AMFS Recordings Online

Thanks to my bass trombone friend Russ Zokaites, I have discovered that a number of recordings of performances from the Aspen Music Festival have been posted on Instant Encore. I can be heard playing principal trombone in several recordings of the Chamber Symphony from this past summer!

Check out the Bartok Violin Concerto with Gil Shaham, A Midsummer Night's Dream with Nicholas McGegan and Matthew Rhys, the Ravel Piano Concerto with Jean-Yves Thibaudet and Robert Spano, and Firebird.

Matthew Rhys and the ACS trombone section July 2011

Uplifting

Just experienced an isolated moment of happiness amidst my tiresome evening of lesson planning; I listened to and watched Glenn Gould play Bach's fugue from his Prelude and Fugue in E Major, BWV 878.  Both Glenn and Johann are pretty incredible if you ask me.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mia9woisQZo&feature=related

Why I do what I do

The further I get in my study of music, and coincidentally, the farther I get from the classroom, the more I am realizing my love for music.  I am experiencing more frequent affirmations that I love what I do.  And these reminders aren't casual moments in my day.  They are feelings and pictures and sounds that are imprinted upon my memory.  In fact, as I think back over the past few months, I can bring myself back to these isolated moments, and they are just as clear to me as the day they happened.

"Sarah, you are being entirely too vague"

OK. Let's go back to Aspen, CO.  June 27, 2011.  The AMFS Convocation Ceremony.  All brass players are recruited/required to play the opening fanfare for the ceremony.  Luckily, the chosen piece is a sweet fanfare for brass choir by Strauss.

As we started playing, and the dynamic grew, and I put my horn up next to my friends, and I looked out upon the big, bright tent in Aspen, Colorado, I felt an overwhelmingly warm sense of happiness.  Content.  I almost cried.  I was in the place I loved, doing what I love, and playing some of the best music in the world with some great musicians and people.  I have a perfect picture of it in my mind.

It's the same feeling I got in Cadets when we all worked our hardest and played great music together.  Or when my relay swim team worked together to beat the school record.  I was doing what I really loved with great people.

In speaking with a stressed music student this week, I recommended that she find this in her own life.  I trusted that she was in music for a reason, and perhaps it would calm her down if she reconnected with her passion for music.  As an example, I recollected a time during my junior year at Ithaca College when I fell in love with Hellen Grimaud's recording of Beethoven's 4th piano concerto.  I listened to that recording all the time!! And I told the student how I began to live that music.  I knew it so well that I could breathe it in and feel it.  I learned the final movement and played it for a competition.  As I told her about it, I got chills.  I am getting chills right now.  I love that music so much.  I hope she found a way to connect herself with the music that she loves.

Today at BSU we heard from a panel of four alumni who shared with us their varied career paths.  One of them was responding to the question, "How do you relieve stress?" He referenced the same thing-the music.  Music as a stress reliever.  Because we love it, right?  I don't know if I would say that I use it to calm my nerves, but when I hear or play good music that I love-Bach, Mahler, Brahms, etc.-I can't think of anything else.  As he talked about this effect, I got chills again.  Nearly tears.  I do love music.  I am doing the right thing with my life.  And that makes me really happy.

The funny thing is that I have been noticing moments like this more and more often lately.  I don't know if I didn't notice it before because I was so intensely involved in my studies, or maybe because I wasn't smart enough to recognize really great music, who knows.  But it's happening now.  If this is the gift of education, I don't regret a penny of those student loans that I borrowed.  I am getting the feeling that my education and experiences are enriching my life much more noticeably and at an accelerating rate-and I'm only in my 20's! I can't imagine what is in store for me down the road.

Minnesota!

I moved to Minnesota 5 weeks ago. My mom came to Aspen and helped me drive the 1200 miles in as short a time as we could. We almost made it in one day, but common sense took over (aka my Mom talked some sense into me) and we spent the night in a hotel.

My last few concerts in Aspen were so much fun! I played Stravinsky's Pulcinella with the Chamber Orchestra, Hugh Wolf conducting. The "Duetto" movement that featured trombone and double bass was so much fun! My sound went really far in the tent. It wasn't hard to play the solo super loud, which is what Stravinsky calls for. (ff)

The final concert in August 19 was also a ton of fun. Leonard Slatkin came in and conducted an all-Shotstakovich program, concluding with the his ninth symphony. I enjoyed my sweet 2-note solo that recurs throughout the first movement of the work. What a cool piece! It's the perfect length, and it has a little bit of everything in it.

So anyway, now I live in Minnesota! The position that I interviewed for in June worked out! It is a one-year position at Bemidji State University. I teach low brass and music theory. It is certainly keeping me busy, and I love it!

And no, its not snowing yet in Minnesota. All of our friends and family could not resist telling us that Minnesota will be cold. And yes, Bill moved with me. Bill, Charlie and I are a happy little family living in a big house in Bemidji.

Back at it!

Hooray, I am back in Aspen! It is so great to be here again!

It is especially good to be here because I can finally stay in one place for a while! The past 6 weeks have been super busy!

May 9-13 touring Indiana with the commencement brass quintet
May 16-19 touring the Northeast with Mirari Brass
May 29 Memphis audition
June 5 drop off Charlie and Bill at Brownstown and South Bend:(
June 6-12 Pokorny Seminar in Redlands, CA
June 13-18 Rehearse and record with Mirari in Terre Haute and Bloomington
June 19-21 Interview in northern Minnesota
June 22 Arrive in Aspen!

Whew! I'm tired just looking at that! It was so nice to get around the country a bit, so I can't complain. I even got to visit the beach in LA! I think the last time I saw the Pacific Ocean was in 2004 when the Cadets had a free day in San Fransisco.

As soon as I arrived in Aspen, I wanted to hike Mt. Sopris. It is a 12,000+ ft. mountain that rises out of Carbondale, CO. I drove past it on my way here. Unfortunately, I don't see much hiking in my future:(

In March, I visited an orthopedic under the recommendation of my first physical therapist. He said "Huh, it's strange that your hamstring still hurts after this long (6 months)" After an x-ray and an MRI, he determined that it was indeed a strained muscle in the hamstring, and sent me to a different physical therapist. I worked with her until early June, and I have been calling her once in a while since then to check in. I'm slowly getting back into running and other activities, but I can't do much without causing soreness in my leg. ARGH! It's very difficult to be out in Aspen without being able to hike like I want to. On the other hand, maybe this is an opportunity for me to really focus on my practice and my studies. Now I certainly have the time to practice a lot. What a nice thing to be able to say!

I joined the Aspen Rec Center for a month. They have a pool, a hot tub, a weight room, a sauna, and a lawn on which to sunbathe. Oh, and free yoga classes! Instead of hiking, I will be taking advantage of this place for the next month!

Just a taste

I would like to highlight an experience I had tonight, because I think it is really important to remember and reflect on this one!!

A little bit of background:

For Pete's Orchestra Rep class (9-11pm, Tuesdays) we have had a mock audition scheduled for tonight for a long time. Pete sent out an email yesterday about the mock audition. This is how it started:

"I have received 3 lists for tomorrow night. Either you are not interested or not prepared"

I am preparing the list for the Memphis second trombone audition. And when I say "preparing," I mean, I have bound the music and I have practiced the tougher spots. But in no way have I begun as thorough a routine as I should. I am letting the end of the semester get to me. This is senioritis at its best, folks. I have been in school since pre-kindergarten at age 4. That was 24 years ago. It is ingrained in my veins to lose care, control, and all common sense at this point in the year.

OK, enough excuses.

So I decided to take this opportunity to perform for people, even though I didn't feel prepared. Pete picked some obscure selections from the list, and the excerpts he picked ended up lasting for about 15 minutes per person, which is about 10 minutes longer than the typical first round audition. I have to admit that I had the advantage in the situation because I went last. I was able to hear all of the students before me, and I made notes about things to remember to play-a full length quarter note on beat one, correct rhythm in the Ride, etc. BUT I also sat without playing for over an hour, which can be considered a disadvantage by some. Not by me. I am deciding not to worry about that anymore. Starting now.

So I played. And I thought it went well! Yes, I played a few wrong notes. But I think I could count them on one hand. (And I remember exactly where they are!) I was hearing the orchestra in my mind all of the time. When I missed a note is probably when I couldn't hear the orchestra. But tonight I forgot my recorder at home, so I am not going to be able to tell if the perception of success was in my mind, or if it came across to the audience. If I had recorded, I could go back later and compare my playing to the ideal version in my mind.

So here I am, "I think that was good, I feel good...and in fact, my chops aren't completely spent as I thought they would be! Am I imagining it? After 5 years in this rep class, did I finally have a solid performance that I can celebrate?" Isn't it funny? The difference between my perception of how I played and the reality of how I played has been great enough several times in the past that I don't know if I can believe that I did a good job!

And then I got my answer. As we were leaving class, Pete said it. "Good job, Sarah."

It is a hard-earned comment. I was relieved that I wasn't the only one who thought it went well. Not only that, but he is my teacher. He tells the truth, I look up to him, and he wouldn't say it if he didn't mean it. Whew! My victories with trombone are few and far between. It was so gratifying to hear the affirmation from him.

And then I walked out into the hallway and I felt different. I walked a little slower, I wasn't in a hurry. I felt lighter. And I noticed the feeling, and I thought, "Well, this is new, I like this! This must be what it feels like to be completely satisfied with my art. Is this how it feels to have a job?" I was completely happy with my playing.

Now whether it's over self-criticism, or actual shortcomings, I haven't felt like that very much in the past six years since I got serious about the trombone. I can't really remember the last time. So I wanted to remember this one. I felt happy, no worries, no doubts. It was great!! Now that I know what this feels like, maybe I can aim for it more accurately. And I need to get to this place more often, where I accomplished what I set out to do.

Ready....go!

Another day... another day?

It seemed like a normal day...I searched for a practice room for 20 minutes, found one, got called away for a quick meeting with Tom (faithfully leaving my instrument in a room alone), came back 12 minutes later to the middle of a piano lesson happening in my room, tried searching a different building for a room only to find a friend practicing in the hallway out of desperation--!! NO ROOMS at the Jacobs School of Music--is the moral of the story. I swear, it must be once a day that another practice room gets a lock and key for a new visiting professor's office, and we lose another space for 18 hours of practice per day.

ANYWAY

So I was really desperate at this point, and proceeded outside to secure my 3PM warm up, even though it was only 48 degrees outside (a seemingly warm spring day in Southern Indiana). All I wanted was an uninterrupted 20 minutes to play some slurs and long tones. Turns out, I managed to reach 4 and a half minutes before nature's practice room surrendered its peace and serenity to society's expected reaction: stares, hollers and calls, and today, a photographer. At first, it was not welcomed. PLEASE. Please, let me play a few whole notes by myself, I thought. But I realized that I could seize this opportunity to play the best crescendos and long tones for this stranger behind the camera. EMBRACE (right?) After a while, he introduced himself, and he seemed to be a nice guy, no ill intentions. OK, I am willing to be a subject of an art project, I thought. After all, I claim to be creating art with every note, right? As he snatched photos, trombone players began to congregate. Jeff appeared from behind a tree-literally- and then Joe. After a while, we were conversing with the photographer, and even suggesting shots that would work with our peculiar setting (three trombones, two giants, a short girl, and a forest).

The moral of the story? I'll let you decide. But somehow, Ryan and Jeff and the outdoors convinced me to let go of practice room anger, and embrace, well everything. The trombone, the trees, sound, music, ...


http://www.ryandorgan.com/2011/03/03/a-strange-place/

An Awakening

...for my blog, that is.

Hello again! While this blog started as a way to track and monitor my fitness and musical plans for last summer, there is no reason it should end! After all, my goals keep changing, and I keep reaching further as I reach and surpass my old goals! I would love to give an in-depth story about my life since Aspen 2010, but maybe I'll do that another time. In the meantime, here is a brief rundown:

Sept 12: Cherry Loop Half Marathon
October 2: Whitetail Trail Half Marathon
October 10: Chicago Marathon
October 30: Pittsburgh Opera Audition
November 21: Glimmerglass Opera Audition
Thanksgiving in Schenectady with family:):):)
December 4: Tecumseh Trail Marathon
December 5: RSO Concert
Christmas and New Year's with family in Schenectady:)

Sadly, my grandmother passed away on New Year's Eve, 2010. It was a tough time, but she was very strong, as usual, and she was surrounded by supportive family all of the way through her 5-week battle in the hospital. While I was sad, I was also warmed by the love and support of my family. Rest in peace, Grammy.

This semester, I am studying with Jeff Nelsen, and it has been a fantastic experience so far! (Shout-out to Steve Fissel, who was my teacher last semester-Thanks for everything, Steve!) More to come later on things I am learning from Jeff.

As you can see above, I was a little ambitious with my running pursuits last fall, and regretfully, I am paying for it now. I developed a very minor ache in my left hamstring while I was racing and training in October, and it just never went away! I stopped running after the race on December 4th, and then I saw a doctor a few weeks later, who told me to stop doing anything that hurt my hamstring, i.e. swimming biking, running and maybe even walking! This semester, I started Physical Therapy for my hamstring, and we have been strengthening the other muscles in my leg, like my hips, glutes, and quads. Progress has been minimal, but at times there is a glimmer of hope. I really have to trust my therapist that I will come out better in the end!

Right now I am sitting in the Cleveland airport, en route to Baltimore for an Air Force Audition in DC tomorrow. The weather is not looking so good! Visibility is about 200 feet out of this window next to me:(

More news later!