Student Teaching Misconceptions

Gordon says....

-You won't have time to practice. Give up now.
-You can't take lessons.
-You shouldn't be in any ensembles.
-You will have lots of night rehearsals.
-You will feel absolutely disconnected from people on campus.
-You're going to change so much that you'll be fantastically grown-up by the end.
-Public school education should be all-consuming.


I say....

-I've had more time to practice this semester than I have in any other semester, no contest.
-I am taking lessons, even if it isn't on my transcript.
-I'm in both Wind Ensemble and Orchestra, and I'm playing for a pit outside of Gordon.
-I have no night rehearsals, except on Monday, and it's not related to school.
-My apartment it awesome (no disconnect here), and I've managed to stay in touch with people at school.
-I still feel pretty normal, and I've been doing this for a month.
-Public school education makes up approximately 40% of my day. 60% is not public school education.

Does this mean that I'm slacking off?

Classification

I have always thought it was somewhat unfair that people with certain (voluntary) dietary restrictions have words by which to identify themselves, i.e. vegetarian, vegan, fruitarian, ecotarian. Well, I'm jealous. I have dietary preferences, but the world has not deigned to bestow upon me a title. Thus, I hereby proclaim myself an omnivorous antipescetarian. There can no longer be any doubt about my individual eating habits.

Stats

I just discovered the stats tab on the blogger dashboard today. (I've been using this for over a year...you'd think I'd have discovered that sooner than this morning...) In doing so, I found out that after the US, the country with the most representatives that have at one point or another looked at my blog is Turkey. As far as I know, I don't know anyone in Turkey. Interesting.

Music Philosophy

Evensong at Church of the Advent only happens once a month. I guess that means that I'll be making the trek to Boston one time more frequently every month than I have in the past. In case you were wondering, Evensong is the evening prayer in the Anglican tradition where the liturgy is sung rather than spoken or chanted. It's truly beautiful. I'm really beginning to love the Anglican church. I love the emphasis on engaging all the senses, the connection to the rich history of the Church that stretches beyond denominational boundaries, the reverence given to all things holy, and the emphasis on very high quality music and repertoire.

How do you explain your deepest joy and passion with a world that doesn't share your worldview? How do I describe to my younger brothers - pop music lovers - that listening to the Best Loved Hymns cd on my drive to school in the morning is like having the Choir of King's College sitting in my back seat? How can I teach an orchestra full of middle school intermediate instrumentalists to play music without explaining to them that for me, sitting in the middle of the wind section, being enveloped in the glorious harmonies of Brahms Symphony No. 1, is a worship experience that can in no way be replicated elsewhere? The way I see it, music is a gift from God. This definitely doesn't mean that I have impeccable musical instincts, nor does it mean that I am particularly good at playing an instrument or singing, but it does mean that music speaks to me in a way that other things don't. Therefore, my life calling is to become the best musician I can be by practicing, by seeking good instruction, and by being involved in music for the rest of my life. To do less than that would be compromising a God-given gift.

Bach once said, "The aim and final end of music should be none other than the glory of God and the refreshment of the soul." Bach was a very wise man, if you ask me.

Sunday Afternoon

Context: Sunday afternoon, between church services

Available time: approximately 3 hours

Project: chocolate chip cookies

Apartment reaction: YUM.

Photo:

YES.

This afternoon, Sarah and I went to Pinkberry on Newbury Street in Boston. Oh dang. It's so tasty! Tart frozen yogurt with toppings? You'd have to be crazy not to like it.




(And it's healthy too!)

The Bumpit Experience

You know things are going to get loud and crazy in the apartment when everyone returns from a rather long Christmas break. How could we have expected (or wanted) less? So it came as no surprise when we found ourselves not unpacking vast amounts of stuff, but instead in possession of and playing with a certain rather horrid hair accessory known as a "Bumpit." The hype that surrounded the Bumpit was due to the fact that it was the subject of an impossible-to-explain running joke that spanned almost the entirety of last semester, and so that we now have one is no unimportant event. We had a good time.