Wednesday, December 17, 2008

Another fine semester almost complete

As my third semester of grad school is winding down, it's time for another update. Last time we talked, I had just finished a string of three performances, and was looking forward to Thanksgiving break. My first weekend in NYC was fantastic, I got to see a bunch of my college and high school buddies, spent time in Brooklyn, played wii, it was beautiful. Here's how much Ted enjoyed it:

Then I made my way back to Boston, got to see the family, some more high school friends, and who could forget my amazing Broccoli Casserole, as well as my first Pumpkin Chiffon pie (with Ben's help.) Needless to say, everything was delicious. That Saturday night was my 5-year high school reunion, which was another memorable night. I can't seem to find any good pictures of it online, but if I come upon something tasty I will share it.
Then it was back to Butler, working on my compositions, piano lessons, and some more Modernist Music History. I finished my paper on Louis Armstrong, and presented it to the whole class, and it went really well. Ensemble 48 did another performance, a piece written by Matt Smart imitating a choir rehearsal, except all of us singers eventually drift off into our own little worlds. My "character" would daydream he was playing baseball, so I'd run to the side of the stage, catch a fly ball and try to throw out the runner at home. I also hit a single and stole a base, in case you were wondering.
On that same Composers Orchestra concert, a group of us performed a piano piece by Josh for 9 performers, 88 fingers for all 88 keys on the piano. It was lots of fun, except my back really hurt after each rehearsal.
As you can see, I am literally on top of Josh. It was fun.
Other than that, I've got my History final tomorrow, as well as my piano jury. I'm not too worried about either, we've got another review session tonight, and I've been working on my piano pieces for so long, they sound good enough. Then I'm off to Chicago for the weekend to see Dean and Ross, and flying back to Boston on Monday for winter break. Can't wait!
Oh, and in other news, right now I've tentatively scheduled my Graduate Recital for Sunday, April 19th at 8pm. I apologize for the inconvenient time, but all the Saturdays were already taken, it's a vicious fight for time slots. Hope you can make it, but if not, no worries, there will be a recording. See you soon!