Well, friends... a short post today.
Today marks my last full day, here in South Carolina. It's been an exciting journey, these last six years, and I wouldn't have traded it for the world. I've learned so much about who I am and what I want from life, and what I want from music. I've met wonderful friends, whom I certainly hope and plan to keep for my lifetime. Life has truly been good here.
Now, it's time to move on to the next thing. I have enjoyed my life here So much, that there were moments I forgot I still had that last degree to go after. It's taken awhile to make that mental shift, but I'm finally there. I'm not really ready to leave my friends and colleagues, all the people I love -- but I AM ready to attack this DMA degree head-on. It's time.
I love you all dearly. Please stay in touch, and I will do my best to do the same.
Thursday, July 26, 2012
Wednesday, July 25, 2012
Where Corals Lie
Not many adventures today, except for packing for the move, and trying to set up last meetings with friends. Today, I wanted to share a text that was set by Edward Elgar in Sea Pictures. It is a beautiful text, and Elgar sets it so effectively. The text is a poem written by Richard Garnett, I think. Enjoy!
Where Corals Lie
by Richard Garnett
The deeps have music soft and low
When winds awake the airy spry,
It lures me, lures me on to go
And see the land where corals lie.
The land, the land, where corals lie.
By mount and mead, by lawn and rill,
When night is deep, and moon is high,
That music seeks and finds me still,
And tells me where the corals lie.
And tells me where the corals lie.
Yes, press my eyelids close, 'tis well,
Yes, press my eyelids close, 'tis well,
But far the rapid fancies fly
To rolling worlds of wave and shell,
And all the land where corals lie.
Thy lips are like a sunset glow,
Thy smile is like a morning sky,
Yet leave me, leave me, let me go
And see the land where corals lie.
The land, the land, where corals lie.
Where Corals Lie
by Richard Garnett
The deeps have music soft and low
When winds awake the airy spry,
It lures me, lures me on to go
And see the land where corals lie.
The land, the land, where corals lie.
By mount and mead, by lawn and rill,
When night is deep, and moon is high,
That music seeks and finds me still,
And tells me where the corals lie.
And tells me where the corals lie.
Yes, press my eyelids close, 'tis well,
Yes, press my eyelids close, 'tis well,
But far the rapid fancies fly
To rolling worlds of wave and shell,
And all the land where corals lie.
Thy lips are like a sunset glow,
Thy smile is like a morning sky,
Yet leave me, leave me, let me go
And see the land where corals lie.
The land, the land, where corals lie.
Sunday, July 22, 2012
Back to the U.S.
Day in Luxembourg
The Saarburg festival provides a direct bus service from the Luxembourg Findel airport to the festival. Saarburg is pretty small, but it DOES actually have a train station. Last year, since Dr. Parker-Harley knew how to navigate the bus and train system, we took a bus and then the train to Saarburg ... but we had an hour layover wait at a very deserted train stop. This year, I opted for the bus, even though it was a little pricier, because it was a 30-minute ride directly to Saarburg and they could drop us off directly at our hotel. It was so convenient.
For the return trip, there were supposed to be 2 buses: an afternoon bus and a morning bus, but since there were only five of us signed up for the afternoon bus, we all decided to take the morning bus to the airport. A handful of people didn't fly out until the next morning, and were going to wander around Luxembourg for the day. Since my flight didn't leave til 6:30 pm, I decided to join them. We walked around part of the historic district of Luxembourg City, where I took enough pictures to make up for the fact that I took zero pictures the entire week. It was so nice to get out and walk before being cooped up in aeroplanes for so long.
LUX --> AMS 6:30 pm
AMS --> DTW 8:15 am
We landed around 7:20 pm, so I settled in for the long layover...
Layover in Amsterdam
It turns out I don't particularly mind overnight layovers, if it's here in Amsterdam or another airport that has in-terminal Hotels for not very expensive. I stayed in a place called Yotel, which is very compact and efficient. I think is is probably more cost effective if you only stay there for a nap, but it sure was nice to have a semblance of shower and rest time. I took my shoes off and napped on and off for a few hours, which was glorious. The best part was the fact that it was AFTER you go through security in the airport, so I didn't have to leave the airport to be able to sleep. From now on, overnight layover/in-terminal hotel will be a definite consideration of booking flights.
4:33 am
After a few 1-hour segments of sleep since I was worried about oversleeping my alarm, the alarm went off, during the time, of course, when I really was finally enjoying being asleep instead of fitfully napping.
4:45 am: Breakfast, delivered to the room
Breakfast consisted of very well-done (read: dry and crispy but warm) croissants and pastries, some orange juice, and a cup of coffee. It could have been better, but it could have been much worse! It was also nice that they brought it to my room -- I'd never had room service before! It was also very nice not to have to make decisions that early in the morning, since I had ordered it when I checked in.
5:15 am
I left a little too early from the hotel room -- I didnt' know how long it would be to walk through the terminal, so I gave myself almost an hour and a half before boarding to leave. Turns out, it only took 10 minutes to walk, because I didn't have to go through security again -- that will be after they call us for our seats, I think.
I was walking here to this section of the airport, and kind of got to watch the airport wake up. It turns out I started walking even before the flight crews and workers arrived, because I think all of them passed me on the moving sidewalks as I walked here.
Right when I got here, the last few workers were arriving. Most of them, when they passed me, were talking amongst themselves, in what I presume is Dutch. One particular gentleman, however, told me good morning, then proceeded to ask if I had a parachute in my backpack! It was quite amusing. I replied, "No, though I suppose it's big enough for that, isn't it?" His next question, "Are you in the Army?" I told him no...this is just what I prefer to use, since the smaller backpack could connect to the bigger one. He kinda laughed, "Wow, so it can be an even BIGGER backpack?!" I said, "Yes! It's silly." He replied, "See you soon!"
I sat in one of the closer rows of seats, and watched the workers set up the somewhat random-looking customs checkpoint. It was basically a square with podiums in different places, then farther back, the beginning of the line for the security screening. The plane wasn't even here yet at that point, so I took pictures of it rolling up. It wasn't until they called for people to come up and go through security screening that I figured out just how well the system would work. They had a "gate monitor" -- basically the person's only job was to get the next person in line and tell them which customs agent to see. Then, the customs agent pointed you in the next direction, to the security screening line. It looked a little chaotic from the outside, but from the inside worked great.
Amsterdam also didn't make us take off our shoes. The first time I flew through there -- on the way to Luxembourg this year -- I took off my shoes and the security screening guy goes, "Why do you do that? They aren't metal, only metal objects you take off." Haha. Good to know!
This plane was the A330, I do believe, which is similar to the MD11 in size and passenger capacity. Very comfortable, which was a good thing since we would be in our seats for a very long time. Partway through the flight, one of the flight attendants started having a medical emergency of some kind. They called for a doctor or nurse to come to the back of the aircraft at one point, then about 20-30 minutes later, called for the same person to come to the front of the plane. We ended up having to land in Iceland so the lady could go to the hospital. Hopefully she is ok -- I talked to one lady who was a nurse and had seen her, and while she didn't mention what she thought was the problem, she did say that she thought the lady would be ok, but that she definitely had needed a hospital to treat the problem. At any rate, it was an...interesting experience which hopefully helped the lady become healthy again.
approximately 11:45 am, EST
The landing in Iceland only put us one hour late landing. This was fine, since I had a 4-hour layover. Lots of customs lines to go through, so by the time I navigated everything, I had one whole hour to wait. That was just the perfect amount of time to tell all interested parties about my safe arrival in the U.S, and it was off to the last flight. (Hmm...looking back on this, it doesn't seem correct, but I don't remember the actual times anymore. So, we will go with this.)
approximately 4:35 pm, EST
It was SO nice to be back...or at least not on airplanes any more! Whew.
Friday, July 13, 2012
Rain!
Small, short blog post. It's been raining on and off since this past Sunday, and will remain raining on and off til we leave. I am enjoying the humidity and rain as much as possible now, since I'll be soon moving to a place that rarely has rain and has more sunshine than I could ever want.
So, this evening will be spent indoors. Probably relaxing in my hotel room, but also perhaps getting some laundry done and packing started. Or research on different things that I haven't been able to do lately.
Tomorrow's schedule will also be playing it by ear. Tons I *could* do, but haven't decided what I *will* do. I might sleep in, for starters. I slept til 7, then dozed til 8 today, and it was glorious. Perhaps go to the bookstore. Wander around Saarburg for sure. The silly part? I could do a free wine-tasting at noon, courtesy of the Mayor ... or go to the cheese and honey festival in nearby Mannebach. (I think that's its name.) Thing is, I am pretty tired and am not sure that alcohol during the afternoon of a performance would be the best plan, even in small amounts. I have also developed a bit of a headache today and yesterday, which has made me a little less social than I might be normally.
So, on to my relaxing evening of possible naps and laundry. Enjoy your Friday!
So, this evening will be spent indoors. Probably relaxing in my hotel room, but also perhaps getting some laundry done and packing started. Or research on different things that I haven't been able to do lately.
Tomorrow's schedule will also be playing it by ear. Tons I *could* do, but haven't decided what I *will* do. I might sleep in, for starters. I slept til 7, then dozed til 8 today, and it was glorious. Perhaps go to the bookstore. Wander around Saarburg for sure. The silly part? I could do a free wine-tasting at noon, courtesy of the Mayor ... or go to the cheese and honey festival in nearby Mannebach. (I think that's its name.) Thing is, I am pretty tired and am not sure that alcohol during the afternoon of a performance would be the best plan, even in small amounts. I have also developed a bit of a headache today and yesterday, which has made me a little less social than I might be normally.
So, on to my relaxing evening of possible naps and laundry. Enjoy your Friday!
Week 2: Three concerts down, two to go
Well, it's been a busy week here in Saarburg. Monday night was our night "off," so that was the evening the Mayor of Saarburg (a very generous man) treated the faculty and staff to a lovely dinner. It was epic, and we all rolled away without any more room in our tummies.
Tuesday, we had the first student recital of the week. It was at Mannebacher Brauerei. The Brauerei is a lovely venue, with an outdoor Beirgarten near the modern addition to the building. The actual concert was in the modern addition, and the sound was actually quite nice -- just the right amount of live.
Random observation: The "simplest" waltzes are sometimes the most difficult to play! Still fun.
It's been raining all week, so we were quite glad that Tuesday and Wednesday venues were indoors. Wednesday night, the venue was a very beautiful, modern-looking "Atrium" in Orscholz. It had a nice natural feel to it, because the entire indoor was made from light-colored, non-finished wood, which reminded me of knotty pine. Who knows, it could have BEEN knotty pine -- I don't know my wood grains well enough. Whatever kind of wood it was, it was beautiful and the decision to not varnish it was perfect. The sound space was much drier than the other venues so far, so I got to use LOTS of pedal the entire time. It was fun, though a bit disconcerting at times, haha! It's strange to know that you want to play staccato, and still need to use a bit of pedal for that. All in all, though, the concert went well. All of the students are very well prepared, and it was great to get to see and hear them.
Thursday's concert was outdoors, in a place called Schmelz. This concert was the farthest away so far, at approximately 60 minutes away by bus. The performance was outdoors, underneath a lovely giant white tent. The atmosphere was a little more informal since there was no formal backstage area, but it was actually quite nice to be able to basically sit in the audience before going on stage. The audience was so supportive and really enthusiastic. I had a short chat with a lovely couple who actually remembered me from last year, and expressed excitement that I had transitioned from student to "staff." Another charming older gentleman asked me what it meant to be a "guest artist" instead of a "guest faculty." I explained that the main difference was they asked me to play for lessons and a few groups, and the main difference is I am not actually teaching anyone.
Schmelz: The new performer "green room" was so fascinating. It was on the second floor of an older house. This older house sat literally on top of a small stream, with a water wheel providing power to the house. The top floor room where we were for the beginning of our time there was a museum of sorts, titled "The History of the Anabaptists." We did not have very much time in that room, or I would have tried to figure out what significance this particular place had in the history of the Anabaptists. Even without knowing the significance of this location, it was fascinating: there was an old pump organ with LOTS of voices (!), some interesting looking farm equipment, and a few strange looking mannicans dressed in old-style clothing. I loved the outdoorsy, farm-type feel of the entire place.
So far, each of the venues have fed all the performers. The Brauerei gave us this amazing penne pasta dish, with a vodka-type sauce mixed with zucchini squash and other amazing veggies. It was SO good! But it was also SO much food. The Wednesday venue gave us cold-cut sandwiches, for which I was very thankful. (After awhile, you just can't continue to eat such large quantities of heavy food!) Last night, the Schmelz provided brats with a bread handle. Authentically German and very tasty. Though, I do notice my body is craving some more vegetables at this point. I am seriously considering buying a broccoli floret in the grocery store downstairs and just having that for dinner!
Tonight - Friday - is the one concert this week I have "off." Since I have been getting a little bit carsick during the bus rides, I think I will sit this one out and have a rather boring night here in Saarburg. I say "boring" but I really mean fun and restful and filled with lack of bus rides and an early bedtime. Then, tomorrow is the last student concert, followed by the farewell dinner, and it is going our separate ways on Sunday morning. The two weeks have flown by and have been filled to the brim with as much as possible.
Oh, and be warned: I have a grand total of something like 15-17 hours of layover on the way back, so I'm sure I will retroactively update different adventures here. Prepare for the random!
Tuesday, we had the first student recital of the week. It was at Mannebacher Brauerei. The Brauerei is a lovely venue, with an outdoor Beirgarten near the modern addition to the building. The actual concert was in the modern addition, and the sound was actually quite nice -- just the right amount of live.
Random observation: The "simplest" waltzes are sometimes the most difficult to play! Still fun.
It's been raining all week, so we were quite glad that Tuesday and Wednesday venues were indoors. Wednesday night, the venue was a very beautiful, modern-looking "Atrium" in Orscholz. It had a nice natural feel to it, because the entire indoor was made from light-colored, non-finished wood, which reminded me of knotty pine. Who knows, it could have BEEN knotty pine -- I don't know my wood grains well enough. Whatever kind of wood it was, it was beautiful and the decision to not varnish it was perfect. The sound space was much drier than the other venues so far, so I got to use LOTS of pedal the entire time. It was fun, though a bit disconcerting at times, haha! It's strange to know that you want to play staccato, and still need to use a bit of pedal for that. All in all, though, the concert went well. All of the students are very well prepared, and it was great to get to see and hear them.
Thursday's concert was outdoors, in a place called Schmelz. This concert was the farthest away so far, at approximately 60 minutes away by bus. The performance was outdoors, underneath a lovely giant white tent. The atmosphere was a little more informal since there was no formal backstage area, but it was actually quite nice to be able to basically sit in the audience before going on stage. The audience was so supportive and really enthusiastic. I had a short chat with a lovely couple who actually remembered me from last year, and expressed excitement that I had transitioned from student to "staff." Another charming older gentleman asked me what it meant to be a "guest artist" instead of a "guest faculty." I explained that the main difference was they asked me to play for lessons and a few groups, and the main difference is I am not actually teaching anyone.
Schmelz: The new performer "green room" was so fascinating. It was on the second floor of an older house. This older house sat literally on top of a small stream, with a water wheel providing power to the house. The top floor room where we were for the beginning of our time there was a museum of sorts, titled "The History of the Anabaptists." We did not have very much time in that room, or I would have tried to figure out what significance this particular place had in the history of the Anabaptists. Even without knowing the significance of this location, it was fascinating: there was an old pump organ with LOTS of voices (!), some interesting looking farm equipment, and a few strange looking mannicans dressed in old-style clothing. I loved the outdoorsy, farm-type feel of the entire place.
So far, each of the venues have fed all the performers. The Brauerei gave us this amazing penne pasta dish, with a vodka-type sauce mixed with zucchini squash and other amazing veggies. It was SO good! But it was also SO much food. The Wednesday venue gave us cold-cut sandwiches, for which I was very thankful. (After awhile, you just can't continue to eat such large quantities of heavy food!) Last night, the Schmelz provided brats with a bread handle. Authentically German and very tasty. Though, I do notice my body is craving some more vegetables at this point. I am seriously considering buying a broccoli floret in the grocery store downstairs and just having that for dinner!
Tonight - Friday - is the one concert this week I have "off." Since I have been getting a little bit carsick during the bus rides, I think I will sit this one out and have a rather boring night here in Saarburg. I say "boring" but I really mean fun and restful and filled with lack of bus rides and an early bedtime. Then, tomorrow is the last student concert, followed by the farewell dinner, and it is going our separate ways on Sunday morning. The two weeks have flown by and have been filled to the brim with as much as possible.
Oh, and be warned: I have a grand total of something like 15-17 hours of layover on the way back, so I'm sure I will retroactively update different adventures here. Prepare for the random!
Monday, July 9, 2012
Burg Eltz, Beilstein, and Burg Metternich
Yesterday we had a free day, where literally nothing was scheduled. One group of students and faculty was going to Bonn to see Beethoven-haus and Drachen Fels, one faculty member was going to Cologne, etc.
Our group was going the more rural route: We rented a car, and drove to Burg Eltz and the small town of Beilstein. It was absolutely gorgeous. The word "magical" even was mentioned a few times throughout the day. Many stairs and hills were conquered.
Burg Eltz is actually a very large castle with three distinct castle sections. It has a fascinating history, being one of the few castles that has not been destroyed at any point since its construction. Well, in its defense, it's not near any large metropolitan areas, haha.
More info here: (They explain it well.)
http://www.burg-eltz.de/e_index.html
Burg Eltz was beautiful. After touring the inside, during which time we were NOT allowed to take photographs, we toured the Armoury and Treasury, so I took many blurry pictures of fascinating things there.
After leaving Burg Eltz, we traveled to this town called Beilstein. It is beautiful also -- I would love to come back here sometime. We walked around town, ate ice cream, hiked to the top of the castle, then the top of the tower... Then left to come back to Saarburg.
Gabby and Ansgar, a wonderfully sweet couple whom Jennifer met three years ago here, were our tour guides for the day. They graciously had planned to cook dinner for us this evening! So, after a day at seeing beautiful castles, we relaxed at their house for the evening. First, we took a short walk through the forest, and fed the deer. (The deer were captive and being raised. Very interesting creatures -- I think they are smaller than white tail deer, shorter and stockier. And, the adults have spots on them also. I'm not sure what breed they are, exactly.)
After the short walk in the forest, we were definitely hungry! The dinner was fabulous and the company was wonderful. We all really enjoyed chatting and getting to know one another. Another family, friends of Gabby's, visited too, so all the young ones played together in the back yard.
So, leave time for castle: 9:17 am. Return time from dinner: approximately 10:45 pm.
All in all, a tiring, yet also very restful and peaceful, day.
I couldn't have thought up a better free day!
Our group was going the more rural route: We rented a car, and drove to Burg Eltz and the small town of Beilstein. It was absolutely gorgeous. The word "magical" even was mentioned a few times throughout the day. Many stairs and hills were conquered.
Burg Eltz is actually a very large castle with three distinct castle sections. It has a fascinating history, being one of the few castles that has not been destroyed at any point since its construction. Well, in its defense, it's not near any large metropolitan areas, haha.
More info here: (They explain it well.)
http://www.burg-eltz.de/e_index.html
Burg Eltz was beautiful. After touring the inside, during which time we were NOT allowed to take photographs, we toured the Armoury and Treasury, so I took many blurry pictures of fascinating things there.
After leaving Burg Eltz, we traveled to this town called Beilstein. It is beautiful also -- I would love to come back here sometime. We walked around town, ate ice cream, hiked to the top of the castle, then the top of the tower... Then left to come back to Saarburg.
Gabby and Ansgar, a wonderfully sweet couple whom Jennifer met three years ago here, were our tour guides for the day. They graciously had planned to cook dinner for us this evening! So, after a day at seeing beautiful castles, we relaxed at their house for the evening. First, we took a short walk through the forest, and fed the deer. (The deer were captive and being raised. Very interesting creatures -- I think they are smaller than white tail deer, shorter and stockier. And, the adults have spots on them also. I'm not sure what breed they are, exactly.)
After the short walk in the forest, we were definitely hungry! The dinner was fabulous and the company was wonderful. We all really enjoyed chatting and getting to know one another. Another family, friends of Gabby's, visited too, so all the young ones played together in the back yard.
So, leave time for castle: 9:17 am. Return time from dinner: approximately 10:45 pm.
All in all, a tiring, yet also very restful and peaceful, day.
I couldn't have thought up a better free day!
Sunday, July 8, 2012
Upcoming Week: Schedules!
Before I tell stories about how amazing our one "off day" was and all the beautiful things we saw, I figured I'd give you an idea of a week in the life of a Saarburg staff collaborative pianist. It's fun and busy! I get to play in concerts Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Saturday, so it will be fun.
Ready, go:
Monday:
9:30-11:00, 12:30-1:15 rehearsals
(lunch at Hospital @ 1:30 every day)
3:00-4:30 rehearsals
6 - 6:45 lesson to accompany
7:45 faculty dinner (a special treat!)
Tuesday:
9:30 - 1:15 rehearsals/ lessons to accompany
3:00-5:15 lessons
Concert that evening
Wednesday:
11:45-1:15 rehearsals (A later start -- yes!)
3-4:30 rehearsals
Concert that evening
Thursday:
9:00 - 1:15 rehearsals
3-5:15 rehearsals
Concert that evening
Friday: (lightest day!)
11-1:30 rehearsals, 4:30-5:15 rehearsals
Concert that evening (but this is the one I don't play)
Final day: Saturday:
4:00-6:30 possible dress rehearsals
Final concert plus farewell banquet
All in all, not a bad schedule considering I'm playing for 6 different pieces/groups plus 6 singers' lessons. Last week was comparable to this week, except my schedule extended to 6 pm every day. That was the one benefit of not having concerts every day last week - a later rehearsal schedule.
I enjoy working with all the different people that I have met this past week, and look forward to all the performances. Also, just in case you thought I was just traipsing around Germany on vacation these two weeks...now you know I AM actually working ;).
Ready, go:
Monday:
9:30-11:00, 12:30-1:15 rehearsals
(lunch at Hospital @ 1:30 every day)
3:00-4:30 rehearsals
6 - 6:45 lesson to accompany
7:45 faculty dinner (a special treat!)
Tuesday:
9:30 - 1:15 rehearsals/ lessons to accompany
3:00-5:15 lessons
Concert that evening
Wednesday:
11:45-1:15 rehearsals (A later start -- yes!)
3-4:30 rehearsals
Concert that evening
Thursday:
9:00 - 1:15 rehearsals
3-5:15 rehearsals
Concert that evening
Friday: (lightest day!)
11-1:30 rehearsals, 4:30-5:15 rehearsals
Concert that evening (but this is the one I don't play)
Final day: Saturday:
4:00-6:30 possible dress rehearsals
Final concert plus farewell banquet
All in all, not a bad schedule considering I'm playing for 6 different pieces/groups plus 6 singers' lessons. Last week was comparable to this week, except my schedule extended to 6 pm every day. That was the one benefit of not having concerts every day last week - a later rehearsal schedule.
I enjoy working with all the different people that I have met this past week, and look forward to all the performances. Also, just in case you thought I was just traipsing around Germany on vacation these two weeks...now you know I AM actually working ;).
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