The scene was so perfect that it could have worked in a movie.

We had our juries yesterday and they did something different this semester; instead of singing in front of the panel of voice teachers, they had us all sing in front of all our peers in addition to the panel. So all the kids doing upper-level juries performed their jury for everyone else. I think it's a great idea and I thoroughly enjoyed the experience. I loved hearing everyone perform and I got to hear all this new music. What's better than spending hours listening to vocal performances? But here's the story:

We started and they asked for a volunteer to go first. I waited for someone to volunteer but no one wanted to so I bit the bullet and volunteered. I decided that it's better to be brave than to leave it up to chance. Besides, I was as ready as I was going to be and there was no point in postponing the inevitable.

I stepped up there and they asked me which of my four pieces I wanted to start with. I decided to go all out and whip out my hardest piece: a piece that I've purposely kept on the DL. (I actually didn't know about this venue of juries when I decided to put this piece on my jury. When I found out I'd be singing for everyone, I was even more excited about my choice.) I confidently announced, "I'd like to sing 'Una voce poco fa' from Rossini's The Barber of Seville."

I kid you not, there was a gasp from the audience of auditionees. The panel of judges tried to seem unaffected and one judge seemed a bit dubious. My teacher just smiled, excited by the reaction of the audience. I'd thrown the gauntlet; now it was time to prove myself. I felt very much like Rosina in that moment - "Io giurai, la vincero!" (I swear it, I will have the victory!) Heck of a way to start off the juries. It was all very dramatic.

So the accompaniment started and I was actually a little nervous. The first few bars of the accompaniment were wrong but then it straightened out in time for me to come in. I sang the first few lines and that was it -- I was off.

It went brilliantly. The coloratura was all there, the notes were all there, I didn't forget or mess up anything, and the infamous high B at the end was no problem at all.

I finished and there was dead silence. Then the teacher who'd been dubious before started clapping and everyone joined in. It was crazy. I stepped over to where everyone was sitting (to get my water bottle) and a soprano was cursing under her breath. It was epic. I could hardly believe it was happening.

Next they asked to hear "Ich bin der Welt abhanden gekommen," the hardest Mahler selection I have. It's gorgeous and difficult and long, but I love it. I made sure to breathe a little after the Rossini and then I switched modes into Mahler. I was a little afraid that I wouldn't be able to float the high notes (because my stomach was a little tired to begin with and it had taken a beating during the Rossini), but I made it all right. Last I sang Britten's "Oliver Cromwell" and they didn't want to hear my other Mahler piece. I was glad to be done.

It was such a huge score for me. No one else came in with a piece as intense as the "Una voce." I was looking at my music yesterday and I realized that I've been working on it since June 2008 (and I will be working on it until June 2028). I've put so much time and work into that piece. I love it and I'm so glad that I got to premiere it like that. And I'm so glad that all my work paid off.

I'm really glad that all my praying worked, too. I wasn't nervous at all and almost everyone else was really nervous. I didn't mess up and my tired muscles didn't hinder my performance. It just all went right!

I got my results papers back and I got all As!! I had some really nice comments written and everyone loved the Rossini. They said my coloratura and intonation were really good ("almost always perfect") and that the high note at the end was gorgeous! I was so excited. I am so excited.

Gosh, I love you, Rosina.

Opera scenes went smashingly well tonight. Everyone did such a good job!! Here's a little illustrated recap:

Kim sings Rosina in "Zitti, zitti" from The Barber of Seville/Il Barbiere di Siviglia:







Kim plays a random witch-hunter in Un Ballo in Maschera:





Kim plays Cherubino in "Cosa sento" from Le Nozze di Figaro:





Kim sings Charlotte in the Letter Scene from Werther:



I also played Dorabella and a sulky smoking girl in a Carmen scene.

I sang Charlotte's "Letter Scene" from Werther and I did it! Isabel put it LAST on the program (I was so honored!) and I made it through. I prayed so hard! Vocally I got 95% of the things I worked on and acting-wise I got about 97%. That's a success if ever I heard one. The audience was dead silent while I was singing and they exploded when I finished. It was so great! I was so into it that I was shaking for like a minute after I finished. Tammy was really, really happy and Isabel was so proud. It was just such a great night. So much was hanging on that performance and I pulled through. THANK GOD!!

I love opera.

I woke up this morning with really big bruises on the back of my legs. One of them takes up half of my thigh! This is intense. My Mom was like, "Omgosh, what the heck are they doing to you?" But I know exactly how I got them.

Yesterday, I had opera rehearsal from 2-7:30. Granted, I didn't rehearse the entire time (I spent 3 hours assisting the costume designer! More on that in a second) but I had some intense rehearsal time. I blame all my battle wounds on Rossini.

We were doing the trio from The Barber of Seville for about 45 minutes. It's a very physical scene. The music is fast and the situation is intense so things get pretty crazy pretty fast. (Then again, the entire show is fast and intense and hysterical. I cannot wait to sing this show!) Basically, the three of us are trying to get out of my house so that the Count and I (Rosina) can elope. However, each character has a different opinion on the best method of escape so in the end everyone is pulling on everyone else and I really get whipped around the stage because it's me versus two boys.

There's this one section of the staging that came about by improv on the Count's part, but it worked so well that we kept it. However, it was tricky to make it "work" so we had to run it a few dozen times. In the course of the staging, the Count pushes me up against a thigh-high table. Hence the bruises. I kept saying, "I'm going to have bruises tomorrow." And I was right. But I am not ashamed of my battle scars! Besides, the staging is pretty sexy so it's totally worth all the bruising.

The three hours I spent with the costumer were so much fun. (We're starting on costuming for the big opera, Die Fledermaus, which we're performing in January.) She is really cool and über-creative. I wrote down measurements as she took them and helped her catalog all the clothes that people brought in. Between appointments, we got to chat and we were talking about the whole clothing-design industry and being an artist and what we want to do with our lives. She really loves what she's doing and I love to meet people who love what they're doing. She has a studio in NYC that I'd LOVE to see. I knew her vaguely because she worked with us on the opera last year. One of the best pro-s of being the scribe was that I got the scoop on the costumes for all the leads in the show. (The entire production presentation -- with sets, costumes, overall concept, etc -- is next week but it was so nice to get a sneak peek yesterday.)

I'm getting really excited for this show. It's supposed to be set in the 1860s but due to budget issues (and my director's innate dislike for "traditional" productions), we're setting the opera in the 1980s. ROCK ON. I was told that the entire first act is a pool-side scene. The lead soprano is going to be in a bathing suit, cover-up, and heels. The tenor is the pool-boy (LOL). When the costumer asked him if he'd wear a Speedo (and nothing but a Speedo, LOL x 1000), he flat-out refused. Then she asked if he'd wear tiny shorts instead, but he refused that, too. He put his hand to his knee and said, "No shorter than this!" He talked about it for the rest of the day and made his Facebook status "Derek will absolutely NOT wear a Speedo on stage. EVER. Final Answer." <3

I was even more excited to hear what my character is going to be like. They've decided to make my character GLAMROCK. Think David Bowie. Frilly shirt, leather jacket, big boots, crazy hair...YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSS

Apparently the party that I'm throwing is actually a social experiment. All the guests/victims (aka the chorus) are uppity socialites and I'm the "cool" rebel. Cool stuff. I cannot WAIT for January!

I came home so exhausted last night. But it's that great feeling of exhaustion when you're happy and tired and fulfilled. This morning was another story. My severe lack of money forced me to drink instant coffee (that I can get for free at the office I work at). But that's okay. I can settle for instant coffee. In fact, it tastes good just because it's a symbol of what my life will be and I'm happy to take that life because it means that I get to sing opera again tomorrow.

Imagine a 100-piece orchestra and a 60-piece choir improvising. At the same time. In no set key. INSANITY

That is about 50 measures worth of the Pärt Credo that we're doing with symphony orchestra and chorale. EPIC

How's that for art?

Just finished signing up for classes for spring semester. FUN! I was SOOOOO tempted to take French 1 and Russian 1, but I promised my best friend that I'd wait for next year to start French. I'm taking German 4 and Italian 4 next semester. I think I can hold off on French. Russian's optional at this point. I might want Play Analysis or Creative Writing instead. We'll see. I'm not sure that my brain can handle FOUR foreign languages. I know the Russian alphabet. I'd love to learn the basics. :)

So, the final verdict on my schedule is:
German 4
Italian 4
Private Voice Lessons
Private Cello Lessons
the usual ensembles (chorale, chamber singers, opera, symphony orchestra, string orchestra)
History of 20th Century Music (w00t - Philip Glass)
Orchestration (!)

There was this honors class that studied Ring Cycles in film, lit, and OPERA (aka Tolkien's Lord of the Rings, Wagner's Ring Cycle, James Joyces' something, etc) but I can't take it because it's during my opera scenes class. EPIC FAIL. I'm so upset! They have an opera class when none of the serious opera people can take it. Genuis. I went to the honors office to make them aware of this fact, but they won't change the time of the class. I'm probably the only person in the school who might be SINGING in the Ring Cycle one day but whatever. Do you know how rare Wagnerian singers are? Sheesh.

Ok, my rant is over. There are so many good classes that I'd love to take (like Speech for Actors), but alas -- I only have so many hours in the day.

The funniest thing happened at opera scenes yesterday:

I was running through my Werther piece with George (on piano). It was just a musical run-through and no one was actually supposed to be listening. But, alas, it's rather hard to NOT hear my voice (through walls, down the street, you get the idea...).

So after I finished, I went to sit down and Brian (one of my good friends) leaned over and said,

"One day, I'm just going to propose. There's something about when you sing...whenever you sing, you make me want to marry you."

Haha!

Then Rachel, hearing this, leaned over and said,

"I never told you this, but last semester at opera scenes, Pat [her boyfriend] said to me, 'Honey, you sang beautifully, but when Kim sang I just wanted to marry her.'" LOLZZZZ

So apparently my singing has magical powers. At least it inspires people to virtue (and not other things). Marriage is a good thing! This could be very useful. Maybe this will work in real life...

Another funny story that's kind of related:

I've babysat Tammy's 6-year-old son, Rainer, a few times. He was at one of Tammy's performances 2 weeks ago and when he saw me, he started jumping up and down and he asked,

"Are you coming over today?"

"Not today," I said. "Maybe soon, though."

His next question was, "Um, can you move in with us?"

hahaha

Morgen, his older sister, came over and asked,

"Did he just ask you to move in with us?"

"Yeah."

"Oh gosh. He's been talking about it all week."

lolz

So many proposals. What to do with them all?

My Mom finally put her psychology degree to good use: she helped me with my opera homework.

I'm studying a scene from Werther and I couldn't figure out Charlotte's super-objective. She's a very complicated character and I really needed someone to talk with about it. It took about an hour of conversation, but it was worth it! I went in to Isabel with my idea and she was totally satisfied. I told my Mom and she's like, "I wasn't a psych major for nothing!" hahah

I don't have anything against psych majors; I'm just being silly. My Mom actually did a lot with her psych degree. She went into advertising and eventually got a high-level job with A. C. Nielsen (the people responsible for TV ratings). She's very good at figuring people out and she has given me valuable insight on more than one occasion. It's like having my own personal shrink. ;)

Either way, I'm very happy with how my "character work check-up" went yesterday. Isabel was excited by the things I was spewing out. I even got a "that's intense" from George. SCORE.

I was reading an interview with Vesselina Kasarova (an EXCEPTIONAL opera singer) and she said something very interesting about acting. She almost alludes to the fact that you can mess up your mind and your emotional state if you take on the wrong characters at the wrong time. She says it this way,

"Beside the vocal range, it’s also very important to know the character of the role. For example, there are roles I could sing now because all the notes are there, but the problem is to bring in the character, and that I couldn’t do right now. Maybe later, with more experience, then it would all come together. With the dramatic repertoire, the point is that you are singing with so much emotion that these emotions really can damage your voice. It's not the notes which are written, but there is so much happening in your mind.. For example, if young singers try certain roles too early, it can be a problem, because on stage these emotions, these feelings, don't fit your personal state of being. Maybe a boy who's thirteen years old isn't ready to do certain things. It's the same for the singer. You will have difficulties to control the balance of all these big emotions. So it's better to be a bit older."

(You can find the entire interview here.)

Interesting, no? I've always wondered about this and I find it very interesting to actually see that someone else has an opinion on it.

Most people think that don't have to act to be an opera singer, but this is ENTIRELY untrue. Opera is an extension of straight theater and therefore it adheres to the principles of drama. The actual physical act of singing does sometimes hamper the movement onstage, but this isn't to the degree that most people believe.

This is a whole other discussion in itself (so I'll leave it for the moment), but what I'm trying to say is that this character of Charlotte is definitely stretching my limits. She's my age but she's been through much more than I have and so, in one sense, she's older than I am. It's going to be very interesting learning how to balance the emotions and the music in this scene. This is a very dark, charged scene and I'm going to have to figure out how to let the dark elements of the scene leak in without letting too much in (because that would destroy everything). I have my goals laid out for me.

Oh, and keeping my sanity is always a good thing.

Things have been pretty crazy at my school recently. There were news guys all over the place today. I successfully dodged them all (score!), but I hate to think that they were there for bad reasons. Thankfully, the whole thing was a racket. The alleged crimes never happened. Good to know now. I only wish I knew this when I got a text message this evening saying, "Two female students were accosted on north campus. Please exercise caution." I was at home (a freak accident) but all my girl friends were there. Stress, anyone? Apparently even those incidents were not serious/real. Stupid, stupid girls at my school. All they care about is attention. Nevermind that you made 15,000+ people crazy for three days. So stupid.

In other news: I've just been having a fabulous music week. I discovered Hindemith's orchestral suite to his "Mathis der Maler," Chopin's "raindrop" prelude, Bach fugues and suites played on the lute, and three new CDs that are all amazing (!: Anberlin's "New Surrender," Jars of Clay's "The Long Fall Back to Earth," and Daughtry's "Leave This Town"). That, and I got to see the NY Phil's opening on PBS. <3 Renee's dress was gorgeous. She was gorgeous. They played Messiaen and Berlioz (Symphonie Fantastik). LOVE.

As an added bonus, I have Haydn's L'anima del filosofo; Orfeo ed Euridice coming in the mail and I only paid $20 when all was said and done. I CANNOT WAIT. My Orpheus obsession continues. Next on my list is the DVD of Vesselina's Orfee. AHHHHHH.

So, all is well. I'm unveiling my Werther scene tomorrow. Über goosebumps for that. It should be okay. Please let it be okay. LET ME REMEMBER MY FRENCH! (Je devrais les détruire... je ne puis!)

Another bonus for today: I passed my first German exam! *fireworks* I'm going to survive German 3! Life is good. :)

Let's see how tomorrow goes...

School's back in session and that means BRING ON THE STRESS! (Especially if you're a music major and you have 10 days to learn 10 pages of music in French plus do all your homework and practice everything else and show up for rehearsal and... Need I go on?)

So, here are 5 ways that I've found to reduce stress and bring a little HAPPY! into your life.

1. Read Jennifer Rivera's blog, Trying to Remain Opera-tional. She's so funny and down-to-earth and you'll always learn something about the "real world of opera." Or you'll learn something about life -- she can be very deep. Either way, it's a great way to add a little flavor to your day.

2. Listen to Mozart on the way to class. There's nothing like Mozart to lift your spirits no matter WHAT is happening. MP3 downloads on Amazon are easy and cheap! I suggest The Overture to The Marriage of Figaro (only $0.99!) or one of the beautiful duets of all time, "Ah perdona al primo affetto" (from La Clemenza di Tito) which is also only $0.99.

3. Take 10 minutes to just sit and drink a cup of coffee (or other comforting beverage of choice). Taking time to just "chill" gets you prepared to face the rest of the day.

4. Read a Psalm. Even if you're not "into the God thing" or whatever, you have no idea how these words can bring peace into your life. They're so reassuring and calming -- definitely worth turning to when you're really stressed out. You can find a "modern" version of the Bible (no "Thou art" and such) online. Here's two really good spots: Psalm 37 and Song of Songs 4:8-15.

5. Write a letter. Writing a letter to someone is such a nice (and unexpected gesture). Not only will it give you time to relax and just enjoy something for a moment, but it will have a nice effect in the future when that person gets the letter. Draw pictures on it for extra stress relief. :)

For opera scenes this semester, I might get to play Sesto, possibly one of the coolest characters under the sun. Listen to this:

Sesto (you might know him as Sextus) is right-hand man to Tito (Titus), Emperor of Rome and he's going out with the deposed emperor's daughter, Vitellia. Now, Vitellia is only interested in Sesto because she wants to knock off Tito but Sesto's too nice/naive/in love to notice this. So the whole show Vitellia's trying to convince Sesto to kill Tito. Not only is Tito the Emperor, but he is Sesto's best friend, mentor, father-figure, and the reason that Sesto has such a good position in the government.

So in the fantastic aria that I might sing, Vitellia has just asked Sesto why he hasn't left yet (to go kill Tito) and Sesto sings "Parto, parto" (which means "I'm leaving, I'm leaving!").

Sesto is so complicated and unpredictable and incredibly nice (which makes him unbearably cute and yet sometimes annoying) and I really hope that I get to play him!

Here's one of my favorite renditions of this aria, sung by the wonderful Susan Graham. This aria is from Mozart's La Clemenza di Tito and it's not usually performed this way. The opera takes place in ancient Rome but this staging is modernized. I just love that they have Vitellia putting on war paint while her boyfriend desperately just tries to get her to look at him. It's different but it works. Also, listen for the crazy clarinet solos. That is TOTALLY Vitellia manipulating Sesto. (Mozart, you're ingenious!) I apologize for the Italian aria with Spanish subtitles. I couldn't find one with English. :( If you want to know what's actually being said, a rough English translation is under the video.




I'm leaving but, my love,
let's make peace!
Your happiness
is all I want to have.

Look at me and I'll do everything for you.
I'll take your revenge!
A single glance for me!
Oh gods, to know such beauty!

Kim = safe and sound and fighting jet lag

My European Adventure was wonderful but I'm so glad that it's over. It was certainly an adventure in the grandest sense. We had our rough patches and our moments of breathless glory, but it's all over now. I learned a lot (A LOT) and I'm so grateful for the experience.

Now it's time to look ahead. I'm excited for the new school year. There's so much to look forward to! Incoming freshman, music department politics, a whole new opera production (in which I have my first real role!), junior recital (!), friends, loves, anti-loves, quasi-loves, and the normal surprises of life. Oh, and surviving both German 3 and Italian 3. This semester is shaping up to be a challenging one (as always).

The freshman have just started moving in. I love watching gaggles of teenage girls -- all with the same pencil-thin figure, pin-straight hair, and Prada bags -- mosey over the quad like they own the place. Just wait until the upper-classmen arrive. They won't be so sure then...

Ah, I love being a junior! I love it already. I hope we get some freshie recruits for the opera company. I'd love to see someone come in who's really into it. I have a goal -- I'm going to try and find one freshman who knows who Renee Fleming is. That shouldn't be too hard considering that Renee Fleming is poster-child of the Met and of the opera-world in general. And she's a soprano! Every aspiring soprano knows Renee Fleming. Can't wait to hear all the new vocal majors! whahahahahahahahahahaha

So, all is well. I miss the Austrian coffee already (and the slow pace) but I definitely don't miss the dorm room. Ahhh, my beautiful bed, how I love you. :)

And just to prove what a nerd I am:

Yes, that's real. And I own it. On the back, it says, "Weapon of choice: pure musical genius!" I LOVE IT.

Amidst too many graduations (and their adjoining parties), I've come to the realization that discovering my obsession for opera came at a good time.  If I'd discovered it in high school, not only would I have been wayyy more stressed out about college and my life, but I would have been considered even weirder than I already was.  At least in the music department at Hofstra, most people can tolerate (or even sometimes appreciate) my insanity because they're half-insane themselves (aka they are musicians or at least half-musicians).

If I had to choose three reasons for being happy about going to Hofstra, these would be them:
1. Tammy
2. No $100,000 debt
3. Roles in the operas

So I discovered a Puccini opera that doesn't drive me crazy.  Clearly, a miracle has occurred.  Madama Butterfly = <3  Beautiful music, beautiful story, beautiful setting, beautiful everything.  Sure, it's a little sad for my taste, but it's a well-done sad.  In other words, I approve.  :)

Finally found some good summer reading.  Hurray for public libraries.

People amuse me.

A bunch of kids and their teachers were walking over the unispan (glass enclosure that goes over the main street) at my school. I was walking with them, enjoying the various reactions. One kid said what I always think when I go over the unispan:

"What if this really big truck goes by and smashes through? Wouldn't that be cool? We'd be like 'woooah!' and we'd fly through the air and..."

That was a 10-year-old boy. Love how the same thoughts that go through a 10-year-old boy's head go through mine.

Then they passed by the doors to the library. One teacher said to another,

"You want to peek your head in, just to see it? It looks like a hotel lobby in there."

I never realized what a ritsy school I go to. *shrug* Whatever. I'm not paying for it.

Speaking of paying for school...

I've decided that scholarship or no scholarship, I'm going to get my masters in Europe. I don't know why I didn't come to this conclusion sooner. There's no point in studying in the States.

The way I see it:
1. It's waaaay more expensive here ($30,000-50,000 a semester vs. $800-1,000 a semester)
2. Opera is a European art form. They're better equipped to teach it. Besides, their programs are driven toward opera; in the states, opera is just an add-on.
3. Why not? I'm going to move away anyway. Might as well go all the way.
4. Foreign languages don't scare me. In fact, they excite me. Might as well make my life as interesting as possible.
5. I could possibly win an all-paid scholarship to study there. You can't beat that.

Speaking of foreign languages...

I started my annual summer language study. This year I picked Russian because I'll be playing a Russian prince in the opera in January.

Russian is so cool! The alphabet is the love child of ancient Greek and English (aka "my" alphabet). The printed letters look nothing like the written ones, but WHATEVER. They have so many more letters than we do. There are ten vowels. Ugh.

The really interesting thing is that the letter for "I" is actually the last letter in the alphabet. There's something psychologically interesting about that. I'm always interested about a language's choice for the word "I" and how they handle its capitalization. As in German and Italian (and probably tons of other languages), the Russians only capitalize I when it's at the beginning of a sentence. What is it about us English speakers that we always capitalize it? There's no grammatical need for it. "i" is not a separate word. Is there something haughty about the fact that we always capitalize "I"? Is it a confidence thing or a mere grammatical tradition/decision? This is very interesting...

I cannot wait to master Italian. When I do, I'm going to write a novel in the language. I feel like it is so much more conducive to fiction. If I were writing a philosophical or other non-fiction work, I'd use German, but I'd never use German for fiction. It's horribly incompatible. That's a rather broad generalization and I'm sorry. My point is: I want to write in Italian one day. The end.

But I'm enjoying Russian. My co-worker is shaking her head at me saying "RUSSIAN?!?" Whatever. Got to love the shock factor.

I just can't completely be my character if I don't know the basics of his language. Certain words and phrases need to come out of my mouth without thinking. In the show, English (usually German, but we're doing this production in English) is his second language. That needs to be apparent. I'm going to work on my accent. Yay! I love imitating accents; it's so fun and I can usually do it. The Russian accent is hard, but I think I can handle it.

This is going to be such a fun part in general. I'm really looking forward to working on it. How often do I get to be a spoiled young princeling?

More to come.

Omgosh, this semester is officially and finally OVER! Thank God!

I just handed in my 96-page honors project; that means SPRING 09 IS COMPLETE. Ah! I can't believe how amazing this feels. It's disgusting outside but I feel like I could coax the sun out with my enthusiasm.

What a change this is from the last month. Before Monday, my life was hell for three weeks. Terrible. I was so happy when it all turned around on Monday with my huge C Level Petition/Jury. It was a turning point moment: a Shakespearean "point of no return." It could have gone really bad (which would have jeopardized the rest of my career, aka my life) or I could have broken through the three-week slump and done amazing. There was no in-between.

Thank God it was the latter. I did fantastically. I got an A and I was emphatically approved into the performance program by all four judges. Yes!

Now summer can begin. :) Here's the music that helped me get through the end of the semester:
Head over Heels (In This Life) - Switchfoot
Even Angels Cry - Jars of Clay
Ich bin der Welt abhanden gekommen - Mahler (Translation: The world lost me long ago)
Hanging by a Moment - Lifehouse
Awakening - Switchfoot
Cinque...dieci...venti... - Mozart (opening duet from The Marriage of Figaro)

For those of you who have been paying attention the past few months:

( On writing, art, and self-discovery )
But enough philosophy! I hope you all have a great summer and good luck to anyone who still has school/finals.

Toi, toi, toi!

Pre-jury regiment:

sleep
warm-up
make-up
WATER
3 pretzels and/or tortilla chips
deep breathing


Post-jury regiment:

deep breathing
cool down
WATER
food
sleep

I passed my Level C Petition Jury with an A! YESSSSSSS!

Songs that I'm currently grooving to:

Inevitable - Anberlin
Head over Heels - Switchfoot
Non so piu cosa son cosa faccio - Mozart
Waiting for the World to Fall - Jars of Clay
Hanging by a Moment - Lifehouse


Things that I can't get out of my head:

Mozart
the crazy amount of work that I have to finish
Tammy
next year's opera/Isabel
summer - my potential Austria trip, sinus surgery, and orchestra gig
Octavian (Der Rosenkavalier)
Kathryn Janeway
SLEEP


People that I especially love at this moment (no slights intended):

Katy
Rachel
Dad
Mom (alpha proofreader!)
Mozart
Alyssa McCristall


Reasons to rejoice at the end of the semester:

NO MORE EARTRAINING!
surviving two semesters of Krasner
NO MORE KEYBOARD HARMONY CLASS!
petition = over!
opera = decided (hopefully)
PRETZELS!!

Oh, Heather...  I thought I was the weirdest kid ever.  Apparently having me for an older sister makes her the weirdest kid ever.

I asked her what opera she wanted to see with me next season.  What does she answer?  Marriage of Figaro?  No.  Barber of Seville?  No.  FILLE DU REGIMENT?  No!  She wants to go see Der Rosenkavalier.  A 13 year old wants to sit through 3+ hours of Strauss!  Just listen to about 3 seconds of this music and you'll know what I mean: Final Trio.  This kid blows my mind.  She LOVES all those operas that I mentioned before and they're so much more...listener-friendly.  But no, she wants to see Rosenkavalier.  Crazy...

George and I shared a piano again in Keyboard Harmony.  That class cracks me up every time.  The Professor had George playing the melody while I was playing the accompaniment but we were on the wrong sides of the piano so we had to cross arms.  Good times.  Then I started fooling around and singing the (tenor) excerpt that we were playing the accompaniment to.  Then the Professor made me sing the tenor part!  George kindly sang with me and it was so funny.  It was from La Traviata: real Italian-love-song sounding.  Too funny.

We have Music 20 in about 5 minutes.  Apparently it's all improv music with an improv painter making art while the musicians are playing.  Total improv experience.  We'll see how it works out...  It's rather dramatic.  The program says "Alea One [the group] does not exist as this program note is being written.  It will exist only when it does exist.  It is a group improvisation.  The musicians have not memorized or "practiced their parts."  The artist has not planned her painting."  Oooooo...  I'm interested to see this (although I don't know if I want to watch it for an hour and a half...).  We shall see...

Well, I get to sit with Rachel and Katy.  That makes it all worth it.

So this all started with my obsession with killing myself with unnecessary work.  In other words, I joined the Honors College (when I came in freshman year) just so that I could gawk at a pretty little stamp on my diploma.  I couldn't have it any other way.

Considering everything, I only have one option for my honors credit this semester: music history.  Same as last semester.  Last semester I got roped into writing an isorhythmic motet in the Ars Nova style (with a paper on top).  If the words "isorhythmic motet" don't hurt your head, I don't know what will.

Needless to say, I did not want to get stuck with that sort of project again.  So I took up the reigns and spent my entire January break thinking up an honors project.  I knew that it had to be good; if it wasn't, my professor would choose my project again and I'd get stuck counting 16th notes and interpreting ancient mensuration signs again.  Slowly but surely, inspiration did its work.  I thought out the project and presented the idea to my professor.  And she accepted.  Here's my plan:

I'm going to write a novella on Mozart.

I knew this would be a huge undertaking (I'm starting now for the end of the semester).  As I'm starting my research, I'm realizing that this is even bigger than I imagined (and I over-compensated when I imagined).  Omgosh!  Mozart is such a complex character.  I only hope that I can do him justice!  Everyone has their own perception of him.  I'm trying to get to the core of things.  As usual, I'm trying to get to the truth.

I've started with a book that discounts all the myths about Mozart.  In other words: whatever you think you know about Mozart probably isn't true.  However, he WAS a genius and he WAS an incredible person and I can't wait to illuminate his life through fiction.

I've decided to focus my novella around the premiere of Cosi fan tutte.  I've chosen this because 1. it allows for some drama/conflict goodness and 2. it allows me to incorporate Miss Luisa Villeneuve.  Now, this is the cool part.

In my lessons, Tammy gave me two Mozart concert arias to put on my recital.  Both of those arias were written for Luisa Villeneuve.  So!  I get to incorporate both classes into my honors project!  How cool is that?

Sorry for geeking out on you.  I'm just so excited for this project!  I spend time researching every day.  I have so much more to read and learn (even though I had a head start in the summer -- I read 8 books on Mozart).  History is so intriguing and mysterious and complex.  It's fun to read what's there and imagine what's not.

I shall keep you updated whether you like it or not.  I'm super-excited.

I just got back from a wonderful concert: Jars of Clay, Sixpence None the Richer, Leeland, and Sara Groves. I love Jars and Sixpence, but I didn't know Leeland. They were a bit young but very good. They looked like a bunch of hobbits, and that made them cute. :) I didn't like Sara Groves (but I never have).

It's so weird though. As much as I enjoyed that concert, it's still nowhere near the enjoyment that I get out of classical concerts. The Phil and the Met...there's nothing like it! Absolutely nothing.

Don't get me wrong; there were some great musicians onstage tonight. It's just...there's something special (at least for me) about classical music. There's nothing like it in all the world.

And it made me think. This must be a fallen world because there are moments with no music.

mcollinknight did a wonderful meme giving the first/best line of each first post of the month for each month of this year. She's an outstanding writer so her's was rather poetic. Since I'm first and musician and second a writer, I'm going to switch it up a little. I did the same thing (went to the first post of each month) and took down what I'd written in the "music" section. So, here's my year in music:

( Playlist 2008 )

BTW, I just noticed that my icon is a snapshot from Resolutions. That show appealed to me. I don't like Chakotay/Janeway; I just like the energy and the visuals in the show- they're very unusual. I've watched it more than once, which is more than usual for a Voyager show since I'm going through the series for the first time. I was watching the show and I saw that moment and I'm like, "Where have I seen that recently?" And it was this icon! I didn't realize that the white stuff in the bottom left-hand corner is text; I thought she was wearing one of the old-style dresses that she wears in the holodeck. I am so silly! This makes me happier. :)

Ok, it's off to finish my final final project. Then I'm completely free from school until the end of January. Hurray! Isorhythmic motet, here I come!

I've gone through three cups of tea tonight. Ahhh, what finals do to you!

I caught the Richard Tucker Gala on PBS last night. (It was so great!) My brother's in the livingroom and he shouts to me (in the kitchen, studying away),

"There's people singing in dresses. You might want to see this."

I heard about three notes and I immediately knew what it was. Una voce poco fa! Joyce Didonato! Omgosh, LOVE!

All plans of watching TV for the rest of the night were off for my brothers. It's their own fault, really. I did let them watch the weird "making of the Wiz" show during the Wagner arias. I'm so generous.

I don't have much time (I need SLEEP), so I'll make it brief.

I got an A on my vocal jury (YAY!!). It was the only A they gave out that day! I felt so honored. They said what I expected mostly ("don't lose so much air on the consonants!" etc). I was very happy with how it all turned out and so was Beck. :)

Christmas is coming. I cannot wait for it. I love Christmas. This year is going to be especially good. Everyone's coming to our house. And it's not only family. It's family and every other Christmas-orphan (people who have nowhere else to go). I love having a million people over for a holiday and Christmas is one of the best. I just really want school to be OVER for this semester and my life to kick back into high-gear. I'm plotting a novel in my head that I can't wait to start. There's a few developing simultaneously, but you can only physically write one at a time, right? Hmm...

Okay, it's off to bed for me! I'm reading Marrying Mozart right now and it's outstanding and I really don't want to sleep because I want to read but alas...

If you need something to make you laugh, check this out. It never gets old...
(P.S. If you thought you didn't like opera, think again. This comes from Bernstein's "opera," Candide.)


P.S. It snowed today and it was so pretty! The snowflakes were more like snowblobs and they were beautiful! They fell so soft (and wet) on your head and all you could do was smile. :)