I Loooove Billings. I just got home from San Francisco, (which was wonderful!), but it's so nice to be home again. The air just feels so fresh and clean here. And smells good too.
My audition at the San Francisco Conservatory went extremely well, and I am happy that the faculty seemed very interested in me and my playing. Now in less than two weeks it's off to New York for the Mannes and Manhattan School of Music auditions...!
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
Sunday, February 14, 2010
The Swan
Here's a poem I wrote expressing a little of the frustration I feel at being a musician and facing the occasional blatant condescending rejection as I struggle to "put myself out there". Interestingly enough, often it seems that this turning-up-of-the-nose comes from (older) accomplished musicians, teachers, or judges...
The Swan
When
I am no longer afraid
Then shall I run.
When fear has finally left me
Then the time shall come
That I will look
And not desire inside
To cast my eyes down,
To hide.
Look! You see,
The greatness is inside me
Already
Waiting to be free
But there are walls that still enclose
The most beautiful part of me.
But --
When these walls finally fall
(It is not a matter of if...but when)
Then
All the people who could not see
Will be surprised
And they will ask
From whence I came
Then I will tell them
It has always been the same:
The ugly duckling is not known
By its true name
Until in time it becomes too plain
That the duckling was no duck at all
But a finer creature -
Elegant, and tall,
Sprung from the small, gray bird
That was before them.
Then they'll recall
That they have known me
All along.
And though, through ignorance
They could not see,
The swan, I knew,
Was always me.
The Swan
When
I am no longer afraid
Then shall I run.
When fear has finally left me
Then the time shall come
That I will look
And not desire inside
To cast my eyes down,
To hide.
Look! You see,
The greatness is inside me
Already
Waiting to be free
But there are walls that still enclose
The most beautiful part of me.
But --
When these walls finally fall
(It is not a matter of if...but when)
Then
All the people who could not see
Will be surprised
And they will ask
From whence I came
Then I will tell them
It has always been the same:
The ugly duckling is not known
By its true name
Until in time it becomes too plain
That the duckling was no duck at all
But a finer creature -
Elegant, and tall,
Sprung from the small, gray bird
That was before them.
Then they'll recall
That they have known me
All along.
And though, through ignorance
They could not see,
The swan, I knew,
Was always me.
San Francisco Conservatory Concert Hall
Here are some pictures I took on my cell phone of the beautiful concert hall at the San Francisco Conservatory tonight. The orchestra was about to play a concert, but I went upstairs to practice instead of listen :-(. I have to audition tomorrow though, and it's been a day and a half now since I'd touched a piano...
Saturday, February 13, 2010
Blogging for the first time...
So I've been having this itch to begin keeping my own blog recently... I'm still not sure if I like what I called it but I guess "Life and Music" pretty much covers it all for me.
I'm in San Francisco right now, getting ready to audition for the San Francisco Conservatory on Sunday. I have two more auditions after this (in New York on March 1st), and then we will see what happens...
I got some good news this week that I will be playing in Carnegie Hall on March 14th! I entered a DVD of my playing to the American Protege Competition and was chosen as a winner. That makes me very happy. It won't be a solo recital (I will be performing with the other winners in the Professional category), but that's okay. I've been wanting to play in Carnegie hall for about... ten years. I almost won a recital there about seven years ago when I won an Honorable Mention in the Pinault International Competition, but only 1st and 2nd prizewinners performed at Carnegie. And then I almost did again two years ago when I won 2nd prize in another competition - but of course only the 1st prize winner played in Carnegie Hall. So now at last I get a little chance. Hopefully there will be more of them to come!
I'm in San Francisco right now, getting ready to audition for the San Francisco Conservatory on Sunday. I have two more auditions after this (in New York on March 1st), and then we will see what happens...
I got some good news this week that I will be playing in Carnegie Hall on March 14th! I entered a DVD of my playing to the American Protege Competition and was chosen as a winner. That makes me very happy. It won't be a solo recital (I will be performing with the other winners in the Professional category), but that's okay. I've been wanting to play in Carnegie hall for about... ten years. I almost won a recital there about seven years ago when I won an Honorable Mention in the Pinault International Competition, but only 1st and 2nd prizewinners performed at Carnegie. And then I almost did again two years ago when I won 2nd prize in another competition - but of course only the 1st prize winner played in Carnegie Hall. So now at last I get a little chance. Hopefully there will be more of them to come!
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