Hello all :)
I realize it's been a while since my last update and no I have not forgotten my promise to be better about updating. As proof, notice the lovely new template that I've added to my page and the new music player on the left. I came across this Christian artist, JJ Heller, about 2 weeks ago and absolutely fell in love with her work! I think what I love best about her music is that the lyrics incorporate her faith with her everyday circumstances. It just seems more heartfelt to me. Anywho...check her out and if you want to hear some of her other songs, just click the next button on the ipod screen.
So....I am FINALLY done with all of my graduate school auditions!!!!!! YAY!!!!!! I have to say it is such a relief that it is out of my hands now. I flew up to University of Maryland last Tuesday afternoon and had my audition at UMD the next day. I absolutely LOVED the campus, the music building and all of the students and faculty that I met while there. I felt that I had a great audition and they really seemed to enjoy it as well. Unfortunately they are only accepting 10 new graduate students: 5 men and 5 women, so basically 2-3 people per voice part....eek! So the only thing that I am still not sold on is I did not get the opportunity to talk to each of the voice faculty to see who I would work well with as far as finding a new voice teacher. But I will wait to worry about that if I am accepted.
Grad school audition #2 - Florida State University. I flew directly from Maryland the day after my UMD audition to Tallahasse, FL. I really enjoyed my visit to FSU, but it was hard to like anything as much as I loved the University of Maryland. However, there is a voice teacher there, David Okerlund, that is absolutely amazing! Pina had recommended him to me and man is he awesome! He took the time to meet with me for an hour and half to talk about his teaching style and get to know me a bit. That speaks volumes to me about how much he cares for his students and the school. I feel that I would learn a great deal from him if FSU is where I decide to go for grad school. My audition went really well and each of the faculty made it a point to tell me how much they loved my audition. YAY!
Grad school audition #3 - Rice University. I just got back from my Rice University audition on Saturday evening. I had one rough time getting down there that is for sure! I was supposed to fly out on Thursday evening to get there a day before my audition, on Friday. My AA flight was canceled because of weather...ice n' snow...eww.... The next flight the put me on was Friday morning at 6:35am. I don't like flying in the day of because it just wears me out and takes a toll on my voice. But just rolling with the punches...I ended up rolling with more punches because I sat boarded on my flight for over 2 hours due to power outages on the plane! I now know what it looks like when the flight attendents say that the exit signs will illuminate to show you your nearest exit. Got into Houston a quarter after 11am, took one expensive cab ride to the university and got there about 12pm. My audition was at 2pm...AHHH! But despite the travel issues, I felt that I sang really well and I did well on my exams the next morning. I had been freaking myself out about those exams for months, and I will say that studying for them DEFINITELY helps!
The next and last thing on my auditions list for the moment is my audition for Opera North on February 9th. It's a summer program and it pays a bit, so that is nice :)
At this point I am taking 12 credit hours this semester....it's a load off from my usual amount of classes. I am currently in the middle of opera rehearsals for L'enfant et les sortilege. The show goes up the 1st weekend in March. After that I have a voice competition, Crescendo Music Awards, in mid March in Tulsa, OK. After that I have my BM recital on April 9th at 7:30pm in Wiedemann Recital Hall. And last but not least the Naftzger Music Competition in mid April.....it's been a busy year!!!! Whew!
In other news:
* Breanna turns 15?!?! on February 4th!!!! Ack, she's making me feel old
But I can honestly say she is one of the most increadible people I
know :) So happy birthday squirt! She's done extremely well swimming for
Winnetonka's swim team. She is just literally about a second away from
getting a state qualifying time...she's working REALLY hard to make that
time within the next week. She's already a varsity swimmer as a
freshman...so talented!
*Frank and I are still doing really well :D 6 months together as of
today. I was able to see him during my layover in Dallas on my way home
from my Rice audition. The next time I see him will probably be my
spring break in mid March :( He is currently teaching 50 voice students
in the Dallas area and singing with a professional-traveling choir too!
So he's keeping pretty busy.
*Mom joined a bookclub!!!! I'm so proud :) I think it's been a wonderful
stress reliever for her and a way to make some new friends too! She has
taken up swimming this past year or so and has been enjoying it too.
*Dad is working a lot, but it's because he's having a great deal of
success building his business back up! He's still singing with the King
of King's adult choir, which he loves.
*Al (my hamster) is still alive! He's almost 2 years old, which
considering they only live to be about 2-3 years old is quite
an accomplishment! His new obsession....banana chips!
At this point my life is busy finishing learning my recital material before the second week in March. Wah...this was a really long update, but I figured that I would just wait to post a new blog until after grad school auditions were over with. I should hopefully hear about acceptance by March 1st and scholarship offers by mid March-ish. I have to go to opera rehearsal, but as usual, I would love to hear what you all are up to, so PLEASE leave a comment or shoot me a message with all the details! Lots of love from Wichita!
I realize it's been a while since my last update and no I have not forgotten my promise to be better about updating. As proof, notice the lovely new template that I've added to my page and the new music player on the left. I came across this Christian artist, JJ Heller, about 2 weeks ago and absolutely fell in love with her work! I think what I love best about her music is that the lyrics incorporate her faith with her everyday circumstances. It just seems more heartfelt to me. Anywho...check her out and if you want to hear some of her other songs, just click the next button on the ipod screen.
So....I am FINALLY done with all of my graduate school auditions!!!!!! YAY!!!!!! I have to say it is such a relief that it is out of my hands now. I flew up to University of Maryland last Tuesday afternoon and had my audition at UMD the next day. I absolutely LOVED the campus, the music building and all of the students and faculty that I met while there. I felt that I had a great audition and they really seemed to enjoy it as well. Unfortunately they are only accepting 10 new graduate students: 5 men and 5 women, so basically 2-3 people per voice part....eek! So the only thing that I am still not sold on is I did not get the opportunity to talk to each of the voice faculty to see who I would work well with as far as finding a new voice teacher. But I will wait to worry about that if I am accepted.
Grad school audition #2 - Florida State University. I flew directly from Maryland the day after my UMD audition to Tallahasse, FL. I really enjoyed my visit to FSU, but it was hard to like anything as much as I loved the University of Maryland. However, there is a voice teacher there, David Okerlund, that is absolutely amazing! Pina had recommended him to me and man is he awesome! He took the time to meet with me for an hour and half to talk about his teaching style and get to know me a bit. That speaks volumes to me about how much he cares for his students and the school. I feel that I would learn a great deal from him if FSU is where I decide to go for grad school. My audition went really well and each of the faculty made it a point to tell me how much they loved my audition. YAY!
Grad school audition #3 - Rice University. I just got back from my Rice University audition on Saturday evening. I had one rough time getting down there that is for sure! I was supposed to fly out on Thursday evening to get there a day before my audition, on Friday. My AA flight was canceled because of weather...ice n' snow...eww.... The next flight the put me on was Friday morning at 6:35am. I don't like flying in the day of because it just wears me out and takes a toll on my voice. But just rolling with the punches...I ended up rolling with more punches because I sat boarded on my flight for over 2 hours due to power outages on the plane! I now know what it looks like when the flight attendents say that the exit signs will illuminate to show you your nearest exit. Got into Houston a quarter after 11am, took one expensive cab ride to the university and got there about 12pm. My audition was at 2pm...AHHH! But despite the travel issues, I felt that I sang really well and I did well on my exams the next morning. I had been freaking myself out about those exams for months, and I will say that studying for them DEFINITELY helps!
The next and last thing on my auditions list for the moment is my audition for Opera North on February 9th. It's a summer program and it pays a bit, so that is nice :)
At this point I am taking 12 credit hours this semester....it's a load off from my usual amount of classes. I am currently in the middle of opera rehearsals for L'enfant et les sortilege. The show goes up the 1st weekend in March. After that I have a voice competition, Crescendo Music Awards, in mid March in Tulsa, OK. After that I have my BM recital on April 9th at 7:30pm in Wiedemann Recital Hall. And last but not least the Naftzger Music Competition in mid April.....it's been a busy year!!!! Whew!
In other news:
* Breanna turns 15?!?! on February 4th!!!! Ack, she's making me feel old
But I can honestly say she is one of the most increadible people I
know :) So happy birthday squirt! She's done extremely well swimming for
Winnetonka's swim team. She is just literally about a second away from
getting a state qualifying time...she's working REALLY hard to make that
time within the next week. She's already a varsity swimmer as a
freshman...so talented!
*Frank and I are still doing really well :D 6 months together as of
today. I was able to see him during my layover in Dallas on my way home
from my Rice audition. The next time I see him will probably be my
spring break in mid March :( He is currently teaching 50 voice students
in the Dallas area and singing with a professional-traveling choir too!
So he's keeping pretty busy.
*Mom joined a bookclub!!!! I'm so proud :) I think it's been a wonderful
stress reliever for her and a way to make some new friends too! She has
taken up swimming this past year or so and has been enjoying it too.
*Dad is working a lot, but it's because he's having a great deal of
success building his business back up! He's still singing with the King
of King's adult choir, which he loves.
*Al (my hamster) is still alive! He's almost 2 years old, which
considering they only live to be about 2-3 years old is quite
an accomplishment! His new obsession....banana chips!
At this point my life is busy finishing learning my recital material before the second week in March. Wah...this was a really long update, but I figured that I would just wait to post a new blog until after grad school auditions were over with. I should hopefully hear about acceptance by March 1st and scholarship offers by mid March-ish. I have to go to opera rehearsal, but as usual, I would love to hear what you all are up to, so PLEASE leave a comment or shoot me a message with all the details! Lots of love from Wichita!
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