Finally

I am so happy right now. Once again, I had an amazing lesson with Dr. Carroll. What is going on? I should not be having this much success...I am so not used to it.

It is official. I now have my entire rep chosen for my first Graduate Recital at CCM:

Sonate pour alto solo--Ligeti
I. Hora Lunga
II. Loop
V. Lamento
VI. Chaconne chromatique

Concerto in A for Viola and Orchestra, Op. 75--Rubbra
I. Introduzione quasi una fantasia
II. Molto vivace
III. Collana musicale

It is going to kick some serious trash!

Intrigue

I read some quotes today of a discussion involvin Jesse Green (moderator), Nora Ephron (author), Frank Rich (columnist), Jonathan Tunick (orchestrator and EGOT winner) and George C. Wolfe (director) of which are the greatest musicals. Very interesting discussion. The results are a three-way tie for first place--Guys and Dolls, Gypsy and Sweeney Todd. Followed by The King and I and then West Side Story. The rest of the top ten are Carousel, Porgy and Bess, Show Boat, A Chorus Line, and Sunday in the Park. Anyway, here are the quotes:

"A musical is what happens when text collides with motion collides with song collides with spectacle. And spectacle can be the human heart; it doesn’t necessarily have to be a helicopter crashing. You can go see ballet in its purity; you can go to a recital to hear music by itself. But what the American musical does so thrillingly is bastardize these forms into something that is exhilarating and compelling and deeply moving."

"I also respond when two worlds that don’t belong together end up together. That’s why the musical could only have been born here: New York is all these little countries sharing a city. All the different rhythms of those different communities is what made the American musical possible."

Granted, I am not as sophisticated as these people and am not as well versed (aka seen the shows), but I have a top ten that is completely biased, though I do have some that align.

Sweeney Todd, Carousel, A Little Night Music, Grey Gardens, See What I Wanna See, Wild Party, Sunset Boulevard, Dear World, Gypsy and Sunday in the Park with George

Tonight 53 women share a dream, not a husband.

So, it is now the third week of the quarter. Really? Where did the other two weeks go?? Oh wait, I think I have an idea...

I have been spending most of my time practicing for the Aspen Fellowship audition that was yesterday. If you ask me why, the only reason I can come up with is forced practice on something I do not want to spend time working on--ie. Don Juan and Mendelssohn. The intensive situations I put myself in has bettered my preparation technique, audition situation and overall, has furthered my capabilities as a violist.

So, how did the audition go? I played the excerpts the best I had played them in succession without stopping. That is a nice acomplishment. My Bach was eh. Not bad, not amazing. I had a couple unclear chords, but my musicality was nice. Hoffmeister was great until page three when I completely missed a shift. Woof. Overall, I am pleased because I focused my attention on the excerpts and that is what I played well.

This summer, I have three options:

1- Aspen
2- CCM Spoleto in Italy. The audition for this is in Feb with the conductors of CCM. Should be a great audition (especially after Mark Gibson's comments to me). It would be fun to go to Italy for six weeks for free. Hopefully I can get the fellowship for that as well. It requires...drumroll...Don Juan and Mendelssohn. No brainer there.
3- NYC. I would have June-basically October to make connections and really see what it would take/what I need to be able to play for shows. With connections, drive and commitment I have, hopefully I can at least score some subbing gigs. If that were the case, I technically wouldn't have to graduate from CCM. However, I would still be enrolled here just in case it doesn't work out or even try to AD at Juilliard with Kawasaki. This is just an idea, an if per-se. What is the purpose of graduate school? GET A JOB!

So, life here in gray Cincinnati is great. School is wonderful, as is the viola. Friends are still awesome, even if they are sick. Makeup class is going well where I have a "beautiful forehead" (which raises questions to the reasonings behind my self conciousness...??). Durocher is still great and continutes to make me happy. Hopefully this continues. The trend is still going strong. I will keep my fingers crossed.

Miss America was a hoot. Did you see the so called "talents"? Did you hear the awful introductions? What a hot tranny mess.

9 degrees and 20 mph winds

It is amazing to me how one event, or a collection of people, can really change an outlook on life.

This past week, I have been really happy. It is not my usual, "Blake-always-has-a-smile-on-his-face." It is more of a "this-is-the-awesomeness-that-life-should-be" kind.

Without tests/assignments/grades getting in the way, this quarter has started off with some positive occurances (what a STARK contrast to the beginning of fall...enough said):

1-I am the violist for A Little Night Music. Check--on my list of scores to play before I die. Also, the production is going to be very well done with an excellent cast, apparently. I saw some of the wigs today, and they are just breathtaking. So stunning. I cannot wait to see the costumes (poor Anna...) and the set (go Ryan!). Should be great.

2- Durocher.

3-I am playing for Le Nozze di Figaro. Granted, I have already performed Mozart's crazy, too-many-notes bravura, but it will be nice to play it with a crazy budget and even crazier singers.

4-I am taking intro to makeup with Hannah. Kelly (Kaitie's mother) is teaching the course. Let's see how awful I am--hopefully I will not be written in the books like Fran.

5-I had an amazing first lesson with Kawasaki. Since when does he crack jokes and smile the whole lesson? Also, one lesson on Ligeti's Hora Lunga and he says move on to the next movement. QUOI!?!

6-I picked up Don Juan and, after some hard practicing and a little bit of luck, am now taking the Aspen Fellowship Audition. Christopher Koelzer, why do you influence me to make decisions that stress me out? Thanks for always having faith in me.

7-I have great friends.

8-Durocher. This deserves another iteration.

So, that is basically my life in the first week. I am really hoping that my optimism and euphoric state continues. It is so great when things are, well...great. It is something to look forward to when times are like the weather, bleak.

Objectivst

"When one experiences the kind of pure happiness that is an end in itself--the kind that makes one think: 'This is worth living for'--what one is greeting and affirming in emotional terms is the metaphysical fact that life is an end in itself."--Ayn Rand