My Recital Last Weekend

The recital was a success. I'm still overflowing from all the kind words people greeted me with afterwards. I only wish I had more photos to share with you all. Here are two I took off a video clip from a friend in the audience. 

The photo below was taken after the reception when I realized we were about to go home and I hadn't taken any pictures yet. Thank you Clayton for staying late and helping us clean up!  

Thank you Sarah for these gorgeous flowers and the sparkly gold eye shadow!

 

And thank you Clarke & Aleah, and Candace for these!

Now it is back to the books for me. I'm squeezing in some last-minute homework for tomorrow's deadlines. I hope you've all had a lovely weekend.

It's Nearly Here...

Tomorrow night can't come quickly enough.

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My graduate piano recital performance is scheduled for 7 p.m. and I'm (cross-your-fingers, hold-your-breath)... ready. Of course feeling "ready" doesn't take the nerves away but at least helps me to interpret them as excitement and channel them into positive energy for musical expression. Or so I like to tell myself. Here's a peak at my program:

Program 

Prelude from English Suite No. 2 in a minor, BWV 807 ......................... J. S. Bach

Toccata & Fugue in c minor, BWV 911 ..................................................... J. S. Bach

Variations Serieuses in d minor, Op. 54 .................................... Felix Mendelssohn 

  

Intermission 

Sonata No. 23 in f minor, Op. 57 (Appassionata) .............. Ludwig van Beethoven 

 I. Allegro assai

 II. Andante con moto 

 III. Allegro ma non troppo 

I cannot wait to hear the final resounding f minor chords of the Appassionata Sonata around 8:30 p.m., to absorb the long-awaited relief of what I pray will be a successful performance. 

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I wish I had pictures of my dress but alas these lovely photos will stand in quite nicely until after the recital. I hope you all have a wonderful weekend.

Love & God bless,

Studiously Studying

I have a music history listening exam tonight. In two hours to be exact and I admit I am squeezing in some last minute cramming. Yes, it hurts a bit, but still I press on. 

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I think the strangest piece I have to learn about is The Banshee by Henry Cowell. It requires two performers. One relaxes on the piano bench (I would volunteer for that!) and does all the pedalling, the other as you can see stands in the nook of the piano creating these unearthly sounds. This was written in 1925 and I can only imagine what they must've thought of it back then. Cowell describes a banshee as "a woman of the Inner World...who is charged with the duty of taking your soul into the Inner World when you die...She has to come to the outer plane for this purpose, and she finds the outer plane very uncomfortable and unpleasant, so you will hear her wailing at the time of a death in your family." Strange no?

On a much lighter and very contrasting note, I also am studying Duke Ellington's It Don't Mean a Thing If It Ain't Got that Swing. Love Ella's voice!

Thanks for joining me in my study of music in the 20th and 21st centuries. Hope you're all having a wonderful week. I wish you all God's love and no wailing banshees.

Weekend Thrills

We started off our weekend with a wedding on Friday night. For their party favors the couple gave these metal leaf bookmarks to their guests. The beautiful packaging had a note that said "Fall in Love" and had the couples name inscribed underneath. Cute, yes?

 

I put it to use immediately and tried to "fall in love" with school work. My most recent goal is to go through a book or two a week gathering information for my final research paper. Have I mentioned how much I love old books?

 

Saturday began with a trip to the library to return some books that were soon to be due. Of course I couldn't resist picking up some new ones to inspire.

 

The weather was beautiful and has been all weekend so we took advantage and made spontaneous picnic plans. Stopped at the yummiest pizza place in town...

 

Drove to a park. Waited for a train. I never realized how wonderful it can be to wait for a train when you actually have time. I love the sound of trains. 

 

When we got to the park we were met by a friendly amount of grasshoppers. We had to shoo one off our table but not before snapping his photo. At least I think it's a "he."

 

Loving Saturday...

 

After our picnic, we went shopping and spent an enormous amount of energy picking out a new candle for our apartment. It's always a treat to smell every single option... maybe I should rephrase that: It's always a treat to find a scent that doesn't make you want to vomit! We ended up with a Tangerine Raspberry scent in the beautiful color called orange.

 

Sunday started with a trip to church. Then lunch and a short nap. Then a coffee shop visit to indulge in homework, blogging, etc. And hopefully tonight I'll get to do some crocheting. Below is a photo of another soon to be shop item in a soft grey shade and it makes me very happy.

How did you spend your weekend?

The Perfect Work of Perseverance

I love school for the most part I really do, but there are pieces of it that torment me. One of these torments is writing papers. And as a nearly graduated graduate student, I have a huge one waiting at my feet to be written. It's not so much the writing that gets me, it's the researching. And even though I love my topic (piano pedagogy), I find it hard to set aside time to go sit at the library and work. When I manage to get myself to the library, I feel so strongly the temptation to browse the internet reading lovely blogs or I long for the moment when I can go home and create clothing designs. I tell myself, it's just one more semester of studies... just one more....  I wonder if I have what it takes to finish. Am I spent? Do I have any self-discipline and motivation left?

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This morning as I was going through my journal looking at Scripture verses I've written down in the past, I came across this one. "Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything." - James 1:4 (NIV)

I realize this wasn't written specifically to graduate students, but since that is where I'm at right now, I took it to mean I mustn't quit at the task God has put before me. Even though the going is tough, I must not quit. And even though I wonder if all the sacrifice and effort will be worth it in the end, I must have faith that I will reap the benefits of what I sow. And then I realized, that it is in fact paying off right in this moment because through this battle I am learning what it is to persevere. God is working in me. I do have faith.

Blessings to all of you who are persevering through your unique battle. I wish you all the strength and encouragement you need to carry on.

Love,