Tiny Car.

My mom just wrote an entry about this...but I would just like to take a minute to say that I am completly in love with Smart Cars. When we were in Europe (on the cruise...) there were tons of these things everywhere. Of course, they are far to small to drive in the States. If you ever got into an accident, you would be crushed into nothing (or at least a very compact version of yourself). But they are really cute. I would most like to live in a city where cars are not needed (I guess that makes my choices: NYC) but if I needed to own a car, I would like to own one of these. The two person version...I drive, the cello sits in the passenger seat. Everything would work out perfectly. Apparently someone is planning on releasing the smart car in this country...I will be at the front of the line to buy one. And check above for some pictures from Dubrovnik (the complete set is over at facebook...but you can see the better pictures on flickr).

Tags: smart car, Dubrovnik

1019.

My profile has been viewed 1019 times since opening a blogger account. This makes me feel special and validated. Especially since there isn't anything special to read in there. So thanks, and keep reading.

Strauss=Disaster

Yesterday we had a complete day of TMCO Rehearsals. The Shostakovich came together pretty well with Bernard Haitink...a bit sloppy, but it was ok. The Strauss Death and Transfiguration was a total mess. People don't really know their parts (probably because we spent a week practicing our Shostakovich Quartets) and things just aren't happening. At the sectional we were forced to read the piece at warp speed...even when it was slowed down at the rehearsal yesterday things were crap. Hmmm....if we can barely function in this tiny little tone poem, how are we going to get through all of Elektra?!?!!? I went to the yoga center yesterday to use the fitness room...very tiny, and nobody really uses it. It was just me and one other guy. I ran on the elliptical for 20 mins and that was all I could do...better start getting back into it! According to their scale I have gained 10 pounds since I lost the weight from the cruise. I find that hard to believe in life after love but, maybe its right? Today it is raining a ton. Which I kind of like. The only problem is that my umbrella is in the car, so I can't use it to get to the car. Which gives me an excuse to wear this little target jacket that can protect me from the rain. Yay. I have begun to play phone tag with the mysterious Lauren R...she will be up in the Berkshires for Bang on a Can at MassMoca, which I really want to go and see! If only the program was free, I would be there in a second (if I got in!). But I guess this summer I will have to be happy with just seeing their concerts. And anyway...I get to play some crazy shit here at Tanglewood...I should see if the Turnage parts are ready yet. And now I have to join Shakira Heather Braun in the car to go to rehearsal.

Summer Listening List

1. Hips Don't Lie
2. Pump It
3. Everytime We Touch

It is guaranteed that everytime we touch get in the car I get this feeling these three songs will be played. Thank you Shakira Heather Braun.

Moving On.

The Tyringham Quartet completed our first and only performance yesterday around 3:00pm. Things went pretty well...I wish I could have played a bit better in the Shostakovich. I missed some things that I really hadn't missed before, but other parts did go well, so overall, I should be pleased (note the prominent use of the word should...indicating that I am most likely not pleased...but honestly, am I ever?) So now things take a big shift from how they were going...I must bid farewell to my lovelies of the Tyringham Quartet and begin to think about orchestra, which starts tomorrow with a lovely string sectional. After four years at Eastman I have come to dread the string sectional...as all of you Eastmanites know how those dreadful sectionals in OSL 101 go...one thing I WON'T be missing about Eastman. The first orchestra concert consists of Mozart Symphony No. 35 (which has become close to my heart as an excerpt that I used to be good at...but lately have failed at...perhaps it will return to me someday?)...Strauss Death and Transfiguration, which I have always wanted to play and Shostakovich's Symphony No. 10...which should be delightful. Bernard Haitink will be conducting us. Also in the works are rehearsals for the Shostakovich Octet. I thought it would be hard to work with four completely new people (especially after coming off of three years with the lovely Cape Cod "Its one brain over here" Experiment)...but it is indeed very difficult to work with SEVEN (count em) new people. All should be well in the end I think. I have used to word lovely quite a few times in this entry. One question: I suddenly have an urge after going to an excerpt class to take the BSO audition (not a real one, its just for TMC fellows to play a concert with the BSO over the summer). Perhaps I will practice hard for the next two days and make a fool of myself at the audition...what do you think? If I did that, then I could also take the New World sub list audition a few days later! I think I might just go for it. I leave you with this picture of the Tyringham String Quartet...its short life will be remembered for at least a week. (you can view more pictures here if you have a facebook account...which you should...loser...)

Tags: Tanglewood, quartet, concert

More from Tanglewood.

Just got back from a good yoga class. I was much better at it than I expected myself to be, seeing as I haven't really done it in four years. One thing that was really bugging me was the fact that the instructor didn't always show you the pose...he would simply describe how to get into it, or sometimes just say its name and you were supposed to know what to do. Not all of us are on the same yoga wavelength. I had to quietly spy my way around the room several times to see what others were doing and kind of adjust mine accordingly. Overall I think I did rather well! I don't see the 7:00am meditations really working out for me...and today the grand master yoga guy said, "I know that the 7am meditations won't work for all of you." Therefore, I don't really see myself going to them much at all. Starting next week, going to yoga classes will be much easier (since we won't have string quartet from sun-up to sun-down). Ack! Speaking of String Quartet...the concert takes place this Saturday in Ozawa Hall on the Tanglewood Grounds. There are three concerts, 10am, 1pm, and 4pm...everyone plays Mozart and Shostakovich. My group (the Tyringham Quartet) will be performing last on the 1pm concert...so if you are in the area, you must surely stop by and see us. I guess we played the Mozart loud enough to warrant it ending a recital. Tomorrow is the dress in Ozawa Hall...everyone says that it is a really bizarre hall and that you can't hear anyone at all since the stage goes back 40 feet behind you, and the ceiling is also very high. Should be interesting to pull off performing for the first time with a new group of people I don't really know a concert of difficult music in a setting where we won't be able to hear each other! At least the Mozart is loud.

Speed Blogging

More rehearsals.

First performance over.

The Tyringham Quartet survived our first performance (well, it was just a masterclass). Things could have gone a lot worse, but they could have gone a lot better. I was actually kind of nervous, but it all worked out in the end. It looks like we are going to perform all of the music we have learned (meaning the entire Shostakovich plus the Mozart)...which means I need to start practicing my ass off. And we need to rehearse a lot more. And the concert is on Saturday. So yeah. Should be fun. And I just talked to someone here who I thought I recognized. It turns out we were at Point Counterpoint at the same time and lived in the same cabin...crazy!!

Remembering CCE.

Last night was the first of 2 three and a half hour masterclasses to take place during the string quartet seminar. Last night's could have been subtitled: "A CCE Celebration." The reason for this is that several CCE classics were performed. First, the memorable Shostakovich String Quartet No. 5...alas, Heather and I were not sitting next to each other, so we could not make faces at one another. Oh well. Probably more important was the performance of one quartet that shall remain nameless but should be recognized easily by its immortal lyrics: Would you like a pistachio? Or perhaps a pecan? Or would you like... A Quartet by Bartok? Miss CCE lots...where are you guys?

She might be Japanese now.

Welcome back Ms. Kimberly Fitch (aka Fimmy) I will call later tonight I believe. Is this completely inappropriate for a blog entry?

Not Tired Anymore.

Its time for another day of String Quartet Seminar at the Tanglewood Music Center. This means there will be hours of rehearsal starting in a mere 10 minutes. Following that there will be hours of coaching. And then after that there will be hours of masterclasses. And then it all repeats again the day after. Its a good thing I like doing it and I have a good group! In other news: I took a nap at 7:30 last night...and woke up at midnight. I then went to sleep for good and woke up this morning at 8:15 (after turning off my 6:40am alarm and skipping meditation). I didn't realize I was that tired...but maybe now I will be finally caught up on sleep? Time to go and play high notes.

Tired?

My group just rehearsed from 9:30-12:15 with no breaks. And know we have coachings from 3:-5:45. In other news: I stepped on my sunglasses.

Tags: Tanglewood, rehearse, quartet, coaching, sunglasses

Photos.

Check the facebook profile for photos from Dubrovnik (Croatia) and Taormina (Sicily).

String Quartet Seminar.

Tanglewood has officially begun. During the first week I will only be concerned with the String Quartet Seminar: most of the string players are assigned a quartet and you learn two pieces. This year everyone learns a Mozart and a Shostakovich...I have Shosti 14, which was dedicated to the cellist of the Beethoven Quartet (translation: lots of cello stuff). We had our first coaching today with Joel Krosnick (who we will have all week) and it was really great! He just recorded the Shostakovich Quartets with the Juilliard Quartet so he had so much information just ready to go. I am very interested to here their recording now, since he talked to so much about what kinds of moods and characters he was thinking about when playing it...so interesting!! I had never known anything about him before, except that lots of people want to study with him...and now I know why! If only I hadn't been rejected from Juilliard (although I wouldn't have studied with him if I had been accepted...oh well!). The schedule for this week plays like a typical CCE one: rehearsal from 10-12...then lunch...free period after lunch (my group rehearsed rather than taking a break) then back to back coachings from 3:00-5:45. I have realized that I really do enjoy being super busy. During the yoga retreat we had to write done 10 things we love about being a musician and 10 things we hate about being a musician...I put extremely busy schedule under the things I love...is that strange? My group is pretty fun...one current Rice violinist, one recently graduated Rice violinist, and a violist from Yale (who I met at New York String Seminar two years ago!). The Shostakovich is going surprisingly well...the Mozart Adagio and Fugue is much much trickier and will require more careful rehearsal. But things are going well so far!! Yay!

Tags: Tanglewood, Joel Krosnick, Mozart, CCE, Shostakovich

Here.

I'm now at Miss Hall's School...aka where we live at Tanglewood. Meeting occurs in 8 minutes. Rehearsal begins tomorrow.

Things are very calm.

Heather and I have officially arrived in the Tanglewood area. We are a day early to the festival (most arrive tomorrow) because we are taking part in a special yoga/music study thing. We had to fill out tons of forms and questions and for the rest of the 9 weeks we take yoga and meditation classes and get free lunch and fun spa days at the Kripalu Center (minutes away from the Tanglewood grounds). Things were a little too touchy-feely (feel your emotions type stuff) for me today, but I think in general things will be good. We are staying at the yoga center tonight and its a very quiet and reflective place. Heather and I needed to escape to 'historic Lenox' for a quick ice cream. Is it a bad sign that the meditation tonight was making me really hyper and on edge? I could hardly stand it. Maybe I should work on that. Tomorrow we participate in more yoga fun and get transferred to Miss Hall's School, where we live for the rest of the summer. TMC starts the next day in all its glory. More to come later!

Tags: Tanglewood, Kripalu, yoga, quiet, meditate, ice cream

List of the Day

1. Current Location: Room 209...Eastman Student Living Center, Rochester, New York...courtesy of Sara B.
2. Hours spent en route to above mentioned location: 12.
3. Hours spent in a traffic delay in above mentioned route: approx 1.
4. Vehicles involved in above mentioned accident: a bus and a truck carrying livestock.
5. Number of times Unfaithful was heard on iPod/radio: at least 5.
6. Number of times Shakira was heard on iPod/radio: not enough.

Tags: Eastman, accident, travel, Rihanna, Shakira

Leaving once again.

This week at home has been rather uneventful. Mostly consisting of errands (with a brief break for a wedding). Tomorrow Heather and I leave for Tanglewood, land of lots of music. BT3 embarks sometime close to 7am and will bring us to Rochester tomorrow night, where the lovely Sara has agreed to put us up in an undisclosed location (aka the dorm!!). Dim-Sum should be consumed and crazy Rochester times will be had. Hopefully in the next few days my schedule will become ironed out and more consistent, therefore making it more possible to blog. I feel lately as if I have not been a part of the blogosphere...both writing, and reading other blogs. I'm so far behind on reading others that I might as well not try and catch up. But hang in there faithful OhMyTrill readers, a more normal blogging pace should return in the next few days as I get settled in Lenox or Pittsfield or whatever. Tomorrows listening list includes:

1. Strauss: Elektra
2. Shostakovich: String Quartet No. 14
3. Hindemith: Matias de Mahler (or something like that)
4. Shakira
5. All of the old favorites (The Producers, Nutcracker, Wagner?, Cher)

Tags: Tanglewood, Rochester, Strauss, Shakira, Cher

Back and not blogging

I've been back for a few days now and haven't been able to blog. The internet here is horrendous and hardly ever available (we have one line and my dad is on it all day). Whenever I get a chance to blog, there seems to be some issue with wither blogger, or the badness of this internet connection. But anyway...jetlag is starting to wear off. I woke up kind of early this morning, but its getting better. I was pretty out of it for a few days. I finished watching season 4 of Six Feet Under last night: such an amazing show. Seasons 3 and 4 are nowhere near as strong as seasons 1 and 2 (which are spectacular). The writing kind of gets lost and we aren't really sure where things are going (and they don't really go anywhere). Not to mention some very "much talked about" episodes, such as when David gets hijacked by a hitchhiker and gets tortured really intensely for an entire episode (which was over an hour). Crazy. They threw in a shocker in the end, which I didn't see coming. I hear season 5 is amazing and the last episode is one of the best ever to end a show. I wonder if I can watch the entire thing before I leave for Tanglewood? Embarrassing: I kind of like Rihanna...scary I know. Lots o people is coming in for a certain event happening tomorrow!! Should be exciting!

Tags: internet, blog, Rihanna, Six Feet Under

Trip: Final (Monaco)

**Let's just say when you have shitty internet, its much harder to blog. Here is an entry I wrote a few days ago**

Right now, as I am typing this entry, I have a beautiful view of the country of Monaco: more specifically the Grand Casino. The ship pulls right into the city here...if I jumped into the water from my room it would literally take me 3 minutes to swim to shore and about another 5 to walk to the Casino! Today me and my parents explored the city...it rained in the morning so we went to the old section of the town and took a tour of the Prince's Palace. Its a very nice place complete with lots of art (that isn't very good) and very fancy furniture (that isn't really used). Nonetheless, I wouldn't say no to living there. Monaca is the same type of tiny little Euro-town (with mini-streets many of which are pedestrian only) but it has been much more built up like an American city. There are tall, modern buildings all up along the hills here, and it looks really cool! They are starting to get set up for the Gran Prix, an auto race that takes place in the streets of the City (the entire country is the city, and only the area directly around the Casino is called Monte Carlo). There are bleachers everywhere! The sun came out in the afternoon so we went up to the Casino, which is beautiful. This really is a city of the rich and famous: designers stores on every corner (and in between every corner!). Everyone looks fabulous all the time. They worship Grace Kelly like a god!! Huge yachts are constantly pulling in and out of the harbor. We went into the casino, put you need to buy chips to get into the actual betting area, and you need a passport with you to buy chips, so we just saw the lobby. Tomorrow we fly back to Chicago via Nice and Paris. It should be long and uncomfortable. But much fun awaits me at home, so I am looking forward to it! I will enjoy my final evening aboard the Crystal Symphony, and will hopefully reboard in the future with CCE!

Tags: Monte Carlo, trip, Monaco

Trip: Day 11 (at sea)

Let's just say I had too many Limoncello Martinis at the captain's farewell cocktail party (they were free...so I just kept getting more...) Hmmm...today was uneventful. I saw a cooking demonstration by world famous chef Sam Choy: he made shrimp cakes with creamed orzo sauce. They were served the other day at the dinner he threw, and they were very good. The rest of the day consisted of sitting around and doing nothing. The deadline for postcards has passed...if you gave me your address I did send you one, don't worry. Some of you with foreign addresses: I hope I wrote them down correctly!! Tomorrow we will be in Monte Carlo. Right now I have a headache.

Trip: Day 10 (Florence)

First off: I love Florence. Second off: the Uffizi Gallery is a madhouse. I must have had very large expectations, but the place was just crazy. They literally heard you from room to room since there are so many people there; and they limit the number of people inside: you have to make a reservation, so technically there shouldn't be too many people in at the same time. The worst was waiting to see The Birth of Venus...the room right before is very very small, and people were hoarding up at the gate until the woman finally opened it and a huge flood of people ran in to see the painting. OMG. Disaster. The whole experience was not fun. The art in the gallery is infamous, but it was a kind of torture inside. The true joy of the Florence visit came from seeing the Duomo. I remember being very excited about the huge dome on the cathedral in art history and seeing it in person was amazing. I had no idea that it was so huge. We didn't have a chance to go inside and/or climb to the top of the dome; if I ever come back that will be first on the list...although the doors on the baptistry are not original (a copy after the original was damaged in a flood) it was still very interesting to see. The Duomo is an amazing building: built in the same huge intimidating style as the Vatican. For sure one of my favorite stops on the trip. For the first time we took a complete guided tour of Florence...stopping at the above mentioned sites as well as a few others around the town. I felt kind of lame...we really could have done it ourselves, probably much more effectively. The guide that we picked up on the street yesterday knew loads more than the one that was hired by the cruise ship. Whatever...I loved the city anyway. Shopping and eating was also performed after the trip to the Uffizi. Tonight a concert was given by a pianist that is a grad of Eastman! I talked to her afterwards and she gave me some advice on getting a cruise job. Persistence is key! I just need to do a tiny bit more investigative work and an application will be written and sent. This could actually happen! The pianist was good, but her program left something to be desired...she obviously aimed her music at the older crowd (notice a trend in entertainment on this cruise?) and featured lots of boring dead composers. Figures. Tomorrow is the deadline for postcards, so if you didn't send me your mail address you won't be getting one. We will be at see tomorrow, so a few last minute submissions could be entertained. Don't hesitate! One day after tomorrow we will dock in Monte Carlo as the final stop. I would like to go into the Grand Casino, just to see it; you know?

Trip: Day 9 (Rome)

Today was the impossible: see Rome in one day. I guess if you are going to see anything at all in Rome, the #1 would be the Sistine Chapel (as well as the Vatican Museum, and just the Vatican overall). So when we got off the bus this morning, we proceeded directly to the Vatican to get in line. And when we got there, the line was at least two hours (or more) long. It was ridiculous. I think something like 30,000 people see the Sistine Chapel EVERY DAY. And most of them were in line. So we are looming around, looking at the line and this woman comes up to us and is like, "I have a tour guide near the front of the line, you can pay 37 euros to wait in line with her and get a great tour." So we did it. We skipped more than half the line (which subtracted AT LEAST one hour off the wait, probably more...we couldn't even see where the end of the line was). She bought our tickets for us=we didn't need to wait in ticket lines...We had to wait about an hour total, but after that we got a guided tour of the major sites in the Vatican Museum...and omg... ITS AMAZING. You must go here if you ever go to Rome. Every room you walk into is chock full of tons and tons and tons of art EVERYWHERE. Apparently, the Vatican Museum is the largest museum in the world in terms of amount of stuff..and I believe it. Our guide covered the most major items (the School of Athens, some major sculptures, the Sistine Chapel...duh) but we breezed through soooo many rooms with hardly even a glance...and we hardly saw any of the rooms. This place is INSANE. And of course its all worth it to see the Sistine Chapel if nothing else. While studying the panels a piece of paper may be more effective (since the art is so high up) its amazing to walk in the chapel and just be completely washed over with amazingness. There is just so much life everywhere you look in the chapel. We got to look for ten minutes, and that was hardly enough to see it. As we walked out I kept looking around the corner, trying to get my last looks in. Who knows if I will ever be able to see it again. I am so happy that I was able to see it at least once. {sigh} After the Chapel and Museum we wandered over to the Basilica where one of the most famous/important pieces of art is: The Pieta. It is very far back and covered in glass (since a crazy tourist ran up to it with a hammer a while back and chopped off the virgin Mary's nose which has since been replaced). The sheer size of the Basilica is amazing. I never thought I would see a church that large. They were really trying to intimidate with size. On the way out in the public square they had all the chairs set up for the Pope's regular public appearance. It was strange to see a place that I seen so many times on TV! Its MUCH bigger in person (duh) and just as intimidating as the rest of the Vatican. Ridiculous. The rest of the Rome trip was Rome on speed. We tried to catch some major sights on the way back to the bus: The Pantheon (which was closed) and the Spanish Steps. It was raining very heavily and we were soaked and some people were getting mad etc...but I am happy to have glimpsed these sites at the very least. I got to climb the Spanish Steps (no pictures were taken because of the heavy rain)... I think that Rome is my favorite stop of the trip so far...Definitely the most artistically important. however tomorrow will challenge it. We dock in Livorno and will be taking a bus to Florence where we have reservations at the Uffizi Gallery. In art history the Uffizi was the default answer for works that we weren't sure which museum they were from...so basically, they have everything. OMG...I'm sooo excited. PS> Thank you to Lucy Durkin for getting me really excited about seeing all this art. If it weren't for her class, I probably wouldn't have cared much. To everyone who reads this blog: give me your address for postcards...I don't care if I hardly know you; I have a ton of them. Just email me your address and get a postcard from Europe! I hope everyone is having a fabulous time at home!! Miss you all!

Trip: Day 7/8 (places in Italy)

Sorry about the lack of update yesterday...the internet was down and I didn't feel like sitting around! To answer some questions: I tried to take one picture of the volcano, but it was very dark, and it was not a huge eruption, so it kind of just looks like a red spot...not very exciting. And yes, the freaky hanging thing was a cable car, but for some reason I have always called it a funicular. Is that weird? And I didn't know that Brad was telling people about my blog! Omg. I have spent the last two days in Sorrento, Italy...it is a very beautiful location near the Amalfai Coast (the city is very near to Naples). While the town itself is not a huge attraction (although it is very cute) there are tons of things to do that are not too far away. Yesterday we traveled to the historic city of Pompeii, covered by ash and lava in its prime. It was very fun to see it (I think I used to be really interested in it when I was younger). The casts of people (covering their faces etc) were kind of disturbing. Definitely worth more than a one day stop...we walked around for hours and saw most of the major sites, but there was still at least half of the village of Pompeii to see, not to mention Herculaneum and the Village of Mystery. Crazy! My dad and I ventured back into Sorrento last night to catch a little bit of Italian night life. It was cute. Today we traveled to the Isle of Capri: home of lots of beautiful things. I guess it is kind of a hide out for big celebrity types, but we didn't see any. It was really over crowded and annoying and we didn't have much time there (we got a late start and you have to take two different boats to get there). We skipped the famous Blue Grotto (some sort of cave you sail into via a tiny hole and get surrounded by a blue like created by light reflecting through the water) but we did make it to one of the most famous perfume stores in the world (the name escapes me). Apparently they make custom perfumes for all of the biggest stars etc...We made one very major purchase: a sort of egg with music written on it. My mom pointed them out in a shop window, so we went in to investigate...and low and behold, the piece was the Prelude to the Second Suite (aka The Old Standard)...as you know this piece holds a special place in my heart (and in my audition rep) so the asking price of 205 euros was ignored and the piece was purchased. I guess the artist is an Italian pianist and you can only find her work in this one store in Capri and another in a tiny town somewhere else in Italy. Cool! Again, I am wearing a tux for formal night. The theme of tonight's dinner was French: not my favorite, but good as always. The show featured movie musicals tonight; alas, it was aimed at the older crowd of the ship, so I recognized only about half of the songs. Oh well. Tomorrow we will attempt the monumental task of seeing Rome in one day. It is a holiday, so things may be a bit closed and strange. My mom insists that the Vatican will be open (since it is a different country and wouldn't observe Italian holidays). We will proceed directly to the Sistine Chapel, my one request for Rome! Omg!

Things that have happened while on this Cruise:

1. For breakfast, maple syrup is distributed in small jars that are sealed. I usually put one of these jars on my tray. Once seated at a table (a waiter usually takes the tray out of my hands and carries it to a table for me) a waiter comes over and opens the syrup and places it back on the table (they tray is usually removed by this point).
2. My room is made at least two times per day...in the morning after everybody leaves for the day (fresh towels etc...) and before bed while everyone is at dinner (the top blanket thing disappears and the pillows are all layed out perfectly...with a pillow menu where you can select which pillows suit your needs best.)
3. I saw an erupting volcano a few minutes ago. The ship pulled right up next to Stromboli (not the fast food place in Rochester) and the passengers gaped in amazement as several shots of lava erupted from the top!

Today in news:

1. Saw an ancient Greek Theatre.
2. Took a freaky hanging thing down the side of a mountain.
3. Ate a very nice lunch on a veranda overlooking the beautiful coast of Sicily.
4. Saw the town of Taormina.
5. Was tired all day.
6. Rolled my eyes at the fact that the theme tonight was 50's and the old people loved it.

Trip: Day Five (at sea...)

1. Couldn't wake up.
2. Had a breakfast that was way too fancy in the dining room (we usually go up on the deck for the buffet.)
3. Took a nap (by accident, but kind of on purpose) at the very top and rear of the boat. It is my secret place that nobody knows about: you can watch the ripples in the water behind the boat and sit peacefully in the sun (and run into the spa if you need a bottle of water!)
4. Went to the gym and walked around with my dad on the promenade deck (3.7 laps=1 mile).
5. Mediterranean buffet for lunch.
6. Wine tasting: old school Europe vs. New School California...I like Cali better.
7. Semi-formal dinner hosted by celebrity chef Sam Choy. I only had one of his dishes (shrimp cake with mushroom risotto). My main entree was short ribs...they were good, but my dads are better. Just ask Heather.
8. Gay boys took the stage again tonight. The theme was "symphony of nations" and they changed costumes about 4 times per song. They are good performers, but the shows are LAME. Old people love them. They took their shirts off a few times.
9. The day we go to Rome is a holiday and everything is closed. The ship is offering a private tour of the Vatican that will cost over $1200, which my parents will not pay for...poo...
10. It sounds like CCE could be hired kind of easily for a cruise. Are we interested? Would still have to send a tape and everything. OOC.
11. Tomorrow is Sicily.

Trip: Day 4...Dubrovnik

1. My parents and I explored the walled city of Dubrovnik, Croatia by climbing to the top of the wall and walking around the entire city (which isn't that big). Many stairs were involved (up and down and up and down) and many spectacular views were to be had.
2. I wrote and sent multiple postcards. Look in the mail; they will most likely arrive long after my trip is over! More will be sent! Let me know if you want one!
3. I went swimming in a salt water pool onboard the ship today. It was nice since it was warm out, but it was strange since it was salt water in a pool.
4. Harpist Shirley Dominguez gave another show tonight, this time featuring many Latin favorites and a medley from Phantom of the Opera and the infamous I Will Survive by Gloria Gaynor.
5. On top of the wall in Dubrovnik I heard such favorites as Madonna's Sorry, Kelly Clarkson's Since U Been Gone, and the Black Eyed Peas' Pump It. I never though I would hear those songs blasted from a little stereo on top of a wall built hundreds of years ago in Croatia.

Trip: Day Three (At Sea)

I just got back from tonight's show: Cole! (aka gay boys and hags onstage). I guess it was better than it should have been, but it was, along with all the shows here, a bit lame. They have the staff tripling up on all this stuff; one of the dancers in the show is also our lifeboat captain and I have seen him dressed in a tux working the crowds over at the various venues on ship. Today was very relaxing, we didn't see any land as we are off the coast of Italy 40 miles. Tomorrow we will visit Dbrovnik, Croatia. I have received mail addresses from many...postcards will begin to be mailed, don't hesitate to send your address!! Right now I am wearing a tux. Tonight was a formal night...tuxes were not required, but basically every guy was wearing them. My mom was talking overtime, so I kicked her under the table, but she didn't notice. Oh well. I wish I could be posting pictures, but alas, I cannot. You will have to wait until I return. While I am having fun here, I only wish I could be here with all of you. It would be so much more fun. I keep thinking about how all of you would react to everything thats going on, and it makes me happy! Missing all of you!

Trip: Day Two (Venice)

The Piazza San Marco is filled with tons of freakish pigeons. These birds will not hesitate to fly very fast very close to your head or even land directly on an outstretched arm or an unsuspecting head. This mad me very uncomfortable...but luckily I wasn't a victim. Venice Day 2 was even more exciting than the first. Stops included the Peggy Guggenheim Museum (which features works such as Brancusi's Bird In Space). Tons of good modern art was to be found: all housed in an amazing house overlooking the grand canal. A walking tour commenced; my parents and I had what is supposedly the best gelato in Venice, saw the Rialto Bridge, and took a boat/bus down the grand canal. Venice is truly one of a kind and I hope I will be able to return someday! Tonight's entertainment is of note: a harpist!! She played a very small harp standing up and had very long fingernails with which she was able to play a tremolo with only one finger on one string!! I talked to her afterwards...she had never heard of Eastman and has never taken a lesson in classical harp. She seemed very talented and played mostly pop tunes and Latin flavor songs. Pictures were taken and will be displayed. Tomorrow will be spent lounging around the boat (at the pool...wine tasting...formal dinner w/ tux!!) Wish you were here!!! PS> Send me your addresses so I can send you postcards!!

Trip: Day One (Venice)

Today was very long. We flew from Chicago to Amsterdam to Venice, then proceeded walk around Venice for a few hours. My dad figured that we have been up for about 43 hours straight (since there has been VERY minimal sleeping...the plane was VERY cramped). Venice is very fun. I'm very excited to be in Europe for the first time. Tomorrow will be another day in Venice; today was basically just a quick walk around to get the feel (see the Plaza San Marco etc...) The ship is also amazing...the dining room is amazing: its like eating in a restaurant where you order everything, and then you don't have to pay! The staff is amazingly friendly (they are already memorizing our names!) Thank you to everyone who called and/or facebooked me to give warm birthday wishes! My parents forgot until I mentioned that you guys had called me, and then they were like, "Happy Birthday!"...so yeah...I'm tired now, and the internet is going to expire soon. So yeah. More tomorrow!

Idol.

Today I saw my very first episode of American Idol. If I were to vote, I would go for Katherine McPhee...I'll admit that Taylor may be more charasmatic and talented...but lets be honest here: he seems really strange to me. Seriously, theres too many weird things going on over there; the clothing choice, the strange "dance moves," the white hair? He knows how to work an audience and everyone who was at the show seemed much more excited to see him than Katherine. Neither of them really got me excited, but I'm going for Katherine, so there. Here first and 3rd song were not terribly strong...Over The Rainbow was fun. Taylor's first song was great...the rest were boring...and he's weird. Win=Katherine. Wednesday is my birthday, so support my consumption habits and buy me things. {/end shameless self plug} I leave for Italy tomorrow...my mom is going crazy...I miss my friends (who called me several times today!)...I'm not quite done packing...and stuff and thing.

Back.

Yesterday was hard. And driving away from Rochester this morning was hard. I slept most of the day, and that helped. Somewhere past Buffalo Mary and Daniel zoomed past us and Mary gave me a call...I estimate they got to Chicago about 4 hours faster than we did. I'm sure we all have a strange void right now, but its hardest when I think about those who I won't be seeing anytime in the near future. I'm back now and I'm glad I have a zillion things to do tonight and tomorrow; otherwise I would only be thinking about the things and people I am missing. Ok...enough emotional graduation stuff...time to get back to blogging...the real way. I will not be bringing my computer to Italy, so updating may not be what I had hoped. Pictures won't be posted until I return, which is really sad. Ack!

End Scene.

I've spent all day trying to say goodbye to all of my friends here at Eastman. As most of you know, I'm not one to say very much, but I want you all to know that I really love you and I will really miss you. Guess its kind of basic, but its true. To those of you I will be seeing over the summer: thank god we still have some time together. To those of you I won't: {tears}

...

Less than 13 hours before I leave Rochester and all of my friends behind. It feels really strange.

Last Concert

CCE: The Final Concert 3:30pm Kilbourn Hall Schumann: Piano Quintet also, Matroyshka String Quartet & Destino Winds the end.

For Some Reason Its In Spanish

This may be my favorite clip from any active visual medium (TV and Film). For some reason the only clip on YouTube is in Spanish...so during all of the lines with subtitles, imagine that the characters are speaking English that is spoken backwards but playing in reverse, thus making it sound "normal" but not normal at all...whatever...Twin Peaks 4Eva!

Tags: Twin Peaks

Update and Future.

As I said in the entry directly below this I am at the very very end of my undergraduate schooling. I'm completely done with all my work...and nearly done with all of my performances (3:30pm Kilbourn Hall on Saturday=CCE+M4+Destino). I am however not done with all of my friends. There are a bunch of events planned this week in order to get us to see each other as much as possible. We learned how to make drinks...then we drank them the next night. Tonight we saw a very dirty hypnotist make people feel themselves on stage...not exactly sure how I feel about that. We still have a beach picnic and a bunch of receptions and a concert and the graduation itself...but I'm sure it will all fly by in a blink. I will miss everybody so much! I can't even imagine... As far as this blog...entries will be light for the next few days (if at all). As Nathaniel said in the comments below there is nothing more important than blogging, so I will try as I hard as I might to keep you informed! Starting May 24th (my birthday...ahem) this blog will become a cruise journal (a glorious trip from Venice to Monte Carlo) and shortly after that on June 15th this blog will become Tanglewood journal where you will get to read about the craziness of billions of orchestra and chamber music performances!! Have I mentioned my love for My Humps by the Black Eyed Peas? Obsessed. And I'm official at Rice...I sent in all of my forms!

Tags: graduation, friends, cruise, Tanglewood, My Humps, Rice University

Reasons I haven't blogged:

1. Its the end of my undergraduate career and there are more important things to do. I'll be back soon.

Concert.

+ 3:00pm Kilbourn Hall Haydn: Op. 74 No. 2 (CCE) Ravel: String Quartet (Ying) Mendelssohn: Octet Mvt. 1(CCE+Ying)

Surprise!!

In a sudden turn of events I decided to attend RICE UNIVERSITY for my masters. After carefully considering every tiny little detail for the two days I had to decide, I called Rice today to tell them I would be coming to school next year. They gave me more money...and more than anything it will be change from what I've been doing for the past four years. I will miss playing in Musica Nova and being able to work with Brad Lubman {sigh}...that was the main thing holding me back, but aside from that, there wasn't much left for me at Eastman. Right now I am pretty confident in my decision, so I hope it works out!!! Wow...I really didn't think I would end up in Houston!!

Happy and Confused

Happy: I am officially done with all of my degree requirements. No more papers or tests or anything else. I am now completely done with all the work of my undergraduate career!! There are a few concerts left, but those are mostly for enjoying the company of my amazing friends. Confused:This morning I got an official offer from Rice and the money they offered is a lot higher than the scholarship that Eastman offered (as expected). I need to do some serious thinking about where I will be going since I have to decide by Friday at 5:00pm. This morning after hearing the offer I was pretty set on Eastman, but now I am leaning towards Rice. I want to hear what you think. Really, I do. Tell me everything you think...maybe you thought of something I didn't (actually, I'm almost sure you did).

Tags: degree, done, Rice University

Work.

After 5:00pm tomorrow I will be completely done with my degree requirements. Before then I need to learn all there is to know about the history of Black Music in this country as well as write a paper about movies that I don't like (aka...Westerns). Right now I am trying to learn all of the listening examples for the test tomorrow at 12...but they all seem to be jazzy ragtime piano things. Hmmm...

Angels Done.

CCE's performance went smoothly enough: there were no major disasters, but I can't say that it was the most amazing performance ever. That may or may not have something to do with the fact that we did most of the work today. That made for kind of a long day...but it is always a joy to perform anything with CCE: no matter how under or over-rehearsed it may be. We have two more recitals before the end of the year: this Sunday we perform Haydn Op. 72 No. 2 as well as the first movement of the Mendelssohn Octet with our favorite teachers The Ying Quartet...the following weekend we play the Schumann Quintet on the Best of the Class of 2006 Chamber Concert. Its a lot of work to put all of this on, but its worth it...at least we can say we spent our final weeks having fun!! My Lovers:

Tags: Ying Quartet, Black Angels, CCE

Announcing.

I finally received my Tanglewood assignments. I won't be playing with Heather in anything (except orchestra) but it looks like things will be fun!! Here is the list--> Shostakovich: String Quartet No. 14 Mozart: Adagio and Fugue in C minor Shostakovich: Two Pieces for String Octet Ron Ford: Brandelli Turnage: Blood on the Floor and all of the orchestra concerts... Kind of sad about not being assigned to the concert of contemporary operas conducted by James Levine...oh well!

Tags: Tanglewood, Shostakovich, Mozart, Ron Ford, Turnage

CCE + Black Angels

Tonight CCE will attempt something it has never done before: perform Black Angels in Kilbourn Hall with very minimal rehearsal. This is the closest we have ever cut it before...the fun starts in 20 mins when we rehearse from 1:30-5:30 and learn the piece once and for all. Crystal glasses will be played. Thimbles will be attached to fingers. Strings will be plucked with paper clips. Gongs will be hit. Phrases in other languages will be shouted and whispered (loudly). And we will be amplified. OMG OMG OMG. This is so scary. I can't believe that this is happening! CCE Performs Black Angels...8PM Kilbourn Hall

Tags: CCE, Musica Nova, Crumb, Black Angels

iPod Knows All (or nothing)

Stolen from Damion's and Nathaniel's Blogs... You turn on your iPod. Shuffle. Play. The songs that come up answer the following questions in order (You can't change the questions and you can't skip songs. Be honest). So here goes... 1. How does the world see you? String Quartet No. 4 Mvt. 3 by Arnold Schoenberg...does this mean that people see me as dark, brooding, abstract and complicated? 2. Will I have a happy life? Do Ya (Feel the Love) from the Queer as Folk Soundtrack....I'll take that as a good sign? 3. What do my friends think of me? String Quartet No. 3 Mvt 1+2 by George Rochberg...It starts with something resembling the shower scene from Psycho. Over and over and over again. And then it turns into a super romantic classical piece. So are people confused about who I am? or do their opinions just change all the time? I guess I'm just more complicated than I thought. 4. Do people secretly lust after me? Happy Was The Day We Met by Cher...well that answers that. 5. How can I make myself happy? String Quintet in G Major Mvt. 4 by Brahms...i\it starts off kind of minor and scary, but it eventually turns into a dance party...sort of. Maybe playing this would make me happy? Or maybe having a dance party would make me happy? 6. What should I do with my life? Partido Feminista ffrom the Evita Soundtrack... so I should become a big political figure by sleeping around with important people? 7. Will I ever have children? String Quartet "From My Life" Mvt. 3 by Smetana...it starts with a very lonely cello solo and the rest of the movement is very consoling...so I'm guessing the answer is no. 8. What is some good advice for me? Piano Quintet Mvt. 1 by Schnittke... this is not good advice at all...its about the composers mother who died in the street because nobody would help her. Or maybe the advice is that I should help woman who are laying motionless in the streets? 9. How will I be remembered? "Rambaldo!... Ah! M'aiutate!" from La Rondine by Puccini...Does this mean somebody will write an opera about me that will be all but forgotten because his other works are so much better? 10. What's my signature dance song? String Quartet No. 1 by Ligeti...ok, I guess this means I like crazy hyperactive schizo dance tracks. That aren't actually dance tracks. 11. What's my current theme song? Skating from Charlie Brown Christmas by Vince Guaraldi Trio...its certainly cold enough outside to fulfill this one. 12. What do others think my current theme song is? Strotha Tynhe by Aphex Twin...its basically random notes on the piano...I didn't realize I was that scattered. 13. What shall they play at my funeral? Because of You by Kelly Clarkson...Ok...this is just too scary. But it does make taking this survey worth it. 14. What type of men do I like? The Rite of Spring Part II by Stravinsky... I can't make any sense out of this at all. 15. How's my love life? Serenade for Tenor, Horn, and Strings Mvt. 2 "Pastoral" by Britten...nuff' said. So there we have it...things get a little more complicated when you have lots of classical music on your iPod. I won't be performing a "holy water ritual" on it or anything...basically my iPod seems to think I am dark and complicated and mysterious. Am I?

Tags: iPod

CCE: The Final Recital

CCE performs our last full recital...see it! Tonight...7:00pm at Rochester Contemporary (next the Christ Church) David Plylar: String Quartet Jairo Duarte Lopez: Movimiento para Solo Cello (performed by me) Penderecki: String Quartet No. 2 Berio: Selected Violin Duets (performed by the lovely Kitty Cheung and the Magnificent Kimberly Fitch) Augusta Read Thomas: Incantation for Solo Violin (performed by the one and only Heather Braun) Its our last recital and we want you to be there! (no worries if you miss it...you can still catch us on three more recitals before the year is over!)

OOPS.

Is it a bad sign that my boss just thought I was some girl named Valerie?

Its Just Out of Control

Got a call from Dave saying that its very likely that Eastman will release me from the contract I signed because they have a lot of people who want to come to Eastman. He said its also likely that Rice will make me an offer if Eastman releases me from the contract. So basically I have to choose if I want to go to Rice or Eastman...by tomorrow. I like how everytime I get settled into something, it all changes and I suddenly have stuff to deal with. I would be nice to just decide. I guess right this second I'm leaning towards Rice since I like the teacher and they have more money and it would be a change from what I've been doing for the past four years. But at the same time I would be missing out on some things here at Eastman...like being able to play tons of new music all the time. OOC.

Tags: Rice University, Eastman, choice

Hate George.

So fulfilling its not even funny.

Good Things:

1. Both Sara and I have been invited to join the Ossia Board for next year. This makes me VERY happy since I have been playing in the ensemble for about 3 years now (almost every single concert). We have both already decided its going to be OOC.
2. CCE won the chamber music award (that will be presented at graduation). We share it along with Matroyshka4 and BeanLiccardoZerweck3. We get $50 each, but they announce it at graduation, so I know my parents will be ecstatic...which makes it more than worth it for me.
3. I'm kind of looking forward to coming back next year. Weird I know.
4. CCE concert posters featuring Cher...look around tomorrow, you'll see.
5. Public Enemy=Night of the Living Baseheads. Look for it on iTunes and buy it. You'll be just as obsessed as me.

Tags: ossia, CCE, award, Eastman, Cher, Public Enemy

Link.

Still, I got my own back and took a piss in his tea.

Please?

This is why I need a mac.

My Computer is Dead (almost)

It has become known to me in the past few days that the time has come for a new computer. I know this because mine has been restarting itself approximately 7-8 times a day for the past three days. This happened once two years ago...and it was sent to Gateway and came back fixed. However, it doesn't seem worth it to get fixed again, when I could get a new computer that won't need to be fixed for some time (hopefully). This presents a dilemma. What kind of computer should I get. The MacBook Pro, while I love it, I really do, doesn't seem to be the best choice right now...many have discouraged me since it is so new ("wait for the second run...the first is always sketch"). Do I go with an older mac...which one? Do I stick with a PC (aka ghetto comp)?? ADVICE PLEASE...anyone and everyone!

Tags: computer, dead, MacBook Pro, mac, advice

Shameless Concert Plug

Here they are... Tuesday (2nd) 7:00pm...CCE performs Penderecki's String Quartet No. 2 in Ciminelli Lounge Wednesday (3rd) 7:00pm...members of CCE + Mary Counts + others perform Three Sad Songs on Jake Bancks composition recital in Christ Church Thursday (4th) 7:30pm...members of CCE + others perform Mozart's Oboe Quartet on Caitlin Broms-Jacobs' senior recital in Christ Church Friday (5th) 8:00pm...CCE performs Penderecki's String Quartet No. 2, David Plylar's String Quartet, Jairo Duarte Lopez's Movimiento para Solo Cello, and maybe even something else at Rochester Contemporary Saturday (6th) 3:30pm...CCE + friends perform Weber's Clarinet Quintet on Samantha Angelo's senior recital in Kilbourn Hall Sunday (7th) 1:30pm...CCE + friends perform Spohr's Fantaisie and Variations on a theme of Danzi on Brian Wahrlich's senior recital in Kilbourn Hall Monday (8th) 8:00pm...CCE performs Crumb's Black Angels in Kilbourn Hall as part of the final Musica Nova concert of the year Whoa...thats a lot of concerts.

Tags: concerts, Penderecki, Bancks, Plylar, Duarte Lopez, Weber, Spohr, Crumb

In Mourning

My facebook profile has been shortened (by me). I have come to realize in recent days that it was ridiculous and selfish to have such a long profile. If you should visit it in the near future you will notice that both the interests section of the quotes section have been deleted completely. Please stand by for future updates and always remember the days of the 500+ scroll click profile. {insert moment of silence here}

Tags: facebook, shorten, blank, gone

Evil Dead

Around 5ish yesterday afternoon Brian received about 5 calls from a friend who had been having some bad experiences with a mouse. The mouse had apparently been poisoned and when said person attempted to remove the dead rodent, the mouse moved its head to look at her. Anybody could have been startled. When she returned to the room to finish the job, the mouse was gone. Meanwhile, another friend called me to express her hatred towards a huge bee flying around her apartment. When we arrived the bee was basically expiring in the corner, so to remove it we attached a piece of paper on the end of a broom and scooped it out the door. It did give Brian a bit of a fight, but once outside it was sitting peacefully and doing nothing. A disturbing phone call from the unfortunate mouse situation was even worse. The mouse had reappeared and decided to lie motionless on the floor. When the friend attempted to scoop the house up again, it moved its head, got up, and began to slowly crawl towards her while dragging its hind legs (and presumably making strange noises and foaming at the mouth). This would be enough to scare anybody out of their minds. When she returned the mouse was gone again. It hasn't been sighted since. RECENTLY: I just got off the phone from the most disturbing call yet. The bee is back and ready to take revenge. OMG. What is going here? A mouse resurrected twice and a bee once? What kind of power has been granted to these evil villains? Leave us alone!

Tags: mouse, bee, rodent, pest

Friday Consumption

Today I read Brokeback Mountain. It was really interesting to see the story compared to the movie...they both work amazingly well: the written story is soft spoken, short, and concise...but at the same time is huge in its message and strikingly profound. I didn't really know who the characters were, but the story works anyway, because its not about who they are, but what they are together. The movie is bigger in its scope (duh) but manages to still be intimate, never abandoning what the book did for a second. A stunning short story and a brilliant adaptation. Just now I finished watching Dangerous Liaisons, a much talked about movie over at Nathaniel's Blog-a-thon today. I was simply amazed from start to finish. Its been a long time since I saw a movie this good...I am fairly confident it will become one of my all time favorites. From the stunning costumes and smart cinematography to the spectacular ensemble cast (with super performances from Glenn Close, John Malkovich, and La Pfeiffer) this movie was almost too much to deal with. Must buy now.

Tags: Brokeback Mountain, Dangerous Liasons, book, movie

Blog-a-thon

Check out all of the participants in the Pfeiffer Birthday Blog-a-thon, and then be sure to read my entry below! That Round-Headed Boy "Michelle Pfeiffer's Short Stuff" The Many Rantings of John on One Fine Day Cinephilia "My (Sex) Life with Michelle Pfeiffer" Movies Madness "Pfor Ever and Always" Queering the Apparatus "Ohhhhh Witchy Woman" Musings of a Cigarette Smoking Man on Batman Returns Cutting Room "What Lies Within (Great Talent)" NovaSlim "Haute Poosee" six things "Six Degrees of Michelle Pfeiffer" Coffee Coffee and More Coffee on Ladyhawke Popbytes "Pfeiffer is an Amazon Woman" ModFab "Pfeiffer's Fabulous Five" Stale Popcorn Michelle and Costumes. Auteur Lust "Cinema's Own Forbidden Fruit" Sarcasm w/ Light Cream Sauce on Witches... & Tequila Sunrise Being Boring "My Sexual Awakening (in Black Vinyl)" Pfangirl "Diary of a Lapsed Pfan" Queer Beacon on Whtie Oleander Noel Vera on Batman Returns Scene Stealer Top Five Performances Mainly Movies "Susie Diamond is Forever" Nicks Flick Picks on A Thousand Acres The Gilded Moose "BREAKING: Pfeiffer Pissed" Pop on the Rocks "Pfeiffer of the Opera" Girish on The Fabulous Baker Boys

My Life Without Michelle

(imgaine this read by Meryl Streep)... If Michelle Pfeiffer was really only an actress she was still such a bewitching one that she could seduce people to pursue her year after year and mile after miserable mile. If she was a real actress I wanted to keep coming back to the cinema until I could see her. The reason was not that I love her. I don't even especially like her. What I wanted was to see this thing that Nathaniel was drawn to in such a singular and powerful way...I wanted to want her as much as Nathaniel wanted her... (...and I did...) (and now by me)... All this talk of Michelle Pfeiffer has always made me a bit uncomfortable...not because I don't like her, but because I had have somehow been able to avoid seeing any of her movies. While Nathaniel constantly gushed about her limitless amazingness and her constant absence from film screens, I could only sit quietly and subtly nod my head in agreement: I didn't know any better. I was too scared to admit the fact that she had never graced the presence of any movie screen or TV I had ever looked at, and it made me sad. What was it about this actress that had enthralled so many? I was embarrassed about my life without Michelle. I wanted to find the joy that so many others had, but for some reason I stayed away from the screen. Perhaps her onscreen persona would be too much for me to deal with? Maybe I wouldn't like her? I was content to be Pfeiferless for a while, but things started to get ridiculous and I finally viewed a Pfilm...and now I'm in love. I rented Batman Returns and I was hooked from her dramatic entrance (Honey I'm home...oh, I forgot, I'm not married.) to her yummy conclusion (Oh god... does this mean we have to start fighting now? ) She is simply ridiculous in this movie...too many bitch-kicking lines to count. But most of all, I can now comfortably view the rest of her work...and I will: her movies are lined up in my netflix queue as we speak so there will be plenty more Pfeiffer in my pfuture. Meow. ...This blog written as a participating entry in the Nathaniel's fantastic Pfeiffer Blog-a-thon. Send him some love...And my apologies to Susan Orlean for the above stolen quote.

Tags: Michelle Pfeiffer

Calming Down

This will probably be one of the last grad school posts here! Yay! I'd say its 99% sure that I will be at Eastman next year. I talked to Rice yesterday and they said that they weren't going to offer me anything right now. The catch is that everything could change after May 1st...if Eastman has enough people (I guess more than they need) then Adrian Daly can release me from my contract and Rice could possibly make an offer. And supposedly I'm the only one on the waitlist that they will offer a place to. So who knows what will happen with that. But in the meantime...Eastman is my future.

Most Disturbing News Yet

I recently tried to add some more interests to my facebook profile and received a message saying that my profile was too long as it is and they shortened the sections as needed. I quickly closed the browser window without saving changes. This is very disturbing news indeed...limited space in profiles??!?!? What will they think of next? I need to do some serious thinking about what will happen to my comfortably long profile. I will never be able to make a change to it without facebook deleting have of my interests and quotes. So in the meantime: make sure you look at it while its still glorious, because it will probably not be in its current state much longer. Gone will be the days of over 500 clicks on the scroll bar to get to the bottom of the page. {a tear}

Tags: facebook

Non-Grad School Comments

1. The wine trip was amazing. We went to five wineries in the finger lakes: Paul made us breakfast and packed us all lunches: there are trillions of pictures (check flickr above and facebook if you can). Two bottles of wine were purchased: Dr. Frank and Hermann Wiemar. I guess if I stay here I will be able to go down there again!
2. I saw Friends with Money with Sunny. Why would a director amass this really great cast with some of my favorites (Catherine Keener + Frances McDormand) and do nothing with them at all? It tries to be really serious, and in the end loses faith in itself. It wasn't even fun to watch. Basically: Don't waste your time.
3. CCE Day (yesterday) was a success. We may have had some difficulties focusing, but in the end we got some things accomplished.
4. To end CCE Day, Kimberly rented the Cher Farewell Tour and we all watched it. Its quite the production complete with a costume change for nearly every number. I think some were shocked, but it was really hilarious to watch.
5. {read below for grad school comments}
6. Me and Brian found subleters for the summer. Translation: $700 we didn't have before.
7. I'm brushing up on my M. Pfeiffer watching so I an be an informed writer for Nathaniel's upcoming Blog-a-thon. Check back later this week for the big event.

It Only Gets Worse

I dropped an email to Eastman today about the latest news from Rice, like Rice asked me to. I got a huge bitchy email in response saying that there is no way they could ever let me go from Eastman because I signed a contract and yadda yadda yadda. I HATE THIS. I just sent a huge bitchy email back (against my better judgment). We'll see what happens. NO MORE TORTURE. IT NEEDS TO END.

Tags: grad school

Sometimes I Just Need to Scream

So first I don't get into the grad school that I really wanted to go to (Juilliard) and then I get wait listed at the other grad school (Rice) I would have considered going to. Then I decided to go to the back up (Mannes) and try to get more money out of them (in the meantime I accepted a place at Eastman so as not to lose it). I didn't get anymore money at Mannes so resigned myself to going to Eastman and starting making preparations to stay (ie. telling everyone and starting to accept the fact and be excited about staying in Rochester). Then Matthew Loden (admissions guy at Rice) calls me and says that a space opened up and that there is a chance it will go to me (no guarantee however) and that I need to tell Adrian Daly (admissions guy at Eastman) and have him call Rice so they can discuss some things. I guess I just have to sit back and see what happens. I wish this drama was over.

Tags: grad school, Rice University, Juilliard, Eastman, Mannes, drama

IMS.

Two nights ago CCE attended Rochester's Image Movement Sound program. It consisted of a bunch of short little segments featuring some kind of video projection and some kind of music (recorded or live). I didn't care for a lot of the segments. A lot of them were too long and were very strange and confusing. We went because we had recorded the music for one of them. Called Excess, it featured our pre-recorded soundtrack (by Abby Aresty) with a pre-recorded narration with video projection and live dancing (including large amounts of ice cream and lots of wooden chairs). It sounds kind of strange, but I thought it was one of the more effective and fun to watch presentations (not that I'm biased or anything).

Guess I Should Mention This

I'm playing the Beethoven Triple Concerto with the Greece Symphony today. Its at 3:00pm. Find a poster with a photo of me resembling a sex offender and read about the details.

Last.

Last night was the final Philharmonia concert. We performed Vaughn William's Sea Symphony. I really don't like this piece at all...but it was only an hour out of my life. Now that it looks like I'm going to be staying here next year all of these "last concerts" don't seem to mean as much. What makes it really sad is that its the last time I'll be playing all of these "last concerts" with all of my friends. I can only imagine what it will be like when we finish our final CCE concert. My eyes are getting watery just thinking about it. OOC.

Grad Update.

So, right now its looking like I'll be staying here at Eastman. This is not exactly how I wanted things to turn out, but I guess they did. There really is no way that I can make Mannes work...I would be in so much debt (I would be paying it off for roughly 72 trillion years). I should probably call Fred Sherry soon...I would really really like to study with him, but I just don't think its gonna happen next year. Maybe I could drop down to NYC a few times for lessons and stuff. Eastman gave me the biggest scholarship, and Rochester has the lowest cost of living, and I do like it here, and there will be lots of stuff for me to do. The other problem is that its more of the same. But whatever, we'll find out. There is still the tiniest chance I will get into Rice. They accepted one cellist, so they are waiting back to hear from him/her...and then they will call me. Ack!

The End.

In the past month I have been working on watching every Sex and the City episode in order...last night I watched the last four. As I've said in previous posts, I think that this show is spectacular. I can't think of any other comedy series that holds such high production values and has such a strong script (better than most dramas) and such a stellar cast. I'm sad to report that the show loses it in the end. The last few episodes become Hollywood cheesefest, complete with caned mood music piano playing at the most poignant moments. The show loses its 'real' quality as Carrie is rushed off into a non-so-perfect fantasy world and the supporting characters all but disappear. Strange little side stories occur that have no real bearing on what will happen or what has happened before. The strong writing is suddenly gone. But when you think about it, having a few dud-episodes doesn't mean much for a show where every single episode was so strong. The ended doesn't change my opinion of the rest of the series, but it certainly leaves me feeling unfulfilled. In the end everyone ends up where we expected them to be, but maybe the finale would have been a bit stronger if they hadn't. Tonight the bonus disc arrives with alternate endings and deleted scenes from all the seasons. Perhaps one of the endings that they didn't choose will be the one they should have? I'll let you know.

It's Making the Rounds

Tell me the truth.

Cannes.

Here is the Cannes lineup. Please note that David Lynch's Inland Empire is NOT on the list. This is very distressing. It means that it is most likely not finished yet (or wasn't finished in time). I need to hear more about this movie...now we have to wait until the official release (no sneak peak reviews). Ack! I am excited to hear about Sofia Coppola's Marie-Antoinette. I love the trailer and the stills...can't wait.

Sad Day

Dean Undercofler is resigning as dean and going to be president and CEO of the Philadelphia Orchestra. Congratulations to him on the great job (he certainly deserves it) but it is very sad for Eastman, especially since they are doing this huge 7 year project that I'm sure he has had a lot to do with. Guess I took his class just in time!

Bomb's and Bagels

From my mom's blog: "My husband met up with a bomb sniffing dog yesterday at the train station.He didn't know about the dog's ability to find explosives, but it did zero in on his bagel." 'nuf said

Not Looking Good. At. All.

Choices are not looking good for grad school next year...here are the choices:

1. Mannes...didn't come through with very much money (although they did increase the scholarship a bit)...after going there for two years I would be around $100,000 in debt, I don't think its worth it.
2. Eastman...could make it work if I got into the OSD program (which I don't want to do...although it couldn't be that bad right?)...I'd only need a few thousand in loans (pending acceptance to OSD) and cost of living in Rochester is much lower than other places.
3. Rice...I'm on the wait list...and I can keep waiting.
4. Year Off...go home and work and take lessons and try it all again next year.

What do you all think?

Big

"Life is too short...what are we doing?"

Duh...

You Are Diet Coke

You are energy in its purest form. No need to complicate things with sweetness. And while people may hate your aftertaste, you are seen as a necessary evil. Your best soda match: 7 Up Stay away from: Coke

What Kind of Soda Are You?

Guess This Is The Right Look

Your Blog Should Be Blue

Your blog is a peaceful, calming force in the blogosphere. You tend to avoid conflict - you're more likely to share than rant. From your social causes to cute pet photos, your life is a (mostly) open book.

What Color Should Your Blog or Journal Be?

No Doubt

How did I not see it? A few weeks ago, Kimberly introduced me to No Doubt (since I have basically missed all non-classical music ever...I'm only just discovering it). I wasn't a huge fan, but i bought Tragic Kingdom on a whim, and I'm obsessed. My favorites so far: Spiderwebs, Tragic Kingdom and of course: Don't Speak. Thanks Fim, for the introduction. (Kitty likes it too) And it doesn't hurt that Gwen Stefani is in the group...since I'm already a huge fan.

Tags: No Doubt, Tragic Kingdom, Don't Speak, Gwen Stefani

More Easter

Tonight I played in an Easter mass at St. Michael's Church. It was very fun since the group mostly consisted of our strange group of friends...I was sitting with Brian, and Kimberly and Paul were right in front of us. Congratulations to Sara for organizing it and working way overtime (singing in the choir and playing in the orchestra). The choir sounded amazing...I wish I would have heard them sing before! MERCY!

Tags: easter, St. Michael's, Sara

Easter

Today is Easter, so I send out a Happy Easter to all those who want it! My parents are becoming multi-holiday celebraters. Over winter break we had a combination Christmas/Hanukkah celebration. Tonight they are having a combo Easter/Passover celebration. The dinner includes brisket for the Jews and ham for the non-Jews. And there is some sort of Mexican chicken thing with broken matzo on top. The little ones (in town from Louisiana) will get to decorate eggs and make Easter baskets. Passover wine will be served. So there.

Tags: Easter, food

Things to Love about Boogie Nights:

1. All of the amazing long takes: Love the one that follows a woman as she walks into the pool, and then goes underwater with her. The opening shot is over three minutes.
2. Julianne Moore: she stays mostly on the sidelines, but shes amazing nonetheless.
3. The music: its a strange combo of 'period' tunes as well as strange synthesized music composed by Michael Penn. I especially love the transition at the beginning from some sort of low brass oom-pa tunes to the blazing opening disco stuff.
4. Mark Whalberg: who proved back in 1997 that he was a real actor who was actually pretty good (something that most people discovered last year in I Heart Huckabees).
5. The huge ensemble that includes amazing actors such as William H. Macey. I even had tolerance for PSH. I don't like the fact that Capote is ruining my hatred for him. I liked disliking him much better.
6. The "Amber, are you my mom?" scene. How can you not love a scene including Heather Graham and Julianne Moore asking stupid questions while high on coke.

Tags: Boogie Nights, Paul Thomas Anderson, Julianne Moore, Mark Whalberg, PSH

Last Concert

Last night was the very last Ossia Concert of the year, and my very last Ossia Concert ever {sob}. At least I got to play a very fun (and insane) piece with lots of people who are good and fun to play with! While I can't say Ossia has been the most organized group in existence (sorry board members) it was always a joy to play in...well, most of the time. I'm sure wherever I end up going, they will not have a group have a group like Ossia. It's kind of sad. In other news look at this. Grad school drama continues. Eastman responded and said they would not give me anymore money since my offer is significantly more than I had for undergrad. So yeah...

Tags: Ossia, Donald Martino, grad school, concert, end

No more.

I don't even know what to do with myself. I talked to Adrian Daly and he won't give me an extension on my application...Translation: I need to decide by Saturday where I'm going. If I pass up Eastman, I still have Mannes, but if Mannes doesn't give me anymore money, I can't go there. That would put me nowhere. I'm very scared an confused and nervous and I don't really want to even deal with it. I've sent out calls and emails everywhere I can and nothing is happening. How come everybody else seems to have such an easy time with this?

Tags: Eastman, Mannes, grad school, money

And one more thing...

I'm beginning to get obsessed with Sean Paul...actually just Temperature. OMG.

Tags: Sean Paul, Temperature

For Heather

Tags: photo, Heather, Paul, Arthur, Old Toad

Notification

Tomorrow there will be a fabulous performance of Donald Martino's Notturno in Kilbourn Hall at 8pm as part of an Ossia: New Music concert. Everyone should come to see the crazy shit. Paul doubles on violin and viola, Hilary doubles on flute and alto flute, Juliet doubles on clarinet and bass clarinet, there are tons of percussion parts, and the pianist has to use some sort of percussion equipment, I'm not exactly sure whats going on over there. And I just get to hit my instrument a lot...and by a lot, I really do mean a lot. Should be super cool. Tomorrow is also a presentation given by myself and Alison on the life and works of Robert Altman. We will be showing clips of The Player (amazingly fabulous movie) and Gosford Park (amazingly long movie). Should be super cool. I think CCE should audition for this Steve Reich workshop thing. I doubt we have time. But we should at least consider it. Brad is conducting and its at Carnegie Hall. Should be super cool.

Tags: Donald Martino, Ossia, Notturno, Robert Altman, Brad Lubman, Steve Reich

iTunes/iPod Survey

...I know that you are all bored enough to do this too... How many songs=2407, 7.9 days, 12.07 gigs Sort by song title= first: 'Til Him by Mel Brooks from the Producers Soundtrack last: Zweiter Alleluia by Arvo Part from Berliner Messe Sort by time= first: a 12 second segment from the first Ligeti String Quartet last: Also Sprach Zarathustra by Strauss Top Ten Most Played Songs= 1. Stupid Girls by P!nk 2. Everytime We Touch by Cascada 3. Strong Enough by Cher 4. Hollaback Girl by Gwen Stefani 5. Tehillim II by Steve Reich (performed by Ossia) 6. Believe by Cher 7. It's Hard Out Here For A Pimp by Djay and Shug (from Hustle and Flow) 8. What Are You Waiting For? by Gwen Stefani 9. Bubble Pop Electric by Gwen Stefani 10. I'd Be surprisingly Good For You by Madonna (from Evita) First song to come up on shuffle= Snow by Gustavo Santaolalla (from Brokeback Mountain) How many songs come up when you search for 'sex'= 13...but they are all sextets How many songs come up when you search for 'death'= 20...but most of them are Star Wars How many songs come up when you search for 'love'=81 How many songs come up when you search for 'you'=97

Tags: iPod, iTunes, music

Ying+CCE

Announcing: The Ying Quartet will perform the first movement of the Mendelssohn Octet with the Cape Cod Experiment on May 14th. OMG! Details to follow.

Tags: Ying Quartet, CCE

Watch.

I'm kind of looking forward to Dreamgirls which will be coming out this year. I was introduced to this clip via Nathaniel...andI like it a lot...but it is kind of long. Enjoy.

Tags: Dreamgirls, The Film Experience, Jennifer Holiday