a new beginning

Another semester has begun - and here I am in my 3rd week of classes already!

A couple changes to update you on:

I spent the majority of my Christmas break learning a bunch of music that I thought was going to be on my recital this spring. But as it would turn out, literally the moment I set foot back in Baltimore, I received a message from a gal that was in the opera I worked on this fall. She was unable to find a lesson time that would work for both her and her accompanist - and she was wondering if I was available to play for her lessons and her recital this spring. Long story short - we will be giving a joint recital (meaning it will count for both of our degrees - not just hers) on April 7! And now I have a whole lot of new music to learn!

But this really is a gift. She and I are very alike in our approach to music, and to this recital preparation process. I am thankful to have a partner who is devoted to the process, to the repertoire, to making this a true collaborative effort. We had coffee last week and got to know each other better - which only affirmed the fact that we connect on a musical level, but also a level beyond that. I only wish she wasn't graduating this year so she could do my recital with me next year as well!

The semester has started off pretty well - but it will definitely be a busy one. I have two new classes. One is a Song Analysis class - focused on the relationship between the poetry and the music in how a composer chooses to set the text. And the other is a class on two operas - one, by Alban Berg, written just before WWI, and the other an opera of Mozart's. We are studying the first as an expression of Expressionism, and the second as an expression of the Enlightenment. Both classes will be a lot of work, but both have been very interesting thus far.

I am glad to have a day off today to rest and read and cook and clean. The weeks are long and jam-packed. I am trying to fit in at least 4-5 hours of practice a day, 6 days a week...which I just realized is basically a part-time job in itself...not to mention going to class, playing for lessons and rehearsals, doing homework...and hopefully sleeping and eating sometime too! No wonder I'm so tired all the time! This semester will definitely be a marathon, but at the end, though I may be pretty ragged and worn out, I will be alive.....somehow!