Greetings from Baltimore...

So, I'm currently in Baltimore, watching American Pie on my laptop, and finally blogging again, almost a year after my most recent entry. I've never been able to keep a consistent journal, not on my own or online. Perhaps if I had a way to do it more conveniently, like on a mobile device or something. Well, perhaps I'll update this a few times over the summer.

Updates on life in general:

-I finished my first year of my Master's at UMD. The year was good in lots of different aspects: my quartet received an honorable mention after the chamber music concerts during the fall semester; my lessons went well with Dr. Stern, and I finished the Mendelssohn concerto and Mozart 4; UMSO had some really wonderful concerts and some awesome guest conductors (especially Heinz Fricke for Bruckner), and my classes were all great. I didn't end up with a 4.0, but i'm probably around a 3.9, which I'm happy with.

-I feel like this summer I'm turning an important corner with my violin playing. It seems like a lot of the things that Dr. Stern taught me last year are starting to really starting to sink in. I feel generally stronger and more confident when I'm playing, and I don't feel completely inept when I'm teaching. I'm also learning music much more quickly than I used to, and I feel like I'm becoming a real violinist. Hopefully this will show next year when I'm auditioning for orchestras and DMA programs.

-Teaching has been GREAT. I started teaching with Arena Sound Music Instruction last August, and currently have 9 violin students with them. The pay is AWESOME (over $40 an hour), and my kids are all wonderful. Teaching has quickly become an integral part of my life as a musician. I still gig a lot and play with Loudoun, but teaching makes me probably 80% of my money.

-Gigs this year have been good, but not great. I wasn't able to gig as much as I had wanted due to teaching and my busy school schedule, but I did have some good gigs. I played Messiah a whole bunch of times in December, a couple of weddings, and I had to turn down 3 Easter gigs because I had accepted one around January. I also had two gigs with the Trinity Chamber Orchestra in DC. It was really interesting to have gigs with an orchestra outside of LSO. I mean, I've played in pickup orchestras before, but subbing in another orchestra is kind of a rarity for me. It was fun to play in the orchestra, and they have already asked me back for another concert next year that they are anticipating needing ringers for.

-This summer has been really nice. From mid May until Mid June, I was mostly just teaching, gigging, and relaxing, getting over the semester and having some much needed time off. I was able to hang out with Justin a lot which was awesome, and Dan came down to go to Dave and Buster's and have a bike ride, which was really fun.

-After my month "break" I came to Baltimore (where I currently am writing this blog) to teach the Second Violin section in the Young People's Orchestra at the Baltimore String Orchestra Camp. The camp is really great, and I am really enjoying being a faculty member at a music festival. It is so much different (I daresay, BETTER) than being on staff as a counselor at SU, even though I still teach chamber music lessons at SU. I love the SU camp, and would love to be faculty there. I really do enjoy being a counselor, but I feel like in a few years, I'm not going to want to be doing that any more.

-Anyway, after BSOC is over, I'll be headed down to Winchester on the 29th to start rehearsals on the 30th for Shenandoah Performs (Beethoven 9 and Berenstein Serenade), and then I'll immediately start working at the Shenandoah Performing Arts Camp as a counselor and chamber coach. I'm hoping that I can get some good practicing done during that camp.

Well, I'm tired and done writing. Perhaps I'll write again in fewer than 9 months.