Purchase

Been practicing like crazy lately. It' been so great... My rate of progress is finally starting to go up, which is really inspiring ... trying to get the rate back to where it was in high school ... I've come to the realization, that no matter how well I practice and learn, the only way to do that is through quantity, through practicing at every moment that I get & through practicing with the fullest intensity ... recording practice sessions helps tremendously ...

I'm gonna try to get a playing group together for next semester, where me & any other interested students play for one another on a weekly basis & then maybe have a listening or discussion or presentation time afterwards ... hopefully it will take off... need to generate interest...

I wanted to plan an outdoor concert, but I really don't know if I have the time to ... hopefully I can though ... if things calm down a bit, I'll try and put things together ... would be so amazing ...

So anyway ... on to the title... I played a piece for Kyle Welch's Sr. Recital at Purchase tonight ... it went pretty well ... there were some timing/communication issues, but we had only had one rehearsal, so not bad all things considered ... I also got to watch some interesting music that Bridget Ellsworth had composed ... particularly, a string quartet & a viola/piano piece w/ a dancer ...

The players there were all very good ... I've come to the conclusion that it's not that they're necessarily more talented, but it is that they work at things more/are more devoted & that they have better tools than the people here, and that's really what it comes down to ... I'm still trying to get in touch with Julia Lichten ... it will happen at some point ...

The piece we did was a Song Cycle for Voice, Flute, Clarinet, Violin/Viola & Cello ... kind of an allusion to Pierrot Lunaire (sp?) as far as instrumentation goes ... was very cool music overall & everyone was really friendly and easy to work with (not to mention quirky in their own ways ... so much more going on than here!)

The cellist who played in the other quartet had such a focused tone and bow control ... his left hand was very relaxed/controlled too. In one sense, it almost seemed too clean, on the other hand, very focused and efficient ... I'm glad I didn't start in a conservatory, but I can't wait to get into one some day...

I'm wondering if I should try to get in touch with teachers from other conservatories over the summer, b/c as much as I want to go to purchase, it might be shooting myself in the foot not to give myself other options (on the other hand, if I can't get in to Purchase, I doubt I can get into the higher level conservatories, though I think it's worth it to try auditioning for Julliard & MSM & Mannes and all the rest ... how amazing would it be if I could get into MSM??!!! Maybe I should make that my goal.)

Anyway, I'm exhausted and gonna take a break for the night, but can't wait for tomorrow so that I can practice like mad and then go to Symphony-X/Epica/Into Eternity ...

Also, Arlene Kaplan (my school's instrumental/vocal competition) is next friday (1 wk from today) .. I'm preparing the Courante from Bach Suite 1, Haydn C 1st mov. & Elgar 1st mov. ... it's all stuff I've done before, but not on the level that I'm beginning to play at now (a level where I can begin to put technique more aside & concentrate on things like phrasing and listening and making music), so I have a *ton* of work to do on those & not enough time to do it, but I'm gonna get it done!!

That's all for now ... will definitely try and blog about the metal show tomorrow night ...