please do so! Just scroll all the way to the bottom of the page and voila!
Please! Feed my insatiable curiosity!

#17

2007-09-24T21:28:00.000-07:00

Note;
If you are new to this blog or are looking for a bassoon teacher, my contact information is to the right in light green and my professional accomplishments are under 'Accomplishments' (just under the picture of the dog). Thank you!

How to be a Super-Awesome Audience!

In my limited experience as a performer over the years, I've come to notice that audiences are VERY supportive of any kind of musical activity, even if they have no musical back-ground themselves. To those people I would like to give a big-warm thank you! Without people like you, musicians would die off, and disappear from existence.
Though, without being too persnickety or picky, and I don't really know how to put this, but sometimes I feel that the great support that musicians feel, isn't sometimes misdirected?
For instance, take my dad for a example (who has had no musical training), if he goes to a concert he's pretty good about not making too much noise, sure there's the occasional cough and no one blames him for that. However, if he brought his favorite brand of cereal and started rummaging around in there for crumbs, that would probably be found offensive by most musicians.
Maybe we're just a little sensitive, but we really like it when an audience sits quietly, and appreciates what we do.
Seriously now, silence right after a performance finishes, can be SO much more supportive than immediate applause, because it means we've moved you. It means that what we've done has somehow had an impact upon you, which is what we live to do.
Now the question is; when should I wait to clap, and when should I clap right away?
Answer; Well how much did the piece really move you? Was it tragic? Joyous!
Exciting!
tense!
Bombastic!
light and airy
Romantic
sweet and mild.
incredibly dissonant?

Each one of these elicits a different response, but as a general rule I'd say wait at least 3 seconds after every piece, except for those of a tragic, romantic or very dramatic sort in which case you might wait a little more.

That's all I really wanted to say about that, so in conclusion, it's all really up to you when you clap, but please know that when you clap, how loud and for how long, sends a really strong message to the performer. We show you our music, and then you show us yours, it's a conversation.

Ok finally, a few quick notes on concert etiquette for you over-achievers out there;

don't clap in between movements,

don't make any kind of sound when the orchestra stops suddenly, freeze

don't bring noisy food items to munch on

don't carry on conversations with your friends after the orchestra has started playing

stay in your own seat, don't go seat hopping, with the exception if you need to do what's necessary, and when you returned someone took your seat

DO NOT throw things like moldy tomatoes, carrots, coined money etc. at the performers! De-thorned roses are good, and please don't aim for our faces. :)

Ok that's it, I'll catch you next time! If you have a question, don't like what you're reading, (or vice-versa) please feel free to leave a comment, and I will try to accommodate. :)

Check out the full version!
http://escondidobassoonteacher.blogspot.com/

2007-09-21T11:50:00.000-07:00

#16

Recovery

So the surgery went well, and I'm recovering rapidly, I hope to be practicing and doing whatever I do full time by the end of the week. Right now I'm on pain meds which are making me fairly silly and dizzy, but that's ok. Everything is ok. I sit on the couch and do nothing. It's great! There's no swelling or bruising so my job is to not break the stitches on my bottom jaw. So I'm just watching videos of when I lived in Missouri and England. Featured is our first Scottish Terrier, Chaucer McBark'n'Bite Clark, and my dad with surprising guest appearance of dad's hair! Dad has decided to go with the shaved look for a while now. :)

In the videos there were two very telling comments that my dad made, one was the observation that (at age 4) that I was not a morning person, and second (even though a little off) that I might one day do "The Nutcracker." And he had his finger on it, even though he meant dancing instead of playing the music. :) It's so great to see how all those little things make so much more sense now, years later.

Wanna play Bassoon?

2006-06-05T21:31:00.000-07:00

#1
Life as a Bassoonist

I started to learn to play the piano when I was 8 years old. I didn't want to learn to play an instrument, but my mom insisted. To her, for her children to not grow up playing an instrument, was completely out of the question. She had grown up playing the cello and remembered how much fun she had with it, and she was not about to let her kids grow up without such a wonderful opportunity.

My mother told me when I was 9, that "I could pick a classical orchestral instrument to play when I turned 10," and to "keep my eyes open." I was home-schooled then and I didn't get outside of the house very frequently, so I used pictures from the dictionary to help me. However I had something infinitely better when my mom offered to my sister and me a chance to come watch her play in her orchestra, the Palomar Community College Symphony Orchestra.

My first pick was percussion, Timpani to be exact. The Orchestra was playing a piece called Carmina Barona and I found it absolutely thrilling! It's a dark dramatic piece in which the most important instrument is the Timpani or Kettle Drums. My mom however did all that she could to discourage me from pursuing the tympani by telling me that it was "not an option", "they're boring to practice", "they're too loud" and finally when I persisted, "No."

So I was back to the drawing board. What to pick!? I considered strings, brass, and upper wood-winds. I was somewhat attracted to the trumpet, but not fatally so. I looked at the strings busily sawing away at their instruments and thought yeah why not, mom plays cello and maybe... naaaah. How about the wood-winds? Maybe the flute, in all it's surreal glory, or the clarinet and it's smooth milky tones flying into eternity. No? How about the sweet oboe giving it's amorous cry to the wind and the human-like English Horn speaking so strongly of reality? Or maybe the bassoon with it's low rich but sometimes comical personality?

I was stuck. After all, it's probably one of the hardest choices you'll ever have to make at age 9. I decided that I should play a wind instrument, and the idea was satisfying for the time. So like every other industrious, hard-working elementary student, I let the whole idea go to the recycling bin.

A year later when I was 10, my mom dragged me with her to a chamber rehearsal that consisted of a cello, a flute, an oboe, and a bassoon. It was lovely music and I was particularly interested in the bassoon, it was such a strange instrument, all long and red shining wood with an incredible network of silver keys that shone brilliantly. It seemed ancient, medieval and definitely very classical. I didn't particularly like the way it sounded, but I felt strangely compelled towards it, as if it was my destiny. (bty, I don't believe in destiny, but I do believe in providence)

When we returned home, I told Mom that I wanted to play bassoon. My mother was thrilled, and for several reasons, the bassoon is not widely known about and therefore not many people play it which makes it much easier to get substantial college scholarships. It was not a loud brass instrument that could deafen all who got within 20 feet of it. It was not timpani, and it wasn't something huge to haul around like the harp.
However mom was much more hesitant when she found out that bassoons in the pricing range could go for anywhere from $1,500 to $60,000. I personally like to look at it as an early college payment, that ends up paying for itself, if practiced regularly.
My first bassoon was fairly old, and we're still not sure if it is a Selmer, a Schriber, or something else. All my mother cared about is that we had found one of the legendary $1,500 bassoons that was still decent, without any major cracks, and small enough to fit in a child's hands.

I was positively thrilled for the first 20 minutes after we took it home, assembled it and tried to make some noises on it, but then I sort of lost interest and it was about all mom could do to make me practice for 15 minutes a day.

Pretty soon we hunted down a bassoon teacher and I took lessons with her for 2 years before joining the CYO Wind Ensemble.
It was my first experience playing in a group of instruments and it was a little intimidating. It was also one of my first experiences as a home-schooler to hang out with other kids my age. To make things even more nerve wracking, the conductor wasn't about to put you at your ease. He loved to yell at us, and even once offered to come to our homes and yell at us.

After 3 years that I spent with that group I moved on to join the Civic Youth Orchestra (CYO). The year before that I had gotten a new teacher and with him I was entering a world that was completely foreign to me.

The players in CYO were in general much older than I and much better at their instruments which at fist, to my incredibly inexperienced person, was quite scary.

Playing next to people who just seemed so incredible at what they did sent me into a mild form of shock, but that is when I realized that there were only two options if I was to remain in the orchestra. The first option was to keep progressing at the rate that I was going and let all the better players just drag me along with them as they pulled the orchestra. The second was to progress at a much faster level and pull my own weight.
Getting another bassoon (this time a brand new fox!) helped me to choose the second option. Watching my peers be just so incredible inspired me to try to be the same, and my teacher showed me how to enjoy practicing which of course spiked my practicing hours. :)

The most important lesson that my teacher has taught me so far is to appreciate music, and to be musical. That by itself has opened so many doors of thought for me that I am sure that I am a different person now.

My second year with CYO took me to Russia, Finland, and Sweden where we played; Tchaikovsky's 4th Symphony, Scheherazade, Cappriccio Espagnol, Star Wars, and Hoe Down (by Aaron Copeland). Scheherazade has a magnificently huge bassoon solo right after the violin cadenza (2nd movement) which I got to play as principal bassoon. (yes!!!)

#2
Becoming a Hybrid

When I returned from Russia that summer I auditioned for another orchestra called SDYS and amazingly acquired the principal position of that group and another more advanced group called Philharmonia. I am playing with those orchestras currently and loving it.
The conductor has very interesting musical insights.

#3
Good News!

I will also be getting weekly lessons with my amazing bassoon teacher instead of biweekly!!!!

#4
Tijuana!!!

I'm going on a orchestra trip with SDYS to Tijuana! It should be fun, we will get to eat lots of cool food, play a concert, and stay up till all hours!!!
Adios amigos, (I hope that's spelled correctly)

#5
U.S.A.!!!!!

Yes! I am so happy to be back from Tijuana! -Don't get me wrong, I had a great time an it was a chance to get closer with my friends but I definitely prefer the atmosphere back in the USA. It was really good to talk with the other musicians in SDYS who have been there for a longer amount of time than I have. Anyways, the bus ride was great! We went on a bus called Mexicoach... hilarious. Philip showed me a book called 'Beyond Talent' which I have already purchased. It looks really good. From what I can tell it seems to deal with a broad scope of questions that musicians have, but the part I saw dealt with the 'why am I dedicating my life to this?' kind of thing.
The whole trip was to honor the new Archbishop of Mexico er wherever (whom I never actually got to see) . Going to Mexico was really easy. The buses just drove over the border and away! Coming back on the other hand was different. We each had to get out of the bus and walk in single file past a security guard, holding our pass ports while he checked them. A couple of the kids in front of me were stopped by this security guard, who said to them with a twinkle in his eye, "I don't think that picture looks like you" the kids just froze up and stared wide-eyed at him for a couple seconds until he smiled and said "but it's close enough," and with a wave of his hand "go on!"

#6
Concerto Competition

Tomorrow I'm going to do a recording of Mozart B flat Bassoon Concerto with piano. It's for the Young Artists Concerto Competition. I'm going to wear a dress that my first bassoon teacher (Tammy) gave to me before she moved away. I'm not nervous now, but I suppose that means that I'll be a wreck tomorrow. This is my first competition which I guess I why I'm so nervous.. I keep reminding myself that whatever happens I can only do my best.

#7
BORDER-LINE...

Well, I didn't progress to the finals :( but it was good experience. :D

#8
Busking!

Yes you guessed it! I'll be busking in the Park with Phil his Clarinet and Dimitri. Has anyone heard of the crime rate in Balboa Park? My dad said that it was fairly high but the park ranger still hasn't returned my call, so either they thought I was playing a practical joke or they're really going to try and hide something that just doesn't need to be turned up. ;) It's cool though, because not only are we going to be busking (with adult supervision) but I'm an orange belt in Tae Kwon Do, and Phil is a black belt.

HI YAH!!!
Anywho, my Saturday is totally booked. CYO, come home eat lunch drive to lesson with my AWSOME bassoon teacher, to Philharmonia, then the OH so lucrative job of playing for people who pass by, yes that would be Busking!!

It's a cool word, I've studied Latin and when you try to find out the meaning of a word you just break it down to it's Latin roots, then piece it back together.
In this case you'd break this down into 'bus' and 'king'. 'Bus' meaning 'large federally funded vehicle that carries lots of people but mainly the housefully challenged' and 'king' meaning 'the sole ruler of a land, haha not really, he's either ruled by Parliament or that wife of his known of as a Queen (should be Quing)'
Put those together (meaning woman snatcher) and you get a 'large federally funded vehicle that carries the housefully challenged and Quings, both of whom have no idea what they're doing there. The housefully challenged because they wouldn't know what was happening anyway, and the Quings because if they're on a Federally funded vehicle, then they've somehow left their countries and are traveling at 30 miles an hour to who knows where as they sit on chewing gum'.

#9
Bassooneo.ire

Ok, first of all this is the post that will answer all your questions about my seemingly weird email; Bassooneo.ire@gmail.com. The ending is Latin,"eo.ire," and it starts with bassoon (and we all know that putting 'Bassoon' in your email is genius to begin with so 'nough said ;)

What's this eo . ire thing? YESSS! that what's really been bugging you! ok now seriously, 'eo, ire' are Latin verbal suffixes meaning 'to go'. So you have 'eo', which is the present participle and 'ire' which is the passive participle, and it's only function here in the email is to let people know that this was a Latin verb in the first place. By placing 'eo, ire' (properly notated with a comma, but you can't use commas in your email address, weird huh?) at the end of 'Bassoon' you get the meanings; 'go bassoon!', 'go the way of the bassoon', 'do bassoon', and 'the bassoon goes(rocks)'. Hehe, pretty cool huh? Yeah, that's why I stopped learning Latin, and to believe, this is the only salvaging of all those years of Latin to actually serve a useful purpose!

And remember; Semper ubi sub-ubi!

#10
End of Semester

Ok, another school year is ending and with it, orchestra. :( SDYS is the first to go, it ends tomorrow, and CYO will go second. It ends next week.

Ok, just a quick list of all my leaving friends (tear) and a thank you to them for all the things they've taught me over the year. :)

Dearest Oboe, Jeff; because of his wondrously antinomian views and total lack of respect for authority figures who don't deserve it! Go Jeff! You rock my socks!

Philip, principal clarinet; who showed me what 100% really means, along with humility, graciousness, and to understand how the crazy music industry works. Thank you.

Soyeon, principal flute; who's work ethic is totally inspiring, and who's wacky sense of humor took the nervous edge off many performances. :)

Soleen, assistant clarinet; whose endearing personality and courage even in the face of 9 classes a semester is to be given a medal! (ok so she's not leaving, but she still deserves something!)

Last but definitely not least, my bassoon buddy Alex;
who is the first person to make me feel really excepted in SDYS. His sardonic, sarcastic, always hilarious sense of humor kept me laughing through the entire rehearsal! Don't leave!!!! I'm going to be so board next year! ;)

SDYS Quartet '07! From left to right we have; Jeff, me, Philip, Soyeon.

#11
Aloha SUMMER!!!!!!

Wow, ya gotta love summer! It is warm, careless, and gorgeously green! It's the time when you leave the house and go somewhere exotic and cool just to be lazy and drink Pina Coladas!

Our little "vacation" found it's self in the heart of America, that's right the nation's #1 summer resort; Nebraska. Now you might be saying "What on earth would posses them to do a thing like that?" and my response would be "first of all, we were all possessed to begin with and second, how could one resist the charms of guaranteed mugginess, and a total of FOUR DAYS locked in a car with your all-understanding and beloved sister, your calm mother distracted by a dog more interested in being outside of the car, and a stressed father, who's only resource amidst this... situation, is his booming voice carring far beyond the car's four walls... Love those road trips, just love'em to death.

Actually it wasn't that bad. The only real shrieking happened when I was driving the car. Yes, a very good atmosphere for concentration. I've never really known what it was like to balance two decisions, be well informed by a freaking sister that I was a terrible driver, hear threats issuing from my father that if I didn't slow down.... you fill in the blank, see my mom nervously clutching the dog and hoarsely whispering over and over "slow down, slow down, slow down...", all while you're trying to slow down on a steep 'S' shaped grade, with your breaks threatening to give out at any minute, a reckless huge semi behind who pursues you like a mad man down that hill, oh yeah, one more distraction, place a giant canyon to your left with only a little silver rail between you and it at the end of the Colorado Rockies, with civilization hundreds of miles away and you have my situation. As my best friend astutely pointed out "It's a good thing you're still alive!"

Of course there was no end to what a terrible driver I was when we reached my Grandparents house. (yes, all that for real genuine Nebraskan Pina Coladas!) It was at my grandparents house that I seriously considered becoming a vegetarian. I love the food my Grandparents make and the donuts they give us every morning, and that's the problem really. I must have put on 5 pounds over vacation.

It was fabulous to see the Grandparents again. Both my Mom and my Dad's parents live in good ole NE. Pretty much everyone else to whom we're related lives there also. Both my Aunts on my dad's side had recently decided to become business women and it was great to see them at it!

We shot off fireworks on the 2nd, 3rd, and of course the 4th of July, which was a lot of fun except for the part where I tried to hold the fuses of two huge Sumo-Chinese fire-works together, and ended up with second degree burns. I actually didn't realized I had burnt myself until I looked down, and saw my thumb on fire.
Hydrocortizone is a really good cream for burns, I had mostly recovered after five days.

Practicing was a little painful, especially since it was the thumb on the left hand that I burned. For bassoons, that is the one finger that has the privilege of playing up to 11 keys, if you have a left hand whisper key lock. :)

Summer is winding down now, we completely missed (again) the fruit on our apricot tree, which only gives fruit on the first two weeks of July. We're constantly bombarded with mail from colleges, urging us to take classes from them and orchestras reminding us to get signed up. But that's not all, as surely as death comes the SAT creeps slowly and silently with a self esteem vacuum couched within it's deep folding black robes. :-/
Until then, Aloha!

#12
Puppy Mills

This is a story about dogs.
It all began when my dog started to get sick, he showed all the symptoms of flu, and a few more. His Lymph nodes were severely enlarged and his liver also. We took him to the vet, who told us that he has Lymphoma and will (with light treatment) live for only eight more weeks. His name is Angus MacFangus McBark'n'bite Clark, and he is a Scottish Terrier with a strong hunting and digging instinct. There are only two things that exist in his mind. 1 is food, 2 is cats for hunting. We love him a lot.
Mom was looking online for anything which could cure his cancer. Unfortunately, the best we could possibly do would be prolong his life for a maximum of 2 years, with severe treatment happening frequently, if his system could take it. In the end we decided that giving him two more years filled with (seeming) torture would not be a good way for him to go on.
But something unexpected did show up while my mom was searching.

She stumbled a upon a website that spoke about dogs who have much more painful problems, problems which are actually preventable, if not curable. These dogs live caged lives and have no concept of the word freedom. I owe it to my dog to at least say something about this, that even though there isn't much hope left for him, there is some for these dogs.

http://www.prisonersofgreed.org/index.html

Go there, and make a difference. In life we don't always have a lot of options, we don't always get what we want, but sometimes we can change things for the better, and make the world a better place, not just for humans but for all creatures.

In dedication to my beloved dog Angus, who made the dull times sparkle, and the painful ones comforted. We will miss you.

-Approximate time of death; August 30, 2007, 4:10PM

1999-2007

#13
The Voting!

Well as you can see my little sister just ransacked my voting down there... Nobody really thinks that the bassoon is farty do they? Oh the pain! Please put your votes in, because what you think counts! I Used to have a fairly dim view of the bassoon. I thought it was for stuffy old people, needless to say my views have changed since then... but it would be interesting to see what non-bassoon playing peoples think. Don't let that stop you if you play bassoon, I want to see what you think too! I'll catch ya later, hopefully we can really start talking about bassoons again. :) Good night!

Oh yeah, and don't forget to VOTE!!!!

#14
Audition

So I auditioned for SDYS again. How did it go you say? Well that's an interesting question. It was embarrassing, I wasn't prepared adequately and something between my airflow and my reed wasn't working. There were a lot of squawks. And a few wrong notes. The lesson from that is; be prepared, and actually look at your excerpts page before you offer to play from it. Ugh.
Anyways, it was just embarrassing I'll probably hold my current position. :) Every audition is a new experience whether good or bad, but it's like looking at yourself in the mirror. I guess I haven't showered in a while...
I've been playing a musical called 'The King and I'. It's a community performance with Patio Play House, and it was fun. Lots of beetles in the park, so life was never dull! I love beetles!

College is crazy, I'm taking music theory and it's hard and fast. I don't sing, or read treble clef, or play piano so I'm behind compared to some. But I managed to get a B on my first quiz, not my favorite grade but not bad for having to learn treble clef in a week! I've got so many classes I'm finding it hard to find time to practice and exercise... probably should stop writing about it and start doing it. ;)
Ok, I'll catch ya later! Stay Cool!

#15
Music Theory and the coming of Wisdom

Music theory has just opened my eyes to a whole new world of musical thought! But it hasn't made me any wiser. The reference '...the coming of Wisdom' was actually a reference to my teeth. Yes my teeth. I've got pretty good teeth, but now I'm going to undergo surgery for the first time and I'm somewhat chicken.
The wisdom teeth need to go, they're going to ruin my toothy smile if they don't. This will put me out of commission completely as I will be utterly stoned on pain medication. Haha. I won't even be able to practice for a week! Not cause I'm stoned, but because the surgery needs to heal before any pressure is put on my mouth.

Did you know...?

-In the course of surgery, if your wisdom tooth was wrapped around the nerve that controls all of the feeling in your lips, gums, jaw, etc. at the time when they pull it out, you could permanently lose all sensitivity in those areas?

-That if your tooth wasn't developed enough and too close to the jaw bone, you could end up with a fractured jaw that would take 6 months to heal?

-That if worst came to worst, you could end up dead?

Of course with any surgery there is a chance of infection and especially with ones in the mouth, as there is a particular kind of bacteria there that is really hard to treat with antibiotics. But dentists don't even test for this bacteria before they start. They looked at my chart and said "You're healthy, you probably won't get infection."

Now you know why I'm chicken. My mom said that they never told her this kind of stuff before her surgery, but then law suits weren't as common back in her day.

Obviously I won't be adding anything to the blog for a while, since I'll be totally out of it. SO:

Send money and lots of it to me, here, where I live.
You rock!

Oh yeah, just a little geeky thing here; The word 'Coupon' is not pronounced Que-pon, it is pronounced Coo-pon. It comes from the French verb 'couper' (pronounced coo-pay) which means 'to cut' which is very appropriate as a coupon is used to cut prices. :)