Post-Recital Funk

The trouble with not posting in a while is that the longer I wait, the more overwhelming the task of updating this thing becomes.

My recital is over, and it went fairly well. I played Prokofiev Sonata No. 2 in D Major, Mendelssohn Sonata in F Major, and Wieniawski Polonaise Brillant in A Major, Op. 21. My family came, and it was great to have them here. I survived the recital, and it was great to be done with it. Lots of people came, even though it was the day after Easter. People from church came, too. FavoriteBoy accompanied me. And that's about all I can think of to say about that. Oh, except that my teacher was very happy with the whole thing, and his wife (orchestra co-director, chamber music coach, etc.) was very happy too.












In other news, FavoriteBoy planned and executed wonderful music for the Easter service at his church job, and it was especially nice since my family was out here for the whole weekend. Also, FavoriteBoy got chosen for the Presser Scholarship, and received the award in the Honors Convocation Chapel (a.k.a. Most Depressing Chapel Of The Year). I was proud. Finally, I have been applying for various jobs. I've gotten one rejection (ouch), one acceptance, and several up-in-the-airs. I don't know what to do at this point.

I've been generally depressed and in a funk all week, and maybe even to some degree ever since my recital. Sometimes I just want to sit around feeling sorry for myself for having no life, no prospects of a shiningly wonderful future, and no idea what to do with myself for the present. The scary thing is, with many of my obligations finished for the year, I really can just sit here in my room in my depressed depressing depression. Wow.

Senior Recital

Today is the big day.

The Best Compliment I've Ever Received

"You have grown as much as a musician and as a person as any student I have ever taught."

Shameless Plug

A Nasty Fall

Last night on my way to orchestra I took a nasty fall -- tripped by the token campus blind guy and his swinging stick of death. No, really; it was traumatic. You know how most blind people swing their cane in a small radius in front of themselves? This fellow swings a full 180 degrees around him, with his arm outstretched as well... and he is a tall, lanky guy. Basically all over campus people leap to the side and get run off of sidewalks to avoid him when we see him coming. Yesterday I wasn't so lucky. I was coming out of a door, and couldn't see him coming until it was almost too late. When I saw him, I did a little hop, skip, and jump to get out of the way. Just when I thought I was totally clear, somehow - it's all still a bit unclear in my mind - his flying stick of death and terror caught my shin on the backswing, and the combination of his force and my hop-skip-and-jump-momentum sent me crashing into the concrete, complete with my bookbag spilling its contents all over the sidewalk and my violin (in case, of course) taking a nasty fall as well (it's okay, though). My hands were skinned, my favorite jeans in the world (1969 brand from the GAP!) were ripped open at the knee, both my knees were bruised and bleeding, and the pizza I had just got in the cafeteria to carry to Nathan for his dinner was overturned about two yards from where I tripped. It was a very sad experience. My eyes welled up with tears because it was so surprising and painful all at once. The blind guy seemed confused. I can't remember if he said something or just went on, but the next thing I really remember is him being gone and me picking myself up and hobbling to orchestra to cry on FavoriteBoy's shoulder. By the end of the evening, I could see the humor in the situation. I even took photo documentation:

That's just one of 'em. The other knee is wounded as well; although it's less nasty to look at, it's actually more painfully bruised. Today I was sort of limping around, because both of my knees are so swollen and bruised. They feel hot and painful.

The moral is: avoid blind folks with their wildly swinging sticks of death.

In other news, this morning a small chamber orchestra from here at Gordon played three concerts at a nearby elementary school -- Carnival of the Animals, complete with engaging narration. The kids were smart and well-behaved and fun to play for. I met some of them, and it was a blast.

Then this evening I drove Cara, Michael, and myself to my own amazing violin teacher's amazing recital in Jordan Hall. He did five of the ten Beethoven sonatas, with the remaining five to follow in the Fall. He was wonderful. He's probably my favorite performer alive. A two hour and fifteen minute concert, and I was riveted the whole time. His sound is the most beautiful I've ever heard. Also, I got to see Adele, Brian, Julia, and others there. Whee.

Clever Sarah Marie

A real live legitimate company just called and asked me to come and interview for a real live legitimate job because I am damn clever and I have real live legitimate skills! So there!

(And no, it's not the 'damn clever' job. I didn't apply for that, of course!)

Sarah Marie's Symphony Hall Debut

This is me when I played my violin with that chorus in Symphony Hall. It's hard to see me, but this is the photo, such as it is.



Also, my brother has a new blog! He's the best, so you should definitely read it.

For Kate

Kate: um, there are no pictures of ME on your blog

Kate: this is a serious omission [edited to remove spelling error on the part of the writer]

Kate: i would like to see pictures from all the events in which i was involved, by the way

Kate: you have been notified.

Kate is away at 6:05:24 PM.

These pictures were taken at Not Your Average Joe's. We had a good time.

This week Kate joined church choir. She sang with us for the first time this morning. It was great. Later we sat in a practice room and talked about church and God and praying and boys. Whee.

Pirastros, Evahs, and Jargars

All new strings: $66.50

Replacing my dead ones with plenty of time before my recital: Priceless.

Manchester-by-the-Sea

I get to babysit for this cutie pie:



We went on an adventure through her home town of Manchester-By-The-Sea.

February through April in Photos

More pictures!

The February orchestra concert in which I played The Lark Ascending:



FavoriteBoy and me... we like to try taking pictures of ourselves.



One very relieved FavoriteBoy after he finished his junior recital:



Then, we went on choir tour! Roommate and I were impressed that each of our socks matched our shoes so well:



Another one of FavoriteBoy and me - this time the self-photographing didn't work out quite so well. But we look happy:

"Damn Clever"

I just found a listing for a job as a writer where the first listed qualification is, and I quote, "Three to four years of experience copywriting or just being damn clever."

Now that's amazing.

From My Very Own Camera

Last night I finally installed the software that lets me upload pictures from my digital camera! I know... I've had the camera since Christmas; I have no reasonable explanation for why it took me this long to install the software and get the pictures I've taken onto my computer! Now that I know how to do it though, I'll be able to do so more frequently.

Here are some highlights from the past three months...

My brother and me on Christmas morning:



My sister came to visit over Christmas break! Here's my cute baby nephew:



FavoriteBoy and me after somebody's recital he accompanied:



Whoah, fog looks like this when you take a picture with the flash (that's Holly amidst the fog):



FavoriteBoy and me at a concert he played in Lexington:



Blizzard day!





Time to go practice... more photos to come soon!