Go, lovely Rose-
Tell her that wastes her time and me,
That now she knows,
When I resemble her to thee,
How sweet and fair she seems to be.
Tell her that's young,
And shuns to have her graces spied,
That hadst thou sprung
In deserts where no men abide,
Thou must have uncommended died.
Small is the worth
Of beauty from the light retired:
Bid her come forth,
Suffer herself to be desired,
And not blush so to be admired.
Then die-that she
The common fate of all things rare
May read in thee;
How small a part of time they share
That are so wondrous sweet and fair!
-- Edmund Waller
Wednesday, November 29, 2006
Tuesday, November 21, 2006
How did it get to be the week of Thanksgiving already? How did this happen? After this week is over there are 3 more weeks left in the semester. Oh the agony!
It's officially winter here in New England! FINALLY! lol - well I don't know about "winter" so much as it's finally cold. Our Autumn has been very mild. It's been in the 60's and 70's most of September, October, and even the first part of November up until now. Yesterday was the first real "cold" and it feels like it's here to stay. I don't care as long as the weather just decides. This going back and forth from chilly to warm and muggy and back to chilly wreaks havoc on my sinuses and my singing. Wouldn't you know it though Thanksgiving is supposed to bring with it a Nor'easter that's coming up the coast. It's only going to be rain - can you imagine what it would be like if it were snow??!!
Not too much time has gone by since I last posted so I'll start from the past and work my way back up to the present.
So let's see... Saturday was the BIG GAME! We had a small party of 5 Ohioans celebrating at my apartment. We were loud and raucous and I'm sure that the neighbors were wondering what on earth was going on next door. Actually... it was a big "game day" here in Cambridge as well as it was Harvard-Yale day. Home game! I was walking Simon at 9:30 am and the house on the corner was well into a party with what had to be a crowd of 50-75 people and good number of them doing beer funnels out on the front porch. Yes - at NINE-THIRTY in the morning. Igh!
It's actually quite funny to see all these Harvard-ites get worked up about this game. It's the last game of the season and they go all out: tail-gaiting, regalia, their small little band that doesn't really have uniforms, people walking in packs to the stadium. This is what it's like at a NORMAL university with a NORMAL football team on a NORMAL gameday. I think that Harvard wouldn't know what to do if they had to set up a "mini-court" on campus during gameday or had to hire a police force to guard their goalposts. No offense to my Harvard friends that read this blog (Rachel). It's just very humourous - that's all.
So anyhow - back to Saturday. Brian and Karen and Jenny and Bob came over and we had a good time.
Sunday was the Longy SAC hosted Thanksgiving dinner. It's traditional that SAC hosts this dinner the Sunday before Thanksgiving. SAC provides the Turkey, stuffing, gravy, rolls, mashed potatoes, cranberry relish, and drinks. Then we ask everyone to sign up to bring other side dishes and desserts. We always have a good turn out and it's a lot of fun. Every year we've ordered 2 fully cooked turkey's and 2 full dinners (the dinners include all the sides SAC provides)from Shaw's (like Krogers to those of you not out on the East Coast) and we pick them up hot and ready to serve when we get back. We've never had a problem with this before. So, Sunday, Brooke and I go to pick up the food and drink and we get to the deli, give them our order number and the guy comes out from the back with 2 huge boxes filled with our complete order. But there was a slight problem - everything was COLD and the "fully-cooked" turkey was still wrapped in the plastic packaging that turkeys come in when you buy them at the store. Brooke and I took one look at the order, then each other and then started to have a panic attack. Literally. We couldn't figure it out. We ordered this EXACTLY the way we ordered it last year (we didn't have to tell them last year we wanted it HOT when picked it up. "Fully cooked" meant FULLY COOKED!) So we called those decorating back at School and let them know that some serious microwaving was about to happen upon our return. Dinner was to start sometime after 5:00 - it was 4:30. We got back and the nuking began. Luckily, the turkey was thawed and was actually fully cooked - it just had to be heated and there were microwave instructions. While Jen and Elinor and myself microwaved the potatoes, gravy, and stuffing, Brooke and Brian carved those two gobblers. Once the sides were done we started on the turkey slices until they were steaming hot. We kicked butt because everything was on the table by 5:15 - hot and ready to eat. Not exactly like our Kodaly Institute feast 5 years ago - but definately still a good dinner.
Yesterday was slightly stressful because last night's vocal seminar was a bit like a mini mid-semester jury - except not. It's really too much detail and too much unnecessary information to go into why all of us were unhappy with this little set-up. Instead of complaining (I'll keep that to all of us in the voice department)I'll just explain what we had to do which won't sound nearly as bad as it really was, nor really as bad as 1/2 the semester has been in this class. So, 1/2 the voice faculty was sitting in "panel-like" formation in the back of the recital room - all set with their pens and pencils and forms on which they critiqued our presentation. We had to come in, slate our name, the piece, the composer, the poet, and then give a small spiel that would draw in our audience - something interesting about the composer or song. Next we had to recite the text of the piece as a monologue. If the piece was in a forgeign language we had to first recite it in English in a literal translation - but as a monologue. Then take a moment and recite the text in it's original language as a monologue and then take another moment and sing the piece. For example: I sang Süsser Freund by Robert Schumann (I think I posted it in a previous blog perhaps a month or 2 ago). So I came in, did all the slating stuff, and then gave the literal English translation as a monologue, took a moment, and then recited the German text as a monologue, took a moment, then sang the piece. It actually went well. But it was quite stressful. "Class" began at 6:15 and I was number 17 to go on the list so I didn't actually get to perform my piece until well after 8:00. It was torture and it was ridiculous which was the general sentiment amongst, actually, all the performers.
BUT now - it's Tuesday. Classes officially are over tomorrow evening but I don't have class on Wednesday so I am officially on break! Woo-hoo! Although I have a lot of practicing to do - I won't have class and that means some good ol' R&R.
I hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving!
And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.Colossians 3:17
It's officially winter here in New England! FINALLY! lol - well I don't know about "winter" so much as it's finally cold. Our Autumn has been very mild. It's been in the 60's and 70's most of September, October, and even the first part of November up until now. Yesterday was the first real "cold" and it feels like it's here to stay. I don't care as long as the weather just decides. This going back and forth from chilly to warm and muggy and back to chilly wreaks havoc on my sinuses and my singing. Wouldn't you know it though Thanksgiving is supposed to bring with it a Nor'easter that's coming up the coast. It's only going to be rain - can you imagine what it would be like if it were snow??!!
Not too much time has gone by since I last posted so I'll start from the past and work my way back up to the present.
So let's see... Saturday was the BIG GAME! We had a small party of 5 Ohioans celebrating at my apartment. We were loud and raucous and I'm sure that the neighbors were wondering what on earth was going on next door. Actually... it was a big "game day" here in Cambridge as well as it was Harvard-Yale day. Home game! I was walking Simon at 9:30 am and the house on the corner was well into a party with what had to be a crowd of 50-75 people and good number of them doing beer funnels out on the front porch. Yes - at NINE-THIRTY in the morning. Igh!
It's actually quite funny to see all these Harvard-ites get worked up about this game. It's the last game of the season and they go all out: tail-gaiting, regalia, their small little band that doesn't really have uniforms, people walking in packs to the stadium. This is what it's like at a NORMAL university with a NORMAL football team on a NORMAL gameday. I think that Harvard wouldn't know what to do if they had to set up a "mini-court" on campus during gameday or had to hire a police force to guard their goalposts. No offense to my Harvard friends that read this blog (Rachel). It's just very humourous - that's all.
So anyhow - back to Saturday. Brian and Karen and Jenny and Bob came over and we had a good time.
Sunday was the Longy SAC hosted Thanksgiving dinner. It's traditional that SAC hosts this dinner the Sunday before Thanksgiving. SAC provides the Turkey, stuffing, gravy, rolls, mashed potatoes, cranberry relish, and drinks. Then we ask everyone to sign up to bring other side dishes and desserts. We always have a good turn out and it's a lot of fun. Every year we've ordered 2 fully cooked turkey's and 2 full dinners (the dinners include all the sides SAC provides)from Shaw's (like Krogers to those of you not out on the East Coast) and we pick them up hot and ready to serve when we get back. We've never had a problem with this before. So, Sunday, Brooke and I go to pick up the food and drink and we get to the deli, give them our order number and the guy comes out from the back with 2 huge boxes filled with our complete order. But there was a slight problem - everything was COLD and the "fully-cooked" turkey was still wrapped in the plastic packaging that turkeys come in when you buy them at the store. Brooke and I took one look at the order, then each other and then started to have a panic attack. Literally. We couldn't figure it out. We ordered this EXACTLY the way we ordered it last year (we didn't have to tell them last year we wanted it HOT when picked it up. "Fully cooked" meant FULLY COOKED!) So we called those decorating back at School and let them know that some serious microwaving was about to happen upon our return. Dinner was to start sometime after 5:00 - it was 4:30. We got back and the nuking began. Luckily, the turkey was thawed and was actually fully cooked - it just had to be heated and there were microwave instructions. While Jen and Elinor and myself microwaved the potatoes, gravy, and stuffing, Brooke and Brian carved those two gobblers. Once the sides were done we started on the turkey slices until they were steaming hot. We kicked butt because everything was on the table by 5:15 - hot and ready to eat. Not exactly like our Kodaly Institute feast 5 years ago - but definately still a good dinner.
Yesterday was slightly stressful because last night's vocal seminar was a bit like a mini mid-semester jury - except not. It's really too much detail and too much unnecessary information to go into why all of us were unhappy with this little set-up. Instead of complaining (I'll keep that to all of us in the voice department)I'll just explain what we had to do which won't sound nearly as bad as it really was, nor really as bad as 1/2 the semester has been in this class. So, 1/2 the voice faculty was sitting in "panel-like" formation in the back of the recital room - all set with their pens and pencils and forms on which they critiqued our presentation. We had to come in, slate our name, the piece, the composer, the poet, and then give a small spiel that would draw in our audience - something interesting about the composer or song. Next we had to recite the text of the piece as a monologue. If the piece was in a forgeign language we had to first recite it in English in a literal translation - but as a monologue. Then take a moment and recite the text in it's original language as a monologue and then take another moment and sing the piece. For example: I sang Süsser Freund by Robert Schumann (I think I posted it in a previous blog perhaps a month or 2 ago). So I came in, did all the slating stuff, and then gave the literal English translation as a monologue, took a moment, and then recited the German text as a monologue, took a moment, then sang the piece. It actually went well. But it was quite stressful. "Class" began at 6:15 and I was number 17 to go on the list so I didn't actually get to perform my piece until well after 8:00. It was torture and it was ridiculous which was the general sentiment amongst, actually, all the performers.
BUT now - it's Tuesday. Classes officially are over tomorrow evening but I don't have class on Wednesday so I am officially on break! Woo-hoo! Although I have a lot of practicing to do - I won't have class and that means some good ol' R&R.
I hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving!
And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.Colossians 3:17
Monday, November 13, 2006
Our trip to Salem on Halloween weekend.
The first picture of the Cry Innocent performance - a re-enactment of one of the Salem Witch Trials. It's a fun performance because they act out the first 1/2 hour or so of it and then it's audience interaction time. Members of the audience are allowed to stand and ask questions of the defendent as well as witnesses. It's basically an improv for the actors and makes for a different show each time!
The other pics are of the group that went.
The first picture of the Cry Innocent performance - a re-enactment of one of the Salem Witch Trials. It's a fun performance because they act out the first 1/2 hour or so of it and then it's audience interaction time. Members of the audience are allowed to stand and ask questions of the defendent as well as witnesses. It's basically an improv for the actors and makes for a different show each time!
The other pics are of the group that went.
It's been a long time since I've updated this blog (in the words of Karen 5 days ago "You NEED to update your blog!!!). Instead of starting where I left off I'm going to start from yesterday and work my way backwards.
So yesterday... yes, yesterday. A day that everything needed to go as planned so I could stay somewhat sane. First I had church in the morning, then a rehearsal at 1:00 which was for another rehearsal from 1:00-3:00. A rehearsal at 3:15 for the Voice Department Coffee Concert at 4:00 and then an audition over at NEC at 7:30. At any rate, if the 1st half of the day was to be an indication of how the 2nd half of the day was going to go then I knew I was sunk. Luckily - things got much better as the day went on. First of all, my alarm went off quite early and I kept hitting snooze thinking - "Why is the alarm going off so early? This is not a day that I have to get up early." And then 5 or 6 hits of the snooze later it was 8:35 and I sat up suddenly exclaiming to myself "OH MY GOSH IT'S SUNDAY! I have to be at Church at 9:00!!!!" So I was late to our warm-up for choir - but I am never late so I didn't feel so bad. Then the service went over by like 30-45 minutes because it was Confirmation Sunday and not only that, it was DOWNPOURING and I didn't bring an umbrella and because of everything else that was going on that day I had a choice: Walk home, be absolutely soaked, take the time to dry off and re-do yourself for all your performances later today and then be very late to your rehearsal OR wait for a ride home, be dry, take the time to focus when you get home and only be slightly late for your rehearsal I opted for the latter - and my group was completely fine and very understanding about me having to be late - THANK GOD! I think that because I took the time between getting home and the first rehearsal I was actually less stressed and ready to begin the second half of my day which went fantastic. But, have you ever had one of those days where, not only do you have a specific way you want it to go and not only does everything start to go the complete opposite of what you planned - but it's a snowball effect of being able to sort of predict and see how wrong everything is going to be. Igh. Perhaps God's way of trying to get my attention I suppose! "SLOW DOWN" He says! LOL. What a little, little human being I am! :-)
So that was yesterday. Don't worry - I'm not going to go through a hour-by-hour, day-by-day synopsis of the past 2 1/2 weeks! Nobody (not even me) is that interested in what's going on with my life.
Friday - I dropped my phone. Big surprise, eh? Well it hit the floor so hard that the LCD display screen went blank and remained blank. So - I had to get a new phone. Good news and bad news. Good news: I had this phone for 5 years so I got a really good upgrade deal AND I wasn't replacing a relatively new phone. Bad news: I lost a lot of numbers. Some of you are going to have to send me your phone numbers again.
This past Thursday Ashley and Bree and I went to Scullers Jazz Club to see Audra McDonald perform. Amazing. Really - just simply amazing. The nice thing is that the Club is such an intimate setting so there's really no bad seat in the house. I smiled, I got teary-eyed, I laughed, I was moved - just really, simply moved. And she did some favorites too! Stars and the Moon (Stef and Orla - she's the one on the recording I played for you way back in the day for our Institute Cabaret night!!), My Stupid Mouth, Bill - and then some new ones as well.
Last Sunday was Longy's International Night I hosted a Hungarian Table. Mostly because I wanted to make Palacsinta which is a crepe-like pancake. I opted to make the Gundel palacsinta which is a dessert crepe and filled with a cremey substance which is a sweet-cream base with walnuts, raisins, candied orange peel, and rum. The palacsinta is then folded and topped with a chocolate sauce (which I didn't make but used Hershey's - much easier) and then tradition is that you pour rum (or the chocolate sauce has rum in it) on top and light it a-fire. Being that we were at school I couldn't do that. But they were a great hit anyhow. I also taught a Scottish dance. Woo-hoo. In addition I learned a Philipino dance called the Todo-Todo and some other crazy fast calorie burning dance. Michelle took video on my camera so I'll see about posting that on here.
The week before that was the annual SAC trip to Salem. The weather was a big big bummer - 35-40 mph winds, downpouring and raining sideways!!! It was fun though and we went to acouple of re-enactments of the Salem Witch trials.
Can it be that it is only a week and half until Thanksgiving??? How is this so? After the break is done it's 3 weeks of finishing up the semester - loads of performances. I really need to decide what I'm doing on my recital and also what I'm doing next year - SOON. Igh! Stuff I don't even want to think about - but seriously need to very very soon.
That's all for now folks. When I get home (or this evening) I'll try to post some pics from the Salem Trip and International Night.
P.S. everyone shout out a big HAPPY BIRTHDAY (on the 16th) to Orla who joins the ranks of us in our last year of being 20 something. :-) Love you Shennanigans!!!!! xxxx
So yesterday... yes, yesterday. A day that everything needed to go as planned so I could stay somewhat sane. First I had church in the morning, then a rehearsal at 1:00 which was for another rehearsal from 1:00-3:00. A rehearsal at 3:15 for the Voice Department Coffee Concert at 4:00 and then an audition over at NEC at 7:30. At any rate, if the 1st half of the day was to be an indication of how the 2nd half of the day was going to go then I knew I was sunk. Luckily - things got much better as the day went on. First of all, my alarm went off quite early and I kept hitting snooze thinking - "Why is the alarm going off so early? This is not a day that I have to get up early." And then 5 or 6 hits of the snooze later it was 8:35 and I sat up suddenly exclaiming to myself "OH MY GOSH IT'S SUNDAY! I have to be at Church at 9:00!!!!" So I was late to our warm-up for choir - but I am never late so I didn't feel so bad. Then the service went over by like 30-45 minutes because it was Confirmation Sunday and not only that, it was DOWNPOURING and I didn't bring an umbrella and because of everything else that was going on that day I had a choice: Walk home, be absolutely soaked, take the time to dry off and re-do yourself for all your performances later today and then be very late to your rehearsal OR wait for a ride home, be dry, take the time to focus when you get home and only be slightly late for your rehearsal I opted for the latter - and my group was completely fine and very understanding about me having to be late - THANK GOD! I think that because I took the time between getting home and the first rehearsal I was actually less stressed and ready to begin the second half of my day which went fantastic. But, have you ever had one of those days where, not only do you have a specific way you want it to go and not only does everything start to go the complete opposite of what you planned - but it's a snowball effect of being able to sort of predict and see how wrong everything is going to be. Igh. Perhaps God's way of trying to get my attention I suppose! "SLOW DOWN" He says! LOL. What a little, little human being I am! :-)
So that was yesterday. Don't worry - I'm not going to go through a hour-by-hour, day-by-day synopsis of the past 2 1/2 weeks! Nobody (not even me) is that interested in what's going on with my life.
Friday - I dropped my phone. Big surprise, eh? Well it hit the floor so hard that the LCD display screen went blank and remained blank. So - I had to get a new phone. Good news and bad news. Good news: I had this phone for 5 years so I got a really good upgrade deal AND I wasn't replacing a relatively new phone. Bad news: I lost a lot of numbers. Some of you are going to have to send me your phone numbers again.
This past Thursday Ashley and Bree and I went to Scullers Jazz Club to see Audra McDonald perform. Amazing. Really - just simply amazing. The nice thing is that the Club is such an intimate setting so there's really no bad seat in the house. I smiled, I got teary-eyed, I laughed, I was moved - just really, simply moved. And she did some favorites too! Stars and the Moon (Stef and Orla - she's the one on the recording I played for you way back in the day for our Institute Cabaret night!!), My Stupid Mouth, Bill - and then some new ones as well.
Last Sunday was Longy's International Night I hosted a Hungarian Table. Mostly because I wanted to make Palacsinta which is a crepe-like pancake. I opted to make the Gundel palacsinta which is a dessert crepe and filled with a cremey substance which is a sweet-cream base with walnuts, raisins, candied orange peel, and rum. The palacsinta is then folded and topped with a chocolate sauce (which I didn't make but used Hershey's - much easier) and then tradition is that you pour rum (or the chocolate sauce has rum in it) on top and light it a-fire. Being that we were at school I couldn't do that. But they were a great hit anyhow. I also taught a Scottish dance. Woo-hoo. In addition I learned a Philipino dance called the Todo-Todo and some other crazy fast calorie burning dance. Michelle took video on my camera so I'll see about posting that on here.
The week before that was the annual SAC trip to Salem. The weather was a big big bummer - 35-40 mph winds, downpouring and raining sideways!!! It was fun though and we went to acouple of re-enactments of the Salem Witch trials.
Can it be that it is only a week and half until Thanksgiving??? How is this so? After the break is done it's 3 weeks of finishing up the semester - loads of performances. I really need to decide what I'm doing on my recital and also what I'm doing next year - SOON. Igh! Stuff I don't even want to think about - but seriously need to very very soon.
That's all for now folks. When I get home (or this evening) I'll try to post some pics from the Salem Trip and International Night.
P.S. everyone shout out a big HAPPY BIRTHDAY (on the 16th) to Orla who joins the ranks of us in our last year of being 20 something. :-) Love you Shennanigans!!!!! xxxx
Tuesday, October 24, 2006
I must first start off this blog by giving kudos to Karen who will most definately be reading this and who also just made my night a little better by only charging me for a 'Tall' Chai Latte when I ordered a 'Grande' and then actually making me a 'Venti' in the end. Sneaky little girl! xxxx
It's Tuesday night and I'm at work. I've actually been pretty productive this evening with some homework, necessary letter writing, and necessary emailing. These 5 hours always seem to go by slowly for the most part and I find that working at night is much more agreeable to me getting my work done rather than when I work during the day here. It's always much quieter and there aren't a ton of people coming in - unless it's finals or mid-terms season. Two years in a row I've worked with some fun girls on Tuesday nights. Last year it was Stephanie - who always distracted me with her online puzzles and very interesting stories about her work in Peru. This year it's Caroline. She and I both have a crush on this very very very handsome Scottish professor who will pop in on Tuesday evenings. He'll walk in, I'll look at him and say "Hi", he'll leave our presence, we'll giggle A LOT and then Caroline will proclaim that she "hates me" because I say "hi" to him. It happens the same way every week. Well...I guess... it's only funny to us - but we just saw him and I had to write about it! :-)
I haven't actually "blog" blogged about anything in a while. I got older in the past week. I guess we're always getting older - but my number actually changed. It was a good day. Bree, bless her, got up at my hour of the morning and greeted me at my bedroom door with fruit, chocolate covered cherries and a danish with a candle in it. She also wrote on all the bathroom mirrors and then left cookies in my coat pocket. Thanks Bree! I had to work and then had a lesson and then Karen took me out to lunch for a quick sandwich as I had a meeting. I spent the afternoon lying on the couch, chatting with friends from home and then headed off to work from 5-10. Blech! But... when I arrived home I had a little party of Bree, Karen and Ashley awaiting me as well as beautiful flowers, cake, and prezzies. :-)
Classes are going well. This semester I am taking the new Experiential Education Program which is reqiured of all Conservatory students. Last Thursday evening my group (Bree, Michelle, and myself) was asked to come and present our group project for the EEP to the Board of Trustees. We had dinner and then had to go up front, almost in a "panel" type setting give some background of ourselves as individuals and then a description of our project - how we came up with the idea, what we expected to teach others and learn from it ourselves. Everyone really loved it and we got tons of questions as well as some good points that were brought up to think about. I know... I know... I haven't really fully explained what exactly the EEP is all about or what our group project is. However, I've rambled on far too much already in this blog and will save all of that info for another day. It's exciting though! Stay tuned.
I don't know if I've said it before - but I really really like my Schumann Song Cycle class. Schumann lieder are a new favorite for me I think. I'm sorry to all you Schubert fans out there - but I just find Schumann Lieder so much more deep, daring, original, interesting and beautiful to sing. Am I going to be shot for saying that? I suppose I'm entitled to my own opinion.
I'll leave with a text by Eichendorff and set to music by Schumann in his Liederkreis Op. 39. It's probably one of Schumann's most beautiful songs and I got to sing it acouple weeks ago. It's amazingly beautiful but deceptively difficult!
Mondnacht
Es war, als hätt' der Himmel,
Die Erde still geküßt,
Daß sie im Blütenschimmer
Von ihm nur träumen müßt.
Die Luft ging durch die Felder,
Die Ähren wogten sacht,
Es rauschten leis die Wälder,
So sternklar war die Nacht.
Und meine Seele spannte
Weit ihre Flügel aus,
Flog durch die stillen Lande,
Als flöge sie nach Haus.
It was as if the sky
Had quietly kissed the earth,
So that in a shower of blossoms
She must only dream of him.
The breeze wafted through the fields,
The ears of corn waved gently,
The forests rustled faintly,
So sparkling clear was the night.
And my soul stretched
its wings out far,
Flew through the still lands,
as if it were flying home.
It's Tuesday night and I'm at work. I've actually been pretty productive this evening with some homework, necessary letter writing, and necessary emailing. These 5 hours always seem to go by slowly for the most part and I find that working at night is much more agreeable to me getting my work done rather than when I work during the day here. It's always much quieter and there aren't a ton of people coming in - unless it's finals or mid-terms season. Two years in a row I've worked with some fun girls on Tuesday nights. Last year it was Stephanie - who always distracted me with her online puzzles and very interesting stories about her work in Peru. This year it's Caroline. She and I both have a crush on this very very very handsome Scottish professor who will pop in on Tuesday evenings. He'll walk in, I'll look at him and say "Hi", he'll leave our presence, we'll giggle A LOT and then Caroline will proclaim that she "hates me" because I say "hi" to him. It happens the same way every week. Well...I guess... it's only funny to us - but we just saw him and I had to write about it! :-)
I haven't actually "blog" blogged about anything in a while. I got older in the past week. I guess we're always getting older - but my number actually changed. It was a good day. Bree, bless her, got up at my hour of the morning and greeted me at my bedroom door with fruit, chocolate covered cherries and a danish with a candle in it. She also wrote on all the bathroom mirrors and then left cookies in my coat pocket. Thanks Bree! I had to work and then had a lesson and then Karen took me out to lunch for a quick sandwich as I had a meeting. I spent the afternoon lying on the couch, chatting with friends from home and then headed off to work from 5-10. Blech! But... when I arrived home I had a little party of Bree, Karen and Ashley awaiting me as well as beautiful flowers, cake, and prezzies. :-)
Classes are going well. This semester I am taking the new Experiential Education Program which is reqiured of all Conservatory students. Last Thursday evening my group (Bree, Michelle, and myself) was asked to come and present our group project for the EEP to the Board of Trustees. We had dinner and then had to go up front, almost in a "panel" type setting give some background of ourselves as individuals and then a description of our project - how we came up with the idea, what we expected to teach others and learn from it ourselves. Everyone really loved it and we got tons of questions as well as some good points that were brought up to think about. I know... I know... I haven't really fully explained what exactly the EEP is all about or what our group project is. However, I've rambled on far too much already in this blog and will save all of that info for another day. It's exciting though! Stay tuned.
I don't know if I've said it before - but I really really like my Schumann Song Cycle class. Schumann lieder are a new favorite for me I think. I'm sorry to all you Schubert fans out there - but I just find Schumann Lieder so much more deep, daring, original, interesting and beautiful to sing. Am I going to be shot for saying that? I suppose I'm entitled to my own opinion.
I'll leave with a text by Eichendorff and set to music by Schumann in his Liederkreis Op. 39. It's probably one of Schumann's most beautiful songs and I got to sing it acouple weeks ago. It's amazingly beautiful but deceptively difficult!
Mondnacht
Es war, als hätt' der Himmel,
Die Erde still geküßt,
Daß sie im Blütenschimmer
Von ihm nur träumen müßt.
Die Luft ging durch die Felder,
Die Ähren wogten sacht,
Es rauschten leis die Wälder,
So sternklar war die Nacht.
Und meine Seele spannte
Weit ihre Flügel aus,
Flog durch die stillen Lande,
Als flöge sie nach Haus.
It was as if the sky
Had quietly kissed the earth,
So that in a shower of blossoms
She must only dream of him.
The breeze wafted through the fields,
The ears of corn waved gently,
The forests rustled faintly,
So sparkling clear was the night.
And my soul stretched
its wings out far,
Flew through the still lands,
as if it were flying home.
Wednesday, October 18, 2006
THANK YOU!
Big hugs and kisses to all who called, emailed, sent cards and packages and e-cards, sent text messages, wrote on my bathroom mirror with lipstick and decorated my bedroom door, came to celebrate after 10pm even though they had work the next morning, got up in the early hours to give me a birthday danish and chocolate covered cherries - the list could go on. Thank you thank you thank you. I am so blessed to be alive and to have all of you in my life. xxxx
Big hugs and kisses to all who called, emailed, sent cards and packages and e-cards, sent text messages, wrote on my bathroom mirror with lipstick and decorated my bedroom door, came to celebrate after 10pm even though they had work the next morning, got up in the early hours to give me a birthday danish and chocolate covered cherries - the list could go on. Thank you thank you thank you. I am so blessed to be alive and to have all of you in my life. xxxx
Tuesday, October 17, 2006
Wednesday, October 11, 2006
Tuesday, October 10, 2006
Saturday, October 07, 2006
EEKS! A spider!
| Ashley was finally able to reach an apple on top of the tree only to find it had a huge spider living in it. She threw it on the ground - it landed on my shoe -I screamed - stepped backwards and stepped on an apple - rolled onto Bree - and it's all caught on video! | |
Trying to reach the apple
| Rachael's brilliant idea of trying to reach the apple. We first tried having Ashley hoist me up in her hands - then stepping on her knee - then standing on her back. I thought a piggy back ride would be safer. Perhaps I should have gone for standing on her back. (Aside: We didn't know Michelle was taping) | |
Tuesday, October 03, 2006
It's been a busy past week/weekend. I'm so excited that Autumn is here. It's been a strange Autumn already though. It's been perfect weather for the most part - although it did rain a lot on Sunday. Other than that it's been warm during the day and chilly in the evenings. All with the exception of today which was 75 degrees!! The leaves are starting to turn too! I feel an apple picking trip coming on. Anyone game? I can fit 4 other people in my car!
I'm finding a lot more time to practice this year which is really fantastic. Really really fantastic actually. Karen and I were placed in the same Vocal Chamber Ensemble group and we're doing some really nice duets together. Some Purcell, Donizetti, a beautiful Ave Maria by Faure and so on. This is actually my first time working with another singer in the VCE class. The last two times I took it I was placed with a saxophonist the first semester and a flutist the second semester. We are having a lot of fun - the two of us are - and, not to sound vain - but man we sound really good together. LOL. I guess a more humble way of saying that would be - our voices blend together quite well together.
I'm really loving the Schumann Song Cycle class that I'm taking. I've always loved Schumann but have never sung anything by him. This was my chance - so I took it. Anyhow - I just finished a coaching on Süßer Freund, du blickest mich verwundert an from Schumann's song cycle Frauenliebe und Leben (A woman's love and life). This is the last cycle Schumann wrote before his marriage to Clara and was intended as a wedding gift to her. The poems are a cycle that give the emotional experiences of a woman at various stages in her life - narrating the progressive stages of her relationship with her love from her first sighting of him, their wedding, announcing her pregancy to her him, and finally - the death of her husband.
I was assigned song no. 6 which is the moment when she is trying to tell her husband she is pregnant. Well Friday was my last coaching on the song and I basically had to act it out - but under the direction of my classmates Yumi and Bree who had been told the previous week to come up with some sort of scenario and direct me through it. Well, guess who my husband got to be? Brian - one of the teachers who co-teaches the course. My accompanist wasn't there that day so he was playing for me and Yumi and Bree thought it would be interesting if he was the husband. Great. Thanks guys. I thought I was going to die. Poor Brian - I don't think his face could have gotten much more red.
The scene played out so that he was playing the piano (actually accompanying me) - and I was desperately trying to get his attention - trying to tell him in so many ways - but he was a like a man distracted by a football game. At one point he even pulled his phone (still playing the piano with one hand) and pretended to make a phone call at which point I grabbed the phone away and eventually sat down at the piano with him. Then it got to the "intimate" part of the song and I just wanted to melt to the ground. I was trying to stay in character and keep the fourth wall going - I continued moving closer and closer to him on the piano bench and he starts cracking up and then I started cracking up and then I spit on his hand!!! EWWWW!!! It wasn't a lot of spit - just singer spit - but still!! So that was how my Friday played out. I don't think I've ever been so embarrassed (not just about the spit thing - just the whole situation in general) but we are both adults and could laugh about it afterwards I suppose.
So there is a story for you all to laugh at. Next time we'll sell tickets for the show!
This weekend's supposed to be nice and we're trying to come up with something fun to do outside of the city. Apple picking, cranberry harvest festival - we're not sure yet. It's my first free weekend in a long time and I want to make the most of it. And who knows - this may (or may not) be my last Autumn here in New England so I want to fit in everything I haven't done yet. Good Luck with that Rachael
I'm finding a lot more time to practice this year which is really fantastic. Really really fantastic actually. Karen and I were placed in the same Vocal Chamber Ensemble group and we're doing some really nice duets together. Some Purcell, Donizetti, a beautiful Ave Maria by Faure and so on. This is actually my first time working with another singer in the VCE class. The last two times I took it I was placed with a saxophonist the first semester and a flutist the second semester. We are having a lot of fun - the two of us are - and, not to sound vain - but man we sound really good together. LOL. I guess a more humble way of saying that would be - our voices blend together quite well together.
I'm really loving the Schumann Song Cycle class that I'm taking. I've always loved Schumann but have never sung anything by him. This was my chance - so I took it. Anyhow - I just finished a coaching on Süßer Freund, du blickest mich verwundert an from Schumann's song cycle Frauenliebe und Leben (A woman's love and life). This is the last cycle Schumann wrote before his marriage to Clara and was intended as a wedding gift to her. The poems are a cycle that give the emotional experiences of a woman at various stages in her life - narrating the progressive stages of her relationship with her love from her first sighting of him, their wedding, announcing her pregancy to her him, and finally - the death of her husband.
I was assigned song no. 6 which is the moment when she is trying to tell her husband she is pregnant. Well Friday was my last coaching on the song and I basically had to act it out - but under the direction of my classmates Yumi and Bree who had been told the previous week to come up with some sort of scenario and direct me through it. Well, guess who my husband got to be? Brian - one of the teachers who co-teaches the course. My accompanist wasn't there that day so he was playing for me and Yumi and Bree thought it would be interesting if he was the husband. Great. Thanks guys. I thought I was going to die. Poor Brian - I don't think his face could have gotten much more red.
The scene played out so that he was playing the piano (actually accompanying me) - and I was desperately trying to get his attention - trying to tell him in so many ways - but he was a like a man distracted by a football game. At one point he even pulled his phone (still playing the piano with one hand) and pretended to make a phone call at which point I grabbed the phone away and eventually sat down at the piano with him. Then it got to the "intimate" part of the song and I just wanted to melt to the ground. I was trying to stay in character and keep the fourth wall going - I continued moving closer and closer to him on the piano bench and he starts cracking up and then I started cracking up and then I spit on his hand!!! EWWWW!!! It wasn't a lot of spit - just singer spit - but still!! So that was how my Friday played out. I don't think I've ever been so embarrassed (not just about the spit thing - just the whole situation in general) but we are both adults and could laugh about it afterwards I suppose.
So there is a story for you all to laugh at. Next time we'll sell tickets for the show!
This weekend's supposed to be nice and we're trying to come up with something fun to do outside of the city. Apple picking, cranberry harvest festival - we're not sure yet. It's my first free weekend in a long time and I want to make the most of it. And who knows - this may (or may not) be my last Autumn here in New England so I want to fit in everything I haven't done yet. Good Luck with that Rachael
Süßer Freund, du blickest mich verwundert an
Süßer Freund, du blickest
Mich verwundert an,
Kannst es nicht begreifen,
Wie ich weinen kann;
Laß der feuchten Perlen
Ungewohnte Zier
Freudig hell erzittern
In dem Auge mir.
Wie so bang mein Busen,
Wie so wonnevoll!
Wüßt ich nur mit Worten,
Wie ich's sagen soll;
Komm und birg dein Antlitz
Hier an meiner Brust,
Will in's Ohr dir flüstern
Alle meine Lust.
Weißt du nun die Tränen,
Die ich weinen kann?
Sollst du nicht sie sehen,
Du geliebter Mann?
Bleib an meinem Herzen,
Fühle dessen Schlag,
Daß ich fest und fester
Nur dich drücken mag.
Hier an meinem Bette
Hat die Wiege Raum,
Wo sie still verberge
Meinen holden Traum;
Kommen wird der Morgen,
Wo der Traum erwacht,
Und daraus dein Bildnis
Mir entgegen lacht.
Sweet friend, you look
at me in wonder,
you cannst comprehend,
why I am weeping;
Let the unaccustomed
drops of pearl
tremble, joyful-bright,
in my eyes.
My heart is so full of fear,
yet so blissful!
If I only knew,
how to put into words;
come and bury your brow
here in my breast,
I will whisper all my joy
in your ear.
Now do you understand the tears,
that I can weep?
Should I hide my tears from you,
you beloved man?
Rest on my heart,
feel it beating,
so that I can press you
close and closer.
Here, at my bed,
there is room for the cradle,
which will quietly keep secret
my lovely dream;
the morning will come
when the dream awakes,
and from there your image
shall smile at me.
From Frauenliebe und Leben Robert Schumann
Text by Adelbert von Chamisso (1781-1838)
Süßer Freund, du blickest
Mich verwundert an,
Kannst es nicht begreifen,
Wie ich weinen kann;
Laß der feuchten Perlen
Ungewohnte Zier
Freudig hell erzittern
In dem Auge mir.
Wie so bang mein Busen,
Wie so wonnevoll!
Wüßt ich nur mit Worten,
Wie ich's sagen soll;
Komm und birg dein Antlitz
Hier an meiner Brust,
Will in's Ohr dir flüstern
Alle meine Lust.
Weißt du nun die Tränen,
Die ich weinen kann?
Sollst du nicht sie sehen,
Du geliebter Mann?
Bleib an meinem Herzen,
Fühle dessen Schlag,
Daß ich fest und fester
Nur dich drücken mag.
Hier an meinem Bette
Hat die Wiege Raum,
Wo sie still verberge
Meinen holden Traum;
Kommen wird der Morgen,
Wo der Traum erwacht,
Und daraus dein Bildnis
Mir entgegen lacht.
Sweet friend, you look
at me in wonder,
you cannst comprehend,
why I am weeping;
Let the unaccustomed
drops of pearl
tremble, joyful-bright,
in my eyes.
My heart is so full of fear,
yet so blissful!
If I only knew,
how to put into words;
come and bury your brow
here in my breast,
I will whisper all my joy
in your ear.
Now do you understand the tears,
that I can weep?
Should I hide my tears from you,
you beloved man?
Rest on my heart,
feel it beating,
so that I can press you
close and closer.
Here, at my bed,
there is room for the cradle,
which will quietly keep secret
my lovely dream;
the morning will come
when the dream awakes,
and from there your image
shall smile at me.
From Frauenliebe und Leben Robert Schumann
Text by Adelbert von Chamisso (1781-1838)
Saturday, September 30, 2006
Top Ten Signs you Need A Break from Longy
(I was all excited to post this and then realized that quite a few of them are "inside jokes" so I've provided an "inside joke" key at the end.)
1. You start arranging to have dates at school, in between rehearsals.
2. Your favorite restaurant is "the Bistro".
3. Whenever you write "long" your hand habitually adds the "y".
4. When Terry and Harry are your best friends and David is your weekend buddy.
5. When your daily exercises include sprints between buildings trying to find a practice room.
6. When silence is deafening and fresh air makes you choke.
7. When you feel like a full-time babysitter.
8. When you think the copier is a technological advancement.
9. When you schedule a room and therapy session with John at the front desk.
10. When you start asking about the PhD program at Longy.
"Inside Joke" key
2. the "Bistro" is a small little area inside one of the buildings where there are vending machines, tables, a microwave and fridge.
4. Terry, Harry and Dave are the guards that are there in the evenings and on the weekend.
5. Longy has two buildings-each one a block from the other. There are never any practice rooms to be had - and what usually happens is you look in one building for a room and when there isn't one you trek to the next building and usually there isn't one there either. So then you just go home.
7. Longy has a large Prepartory Studies program. There are kids running around ALL THE TIME. Some of them climb lockers and the lockers fall on them (as happened last weekend)
9. John is the Front Desk receptionist (my old job last summer!!)
10. Longy has NO PhD program.
(I was all excited to post this and then realized that quite a few of them are "inside jokes" so I've provided an "inside joke" key at the end.)
1. You start arranging to have dates at school, in between rehearsals.
2. Your favorite restaurant is "the Bistro".
3. Whenever you write "long" your hand habitually adds the "y".
4. When Terry and Harry are your best friends and David is your weekend buddy.
5. When your daily exercises include sprints between buildings trying to find a practice room.
6. When silence is deafening and fresh air makes you choke.
7. When you feel like a full-time babysitter.
8. When you think the copier is a technological advancement.
9. When you schedule a room and therapy session with John at the front desk.
10. When you start asking about the PhD program at Longy.
"Inside Joke" key
2. the "Bistro" is a small little area inside one of the buildings where there are vending machines, tables, a microwave and fridge.
4. Terry, Harry and Dave are the guards that are there in the evenings and on the weekend.
5. Longy has two buildings-each one a block from the other. There are never any practice rooms to be had - and what usually happens is you look in one building for a room and when there isn't one you trek to the next building and usually there isn't one there either. So then you just go home.
7. Longy has a large Prepartory Studies program. There are kids running around ALL THE TIME. Some of them climb lockers and the lockers fall on them (as happened last weekend)
9. John is the Front Desk receptionist (my old job last summer!!)
10. Longy has NO PhD program.
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