Today's Coffee: Irish Breakfast Tea (and an Arnold Palmer after lunch)

The pictures above and below are from Chalk Walk. They passed out chalk and the whole community got involved with their art! The one below won overall. It was so neat to see everyone being artistic - although barely any music students (if any) got involved -- we have a lot on our plate already!

So, it's been a long 10 days so far. After hearing the faculty concert on Friday night - can I just say that they are all amazing? They play so elegantly, and yet, there is a raw factor to the sound (with the gut strings and all). I have learned so much these past few days. For the first time, in a long time, (maybe ever?) I feel that I am finally doing something that I really really love. I'm hoping that I've found my musical niche. It's been a strange feeling - even as I play in masterclass and am critiqued crazily over my bow stroke or phrasing, I enjoy it. It doesn't bother me, because I want so much to get better. It's an interesting feeling. I still get insanely nervous before performing, but I'm starting to feel really confident in what I'm doing and let the instrument work for me. But I digress - the faculty concert was amazing! Just the exposure to composers that I'm not familiar with : Schmelzer, Bonocini, Ariosti, Schenck and others - there is so much gorgeous and amazing music out there! 

Saturday was our first student recital. I think it went well. It was under 4 hours long - so, it was shorter than expected. :) Some of the groups were phenomenal! 

Then Sunday arrived, and T got here. It's so nice to have him here - not just because I now don't have to play with a stranger as my harpsichordist - but I missed him so much! And don't even get me started on W - he's such a trooper as he is now hanging out with the Wilson Family. 

I performed in masterclass on Tuesday, the Biber Sonata 12. I learned a lot - that basically, I play a little too refined and could just throw the bow around more. I'm doing a lot of thinking and applying about intonation. Each scale is different. And leading tones... not so much. All the #s should be played a little flatter, and all the flats a little sharper. We always talk about the character of the key that we are playing in. The composer chose the key for a reason, and so we always discuss what that feeling is and how we can portray that accurately through the music. There have been so many bow circles this week as well. I always warm-up by just doing bow circles on the up bow and down bow. It's tedious work (did I mention I love it though?!) but it really helps! Also, in modern violin, we are taught to control the sound via bow, right arm, vibrato, etc. But now we are focusing a lot on not controlling the sound, but letting the instrument speak. It's a lot harder than it sounds. Oh goodness, and not being tense. I don't know why it's not talked (like... seriously talked about and worked on daily) about in masterclass/lessons/orchestra. Musicians are so tense, and that hinders the sound as well. There are several techniques you can do, but the best (and yet, very hard to do) is to play with your mouth open. If our mouths are closed, we tend not to breathe as much (which is bad) and so we constrict muscles in our face, neck, shoulders and arms. 

(You're probably bored with what I've been learning, right? It's hard to tell because I am excited about it all!)

My violin and a gamba, resting. :)

Anyways, I perform the Biber Sonata tomorrow for the whole BPI crew. I'm nervous, but I feel like I've done the best I can in the 7 days I've had the music. On Friday, the student orchestra will play some Muffat, then Saturday we will all perform our ensembles. I'm now playing in a group of 3 violins, cello and harpsichord. We are playing Purcell's Pavane and Chacony in g minor. We will also perform with our dance class. We will have live musicians as we perform several of the dances we have learned. 

I miss W so much! This is how you do summer!

And then, we fly back to Nashville, only to get in our car and drive to Florida for most needed vacation of my life. Being 17 weeks pregnant in a dorm room in 90 degree (YES - IT REALLY IS THAT HOT HERE!) weather and doing 12 hour days of Baroque music calls for some serious laying on the beach time. 

Gambas and viols and violins for sale. 

I miss this little guy so much! Such great hair!