We're going to Panama this weekend! .......its a 13 hour drive..... we're leaving at 2am.... BUT I'm excited to see a new place (even though it'll be pretty similar, maybe a little colder because we'll be in the mountains) ALSO!!! I bought an awesome duffel bag today for the trip AND IT HAS BACKPACK STRAPS!
Lessons:
Things have been going really well with Bassooning, last week during my lesson she assigned me to memorize Milde no.1 and the first half of the Courante from Bach cello suite no.3. The Milde isn't too bad, some accidentals throw me for a loop but the Courante is H.A.R.D, and I believe its only difficult because I'm also trying to play it in the correct Baroque style while memorizing which gives some liberty but when your memory falters it ruins everything lol! We are also continuously working on major and harmonic minor scales and the Mozart bassoon concerto (also played in the same Baroque style)
School:
I'm a little upset with school. The professors are amazing people and I would love to be acquaintances with them but when it comes to quality of teaching, organization or other incredibly important things necessary for being an educator, they lack. And it's quite frustrating that I am still paying for college credit but I don't believe I'm still getting the same quality. Pros, these classes qualify for my upper level Spanish classes, and my capstone project for minimal effort.... not sure if its right morally but never-mind that.
TTFN,
Em
Tuesday, February 11, 2020
Friday, January 31, 2020
End of module 1 and Deaf composers
Today we finished our first class or module. In this program we complete a class per month rather than take 4 classes at once for the whole semester. It's very nice. Theoretically we finished yesterday, as thats when we had our finals but were still required to come in today to present our final group project to the entire program (we split up into four classes based on language comprehension level). Our final group project was to tell a childhood story, like goldilocks and the three bears, and adapt it Costa Rican style. Of course we chose the three bears, and we had two 'foreign exchange' girls staying at our house. We had to explain to them the shower, as showers here are backwards, the less you turn it on the hotter it is but less water pressure, and the further you turn it on the colder it gets with higher water pressure. As well as throwing used toilet paper into the garbage by the toilet, not down the sewage system. Then the bedrooms, those are exactly the same in the states except everything is tiled instead of carpet because its easier to clean and my host family cleans the floors every day to keep the bugs out. And finally goldy chose food. First were platanos dulces, fried sweet plantain, then sopa negra, a soup made out of black beans, water, cilantro and eggs, sometimes with veggies. And finally but the most important staple of Costa Rican food, Gallo Pinto. This is black beans and rice cooked together with 'flavors' also known as onion, garlic, celery, sweet chilies, a special sauce and some 'complete seasoning' this is also typically served with a salsa of tomatoes, onion and cilantro.
Overall the production went really well and we won best comedic play.
We got out of class a little early and I went to go talk to Janiva, the SOL program director, about adding tutoring onto my class-load. I want to be tutored in both medical and musical terminology and tutoring 1-1 with a professor only costs $12/hour here! Waiting to hear back, will keep you updated.
I also had another lesson with Isabel on Wednesday (of which I had to leave my bassoon at her house overnight because I was going to get my allergy shots at the hospital in downtown San Jose, not the best place). On Wednesday we talked a lot about musicality. I'm preparing a Bach cello suite Courante and leave it to me to play everything exactly like a robotic etude. We are continuing to work on scales and she told me to move onto Milde 2 and bump up Milde 1 to 90bpm.... thats a fast boi.
I've been struggling lately with the want to practice. When I get home from school for the past few day's I haven't wanted to do anything other than nap or watch Netflix. Which is okay but I have another lesson next week that I already feel super unprepared for and I'm trying to revamp the Marriage of Figaro bassoon audition excerpt to apply to the National Music Festival by February 10 and oh lord thats super rusty.... but the other option is the Beethoven 4 mvmt IV fast solo which in my opinion is also terrible to play.... I have a theory that he wrote such difficult things for bassoon and contrabassoon because he didn't know how terrible it sounded.
Anyway I practiced for a bit today (probably only an hour), maybe we can try again tomorrow,
EM
I also wrote this without my glasses, good luck!
Overall the production went really well and we won best comedic play.
We got out of class a little early and I went to go talk to Janiva, the SOL program director, about adding tutoring onto my class-load. I want to be tutored in both medical and musical terminology and tutoring 1-1 with a professor only costs $12/hour here! Waiting to hear back, will keep you updated.
I also had another lesson with Isabel on Wednesday (of which I had to leave my bassoon at her house overnight because I was going to get my allergy shots at the hospital in downtown San Jose, not the best place). On Wednesday we talked a lot about musicality. I'm preparing a Bach cello suite Courante and leave it to me to play everything exactly like a robotic etude. We are continuing to work on scales and she told me to move onto Milde 2 and bump up Milde 1 to 90bpm.... thats a fast boi.
I've been struggling lately with the want to practice. When I get home from school for the past few day's I haven't wanted to do anything other than nap or watch Netflix. Which is okay but I have another lesson next week that I already feel super unprepared for and I'm trying to revamp the Marriage of Figaro bassoon audition excerpt to apply to the National Music Festival by February 10 and oh lord thats super rusty.... but the other option is the Beethoven 4 mvmt IV fast solo which in my opinion is also terrible to play.... I have a theory that he wrote such difficult things for bassoon and contrabassoon because he didn't know how terrible it sounded.
Anyway I practiced for a bit today (probably only an hour), maybe we can try again tomorrow,
EM
I also wrote this without my glasses, good luck!
Thursday, January 30, 2020
I'm in Costa Rica for half a year?
Long time no see? I know I'm terrible at keeping up with this but I'm currently studying abroad for a semester in Heredia Costa Rica. My 'scholarly focus' here is Spanish, I'll be taking advanced Spanish 1 and 2, a class on culture and a class on Spanish literature. They do things a bit differently here, with this program I'll be taking a class per month from 8a-11a every day and a different class in 4 weeks. But normally in Costa Rica kids are still on 'summer' break. They take their long break from school in the winter because it's cooler and during the dry season. Their school starts up in March.
While I'm down here I have the amazing opportunity to study bassoon with Isabel Jerimas. She has German training from Karlsruhe Musikhochschule and received another degree from the University of Kansas and a speciality in baroque bassoon from the ESMUS in Cataluña Spain. I basically stalked her last year at IDRS as she was one of the judges for the Fox Gillet and the Meg Quigley Vivaldi competition previously. I tracked her down and asked if I could study with her in the winter and she said yes, so we came into contact on facebook and later Whatsapp as that is the best way to communicate here. I messaged her when I arrived in Costa Rica and we immediately set up our first lesson.
Keep in mind I'm coming from not playing all of winter break, as I take it off to remain a sane human, and the first day she assigns me Milde etude 1 with her correct fingerings and venting on all tenor A,B and C's, the Courante of the third Bach cello suite and all of the first movement of Mozart bassoon concerto AS WELL AS all of my major and minor scales.
Now thats where this gets tricky(Kathy if you're reading this I totally feel for you learning moveable Do). In the US we use this crazy thing called moveable Do, as in solfege. This is where if you play a Bb major scale (or minor) Bb is Do. But here in Costa Rica and almost everywhere else around the world (like the metric system) they use fixed Do. Meaning that Do is always and forever the note 'C' no exceptions at all. Seems cool right? Try learning it not in your native language. PLUS they don't really say Bb major scale they will say Si bemol or si sostinido bemol and so on, its a bit much to get... BUT I REALLY WANT TO!
More to come because every day is an adventure!
EM
While I'm down here I have the amazing opportunity to study bassoon with Isabel Jerimas. She has German training from Karlsruhe Musikhochschule and received another degree from the University of Kansas and a speciality in baroque bassoon from the ESMUS in Cataluña Spain. I basically stalked her last year at IDRS as she was one of the judges for the Fox Gillet and the Meg Quigley Vivaldi competition previously. I tracked her down and asked if I could study with her in the winter and she said yes, so we came into contact on facebook and later Whatsapp as that is the best way to communicate here. I messaged her when I arrived in Costa Rica and we immediately set up our first lesson.
Keep in mind I'm coming from not playing all of winter break, as I take it off to remain a sane human, and the first day she assigns me Milde etude 1 with her correct fingerings and venting on all tenor A,B and C's, the Courante of the third Bach cello suite and all of the first movement of Mozart bassoon concerto AS WELL AS all of my major and minor scales.
Now thats where this gets tricky(Kathy if you're reading this I totally feel for you learning moveable Do). In the US we use this crazy thing called moveable Do, as in solfege. This is where if you play a Bb major scale (or minor) Bb is Do. But here in Costa Rica and almost everywhere else around the world (like the metric system) they use fixed Do. Meaning that Do is always and forever the note 'C' no exceptions at all. Seems cool right? Try learning it not in your native language. PLUS they don't really say Bb major scale they will say Si bemol or si sostinido bemol and so on, its a bit much to get... BUT I REALLY WANT TO!
More to come because every day is an adventure!
EM
Saturday, November 16, 2019
Why Music?
Tonight I had an incredible concert experience. I am playing with the Kalamazoo Philarmonia and tonight we put on a concert titled Among Friends in which we played Overture by Grazyna Bacewicz, Piano Concerto No. 1 by Pytor Tchaikovsky with the wonderful soloist, Weiyin Chen and following intermission we played Enigma Variations by Edward Elgar. I didn't play on the first piece so I relaxed (as much as I could) back stage. I tried to stay downstairs in the warm-up area but I got so anxious that I would miss my piece or they would somehow change concert order and I messed up. So I went upstairs and listened backstage, they sounded great! Then we played the Tchaikovsky piano concerto, which was fantastic, Weiyin Chen played in such an emotive way. I especially loved the third movement with the syncopations between piano and orchestra. But the real reason I'm writing this entire post was the Enigma Variations. Fourteen continuous movements that are supposed to flow onto eachother as much as possible. I had adjusted my reed during intermission as I was playing rather sharp and a sharp second bassoonist could be a disaster. So we're going along and I'm thinking wow we sound great together, Connie (principal) and I, as well as Chris on Contra. Then we got to the ninth variation titled Nimrod, its a beautiful slow flowing adagio and I began to cry. I cried because I'm so happy and thankful for everything that I've had in my life but especially that this is exactly what I want to do until the day I die and I'm so lucky that I can do something that brings me so much joy. But...... then I started to go flat so I had to reign it back in.
In another bassoon world, I just completed my senior recital last weekend (as well as subing for the KJSO - Kalamazoo Junior Symphony Orchestra). The recital was fantastic we opened with Sonata for Piano and Bassoon by Nancy Galbraith, followed by Etude No. 3 by Franz lizst arranged for bassoon by Kristian Roones (Excuse the improper 'O') which kicked my butt, then my prized posession Guttersnipe by Paul Hayden, intermission, the first ovement of the Mozzart Bassoon and Cello Sonata, and two bassoon quartets; Profkiev's Scherzo and The Wolf and Peter by the Bubonic Collection.
It was so good! The Galbraith went well, caution to all that play - the third movement is tricky and sneaky, the Lizst will always be a difficult piece, especially for unacompanied bassoon in extreme ranges, the Guttersnipe was so fun! I started in the catwalk, moved to the mezzanene, played a recording of me playing that we took earlier in the week while I ran down a few flights of stairs to get backstage, all over the staging area WITH LIGHTS COORESPONDING TO WHERE I WAS PLAYING TOO!! The ensembles were really enjoyable, the Mozart for me and the bassoon quartets for me but also very entertaining for the audience as most of them knew the excerpts from Peter and the Wolf that were quoted. PLUS we played the Grandfather solo on a Sopranino Recorder!! It was hilarious. Then we went and ate a ton of great food and drank lots of great wine and just enjoyed family and friends.
Hours practiced today ...... atleast 1 + 3 hour concert
Don't forget about yourself,
EM
In another bassoon world, I just completed my senior recital last weekend (as well as subing for the KJSO - Kalamazoo Junior Symphony Orchestra). The recital was fantastic we opened with Sonata for Piano and Bassoon by Nancy Galbraith, followed by Etude No. 3 by Franz lizst arranged for bassoon by Kristian Roones (Excuse the improper 'O') which kicked my butt, then my prized posession Guttersnipe by Paul Hayden, intermission, the first ovement of the Mozzart Bassoon and Cello Sonata, and two bassoon quartets; Profkiev's Scherzo and The Wolf and Peter by the Bubonic Collection.
It was so good! The Galbraith went well, caution to all that play - the third movement is tricky and sneaky, the Lizst will always be a difficult piece, especially for unacompanied bassoon in extreme ranges, the Guttersnipe was so fun! I started in the catwalk, moved to the mezzanene, played a recording of me playing that we took earlier in the week while I ran down a few flights of stairs to get backstage, all over the staging area WITH LIGHTS COORESPONDING TO WHERE I WAS PLAYING TOO!! The ensembles were really enjoyable, the Mozart for me and the bassoon quartets for me but also very entertaining for the audience as most of them knew the excerpts from Peter and the Wolf that were quoted. PLUS we played the Grandfather solo on a Sopranino Recorder!! It was hilarious. Then we went and ate a ton of great food and drank lots of great wine and just enjoyed family and friends.
Hours practiced today ...... atleast 1 + 3 hour concert
Don't forget about yourself,
EM
Thursday, August 22, 2019
Beginning of the end
Wow, so much has changed!
Which is usually how I begin most of my posts. I’m sorry I don’t post enough but it’s been one heck of a year. Just this past summer I’ve moved into an apartment with my boyfriend... I know BIG STUFF. But it’s super exciting getting to know someone you love in a ore natural habitat, how they function as a morning or not so morning person, do they leave the toilet seat up or down, do they clean up when they’re done making a meal. And I’ve also learned when to pick and choose your fights, because even though we love each other it doesn’t mean we always agree on everything.
I had the awesome opportunity last year to go to IDRS (International Double Reed Society) conference in Granada. It was a great deal of fun and I met so many people that I decided to do it again this year in Florida. I. Had. A. Blast! I also turned 21 this year so I felt I could keep up with the adults more rather than being in that awkward in between stage, but half the time they outlasted me! I had chosen to stay in an extended stay hotel because I would be able to make my own food. It also allowed me some needed alone time to do nothing.
As always at IDRS I went to see my friend Bernd, whom if you don’t know is an incredibly friendly guy who makes the Moosmann brand bassoons from Germany. We had a conversation and I am working on taking out a loan to upgrade to a higher leveled bassoon (from an M24 to a 200CL). This is almost pristinely perfect timing in my life because I’m also preparing for grad school. THIS IS REALLY SCARY BUT SUPER EXCITING! because I have no idea where to go lol.
Nonetheless, I am auditioning for large ensembles with Dr. rose next Wednesday and I’ll start practicing tomorrow (Friday)..... haha oops. But in all reality I attended the new bassoon institute in Maryland this year under the National Music Festival (of which ya girl was a competition finalist!) and the number one thing I took away from the festival and possibly all ‘new’ music is to play without regrets, and to play freely. When you let go of all the things musicians tend to worry about (intonation, timbre, dynamics, blend, does my body look really weird right now, does the director even know I’m playing...) you become what I call a badass bassoon player. Your tone will improve, your intonation, and you’ll feel better about what’s coming out of your horn. So go ahead and try it!
Hours practiced....0
Don’t practice too much,
EM
Which is usually how I begin most of my posts. I’m sorry I don’t post enough but it’s been one heck of a year. Just this past summer I’ve moved into an apartment with my boyfriend... I know BIG STUFF. But it’s super exciting getting to know someone you love in a ore natural habitat, how they function as a morning or not so morning person, do they leave the toilet seat up or down, do they clean up when they’re done making a meal. And I’ve also learned when to pick and choose your fights, because even though we love each other it doesn’t mean we always agree on everything.
I had the awesome opportunity last year to go to IDRS (International Double Reed Society) conference in Granada. It was a great deal of fun and I met so many people that I decided to do it again this year in Florida. I. Had. A. Blast! I also turned 21 this year so I felt I could keep up with the adults more rather than being in that awkward in between stage, but half the time they outlasted me! I had chosen to stay in an extended stay hotel because I would be able to make my own food. It also allowed me some needed alone time to do nothing.
As always at IDRS I went to see my friend Bernd, whom if you don’t know is an incredibly friendly guy who makes the Moosmann brand bassoons from Germany. We had a conversation and I am working on taking out a loan to upgrade to a higher leveled bassoon (from an M24 to a 200CL). This is almost pristinely perfect timing in my life because I’m also preparing for grad school. THIS IS REALLY SCARY BUT SUPER EXCITING! because I have no idea where to go lol.
Nonetheless, I am auditioning for large ensembles with Dr. rose next Wednesday and I’ll start practicing tomorrow (Friday)..... haha oops. But in all reality I attended the new bassoon institute in Maryland this year under the National Music Festival (of which ya girl was a competition finalist!) and the number one thing I took away from the festival and possibly all ‘new’ music is to play without regrets, and to play freely. When you let go of all the things musicians tend to worry about (intonation, timbre, dynamics, blend, does my body look really weird right now, does the director even know I’m playing...) you become what I call a badass bassoon player. Your tone will improve, your intonation, and you’ll feel better about what’s coming out of your horn. So go ahead and try it!
Hours practiced....0
Don’t practice too much,
EM
Monday, February 4, 2019
Let me know if you like to think of titles, because I'm bad at it
I'm sure I'm surrounded by idiots....
This semester I have to take a required music class, that's fine, that's been my life for the past 3+ years. But there are normal people in this class, non-music major people. NON-MUSIC MAJOR PEOPLE. And let me tell you, a lot of these people aren't the most informed personal on behavior. Specifically, within a class and the needs for respect towards a teacher. Not talking when she's talking, reserving specific questions for after or outside of class. NOT WASTING THE TIME OF EVERYONE IN THE CLASS DURING THE ALMOST TWO HOUR CLASS.
I don't like it.
In new words I got a new job as a lifeguard at the Borgess Health and Fitness center. Its super cool because I'll have great hours 5a-9a Monday - Thursday and Tuesday and Thursday 4p-6p. BUT I get weekends and evenings off. I'm also trying to save up for a 25k bassoon. So if you feel the need to give, I'm all ears :D
Don't practice too hard,
Emily
Hours - 1
This semester I have to take a required music class, that's fine, that's been my life for the past 3+ years. But there are normal people in this class, non-music major people. NON-MUSIC MAJOR PEOPLE. And let me tell you, a lot of these people aren't the most informed personal on behavior. Specifically, within a class and the needs for respect towards a teacher. Not talking when she's talking, reserving specific questions for after or outside of class. NOT WASTING THE TIME OF EVERYONE IN THE CLASS DURING THE ALMOST TWO HOUR CLASS.
I don't like it.
In new words I got a new job as a lifeguard at the Borgess Health and Fitness center. Its super cool because I'll have great hours 5a-9a Monday - Thursday and Tuesday and Thursday 4p-6p. BUT I get weekends and evenings off. I'm also trying to save up for a 25k bassoon. So if you feel the need to give, I'm all ears :D
Don't practice too hard,
Emily
Hours - 1
Thursday, January 10, 2019
Alright
Alright,
To begin with I believe 'Alright' is becoming my new favorite word. It makes a great conversation starter weather you use your upset alright or just the polite alright rather than saying 'um.' But I'm not sure if replacing a brain stutter, or a pause of saying the word 'um' with 'alright' is better because its still a filler word to give you time to figure out what to say.
ANYWAY...
The start to the new semester has been... just.... wow. I'm super excited to be back to music school because Dr. Rose is back!!! AND I'm taking Spanish again, except this time its Spanish lit and its a ton of reading... not in my primary language. Oh and also I'm working 25-30 hours a week as a barista at Starbucks, that's new as of last fall, October. Which means I wake up at 5am every day, most days I work from 6a-9a prior to going to class and some days they even have me come in after class in the evening to help close so I can get as many hours as possible. And even when I don't work I figured it'd be best for me to still wake up at the same time because now; I have time to blog and finish readings that I didn't have time for earlier this week and possibly even get in a warm up before classes start. I'm not sure how long this overachiever Emily will last - hopefully its all semester because I see healthy habits forming if I can keep going to bed around 8 or 9p....
On the other hand I am completely worried about this semester, I'm taking 17 credits but most of my classes are 'me' classes such as Orchestra, Private Lessons, Modern and Jogging (which I found out is a lecture, a lab and then we finally run... inside...). Which all of these classes for me are an incredible amount of fun so I don't mind doing some work for them. But then I also have to take Counterpoint (how to write music part against part and following the correct rules), World Music (WHICH WE HAVE A 1250 WORD PAPER DUE ON MONDAY!!! WHICH ALREADY HAS TO DO WITH CHOOSING YOUR FATE OF THE TOPIC FOR YOUR FINAL TERM PAPER!),
im only slightly worried
I'm also taking Spanish Lit which is going to be... lit. But Between World music and Spanish Lit I have an UNGODLY amount of reading to do....
In my non academic life (non bassoon life - we'll get to that later), I am making time to go to the gym and church once a week with my mom Saturday evenings and I'm super excited because A) I get to go to the gym and will have a motivation buddy and B) I feel that I really want some more knowledge about church and I want to learn more on the history and subjects of it.
I recently submitted my application to be a camp counselor at Interlochen Fine Arts Camp for this summer, and I'm submitting applications to both Sarasota music festival (which would be awesome because if you get in its free and I could study with Frank Morelli - New York phil and Julliard, and Hot springs which is in Alabama, also a great music festival many people from Dr. Roses studio have attended.
Anyway I'm off to an early morning warmup,
Have a great day!
Em
To begin with I believe 'Alright' is becoming my new favorite word. It makes a great conversation starter weather you use your upset alright or just the polite alright rather than saying 'um.' But I'm not sure if replacing a brain stutter, or a pause of saying the word 'um' with 'alright' is better because its still a filler word to give you time to figure out what to say.
ANYWAY...
The start to the new semester has been... just.... wow. I'm super excited to be back to music school because Dr. Rose is back!!! AND I'm taking Spanish again, except this time its Spanish lit and its a ton of reading... not in my primary language. Oh and also I'm working 25-30 hours a week as a barista at Starbucks, that's new as of last fall, October. Which means I wake up at 5am every day, most days I work from 6a-9a prior to going to class and some days they even have me come in after class in the evening to help close so I can get as many hours as possible. And even when I don't work I figured it'd be best for me to still wake up at the same time because now; I have time to blog and finish readings that I didn't have time for earlier this week and possibly even get in a warm up before classes start. I'm not sure how long this overachiever Emily will last - hopefully its all semester because I see healthy habits forming if I can keep going to bed around 8 or 9p....
On the other hand I am completely worried about this semester, I'm taking 17 credits but most of my classes are 'me' classes such as Orchestra, Private Lessons, Modern and Jogging (which I found out is a lecture, a lab and then we finally run... inside...). Which all of these classes for me are an incredible amount of fun so I don't mind doing some work for them. But then I also have to take Counterpoint (how to write music part against part and following the correct rules), World Music (WHICH WE HAVE A 1250 WORD PAPER DUE ON MONDAY!!! WHICH ALREADY HAS TO DO WITH CHOOSING YOUR FATE OF THE TOPIC FOR YOUR FINAL TERM PAPER!),
im only slightly worried
I'm also taking Spanish Lit which is going to be... lit. But Between World music and Spanish Lit I have an UNGODLY amount of reading to do....
In my non academic life (non bassoon life - we'll get to that later), I am making time to go to the gym and church once a week with my mom Saturday evenings and I'm super excited because A) I get to go to the gym and will have a motivation buddy and B) I feel that I really want some more knowledge about church and I want to learn more on the history and subjects of it.
I recently submitted my application to be a camp counselor at Interlochen Fine Arts Camp for this summer, and I'm submitting applications to both Sarasota music festival (which would be awesome because if you get in its free and I could study with Frank Morelli - New York phil and Julliard, and Hot springs which is in Alabama, also a great music festival many people from Dr. Roses studio have attended.
Anyway I'm off to an early morning warmup,
Have a great day!
Em
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