Letting Go of the Oars

I think my All-States audition went as well as it possibly could have. I mean, I totally bombed the sight-reading piece, but who wouldn't?? That thing changed time signatures every measure! First it was 3/4, then it was 5/8, and then it was common time for only two measures before switching to 7/4, and so on. I'm just glad he didn't make me play the entire thing. Everything else though felt great. I played everything as well as I had in my practices, simply because I wasn't nervous. I think I've auditioned for these things so often that I've finally gotten to the point where it's no big deal. If you do something enough, it becomes second nature. I am already proud of myself for getting this far, it would be wonderful to get in. All I can think about right now is seeing that confirmation email from Mr. Caron telling me that I managed something that I never would have though possible just one year ago. It boosts me up so much that I'm not even allowing my mind to wander to how I would feel if the outcome were different. I would be playing in Symphony Hall! I don't care about getting my hopes up and having them be misled. Because feeling this way is wonderful, and to even have this in this moment is better than anything else I could be feeling instead. Why would I pull myself down and sink when it feels so much better to hold myself up and fly.

Luckily for me, the process is now entirely out of my hands. It's up to the managers of the band and the universe to line this up for me. My band director will email me as soon as he gets word of the results. All I have to do is wait and remember that everything always works out for me. There's a little story my mom once told me about letting go of resistance. Picture this in a nice soothing voice:

You are sitting on a boat in a soft flowing river. You look upstream and decide you want to go there. You take the oars and begin paddling upstream, but the current is too strong. You keep pulling and pulling, but to no avail. The more you try, the harder it gets and the more frustrated you feel. Then, with a sense of resolution, you place the oars back in your boat. You lay down and close your eyes, letting the babbling current take you downstream. You feel relaxed, and you are free.

That's what life is meant to be.

(By the way, here's the Boston Symphony Hall. Isn't it fantastic?!)

Almost There

As I mentioned in my last blog post, I was accepted into the Senior District Concert Band. This was the first time that I have been accepted in 3 years of auditioning, starting my freshmen year, though I auditioned twice for the Junior Districts when I was in middle school. The only reason I didn't audition in 8th grade was because my grade took a school trip to Washington D.C., a "do-not-miss" opportunity.

Anyway, I have a theory as to why I got in with the second highest score and a recommendation for all-states. Usually, the audition would consist of me playing only my primary instrument, the snare drum. I would play the assigned audition piece, do some rudiments and drum rolls, and then I would sightread a piece taped to the music stand. But it never seemed to be enough. There were those few people that would just edge me out. Each year I was getting closer and closer. This year, I told myself that if I didn't make it this time, then I wouldn't audition in my senior year. The feeling of working so hard yet being faced with the disappointment of only just missing the mark had built up over the years and I didn't think I could do it again. Lucky for me, I did get in this year and the joy and love I felt for participating in that amazing group does more than make up for the years I had to watch as my brother got a near perfect score every time and got to play on that stage in Mechanics Hall. This year, they not only had me play my snare drum, but also I was to play timpani, mallets (xylophone, marimba, etc.), and two auxiliary instruments (I was asked to play bass drum and triangle). It was a blast. The best thing about the percussion section is that there is such a vast arrangement of instruments that I have the opportunity to play. Each year, I am learning about a new one. This year it was the "whirly tube," a contraption that looked very much like a giant bendy straw that you would whirl around your head to make a whistling sound as the air passed through it. So to be able to audition and show people that I can do more than bang on a drum (though even with that, there's a lot more to it).

And tomorrow, I will be auditioning for All-States. It would mean the world to me if I managed to get in. In Districts, I was up against the best in the district, but now, I'm up with the best of the best in the state of Massachusetts. It's a little nerve-wracking, I'll admit, but at the same time, I wouldn't have it any other way. My favorite part of being with the district band was playing with such talented musicians. We worked so hard to get where we all were. And there's something to be said about people who come together under a common purpose. Music is a great joy in the lives of anyone who lives within its realm. To be involved in music in any way, whether playing or actively listening, it has been proven to improve your entire well-being. My conductor in the Districts even said that music students have tested with a higher GPA than other students. I don't know what I would be doing if music were not in my life as it is now. I just watched Les Miserables, so I'm even more nostalgic for the sound of a great orchestra. Not sure if I used that word right, but oh well, it really sounded like it fit.

I don't think I could be anymore prepared for this audition than I am right now, in this moment. I have been staying after with my band director, Mr. Caron, every day this week. I've also had my mid-terms this week, which means that I've had a half day all week, giving me even more time to practice and reassure myself that I am capable of doing this. I've made it this far, and now Symphony Hall is right within my sights. I am so close. I don't care if I don't get in. Actually, that's a lie, I would care a lot. What I mean is that I feel great just being here, where I am right now, before even setting foot in that audition room. I've learned the music, I've prepared the rudiments, and all the work to train my muscle memory has been done. All I have to do now is go into that school and show them why I love what I do. The most important thing that I do is that I enjoy what I'm doing and have fun. People pay attention to the ones that look joyful and thoroughly happy to be there. I want to be that person. The one about whom they say, "She is dedicated. She can do this."

Cymbal Catastrophe

On the night of January 18th, I performed in the Senior District Concert Band at Mechanics Hall in Worcester. It's taken three years for me to get in, and I am so happy that I have finally accomplished this. Also, I got a recommendation to audition for All-States! I will be up against the best people in the state, not just the district. The audition is this Saturday, the 25th. I'm nervous, but excited to be given this wonderful chance. Performing at Mechanics Hall was definitely one of the coolest things I have ever done. It was so amazing to play with such talented musicians. The conductor, Mr. Glen Adsit, was a joy to work with and overall a very cheerful guy. Each one of our rehearsals just flew by, they were so much fun. Every single group -- the orchestra, the jazz band, and the choir -- did a beautiful job and the majority of it went off without a hitch!

I say "majority" because of what happened during the band's performance. Specifically in the percussion section. It may have been me. Okay, it was me. But it wasn't my fault, I swear. 

In total, we played three pieces. The first was Give Us This Day by David Maslanka, a man who composes music by first meditating for hours. Afterwards, he sits down to to notate everything he heard and visualized while he was meditating. Then he walks away; the piece is completed. And man, this piece was truly incredible. I got to roll the gong to fortissimo! How often does sheet music call for that? It took me a couple tries just to get the gong loud enough so the audience would be able to hear me. And let me tell you, it's a lot of fun being told you can let loose and just whack something with all your strength. Maybe that's why I was so drawn to being a percussionist. Our next piece was Rest by Frank Ticheli, who is apparently good friends with Mr. Adsit. This piece was all about the transition into death. It was very beautiful, putting the audience in a relaxed state of mind, and even me, since I didn't have a part to play and I could just sit back and listen. Our final song was Galop by Dmitri Shastokovic. To help ready the audience for the rest of the concert, this piece was fast and upbeat. As you can imagine, it was about the tempo of a horse galloping. The conductor didn't want to have a long wait to start the song, so his plan was to step off his podium to take a bow for the applause after Rest, and then he would walk back to his spot and immediately begin the piece. Knowing this, I picked up the crash cymbals that I would be playing and got into place. Unfortunately, as I did so, the left cymbal suddenly decided it was done having a handle and wanted to be an individual. Or maybe the cymbal and the handle had a spat. Because, for whatever reason, the knot holding the cymbal in place came undone, and the cymbal crashed to the floor. 

It was just about the loudest thing that could have happened. Of all the instruments, the loudest one just had to fall after the beautiful peaceful melody. It did get some laughter from the audience, and they were now definitely awake and ready for the next piece. I'm sure some people in the balcony could see what had happened, and that I did not actually drop the cymbal. It dropped itself; there was nothing I could do. I do apologize for my disruption, and perhaps I would even be embarrassed if it had been my fault. Actually, I find the whole thing really hilarious, and I've been enjoying telling people. It was a pretty perfect moment for it to fall. It wasn't in the middle of a piece and it gave me enough time to improvise and use the suspended cymbal with a drum stick instead. I'm sure that the director understood what had happened as soon as he collected the cymbals and saw a disconnected handle lying next to them. I certainly hope they let me back in next year. I really did have a lot of fun with everyone. 

It All Lines Up

These are the last 24 hours that I will spend as a 16 year old. Tomorrow I turn 17, which would have been unthinkable just a year ago. My experiences in this past year have taught me that in life, things don't have to happen until you're ready. Every year in school they tell you "you'll have to learn this method now, because you will have to do a lot more next year." And every year they make us nervous by saying that. Even guidance counselors call us into meetings to freak us out about college, telling us that if we don't do certain things we won't be accepted (Okay, maybe that's a bit of an exaggeration, but I swear it's not that far off). But what I've come to realize is that, once we make it to that next year that is supposed to be harder, we have been prepped and taught how to handle the greater workload. Those methods that we were taught have become second nature, so that we are able to move forward in our abilities. One year ago during winter break, I was spending the days taking Driver's Ed. At that point in my life, driving was just something in my imagination. In any dreams that I found myself driving, it was really just me sitting in the car while it moved itself, because I didn't yet understand how to even operate a car. My entire awareness was so different from what it is today. When I was 15, I couldn't even handle the idea of turning 17. It felt like I was growing up too fast. But now, I feel perfectly ready for it.

This also works for anything in the future that I may be worrying about. I know now that I don't have to think about it now because by the time it actually comes, I will be ready for it. No matter what it is, the universe will allow it into my life experience at the precise moment that I will be able to get the most out of it. It's really fun to know that life is perfectly lined up for you as you allow it to be.

So Christmas went well. We visited my grandparents and my grandmother cooked a fantastic meal. We watched that movie 3 Idiots again, which we now own. I got Ina Garten's new cookbook Barefoot Contessa: Foolproof, which has a lot of recipes and tips so that each one can be made perfectly the first time, and will hopefully be delicious enough that I will want to make it many times after. My brothers are happy because there's a recipe for caramelized bacon. It looks easy to make and fun too. I hope I have a lot of fun with this cookbook.

The Book Thief

Today is my dad's birthday. Incidentally, it's also the day we got a half day in school, which really only lasts three hours. We are back home by 10:30, so to many it hardly seems worth it at all to even come to school. Especially when it snows a lot on the night before, making you think that possibly there will be a cancellation, or at the very least the day would be postponed. But alas, as every student awoke this morning, they found that they did indeed still have lessons to attend. But I digress.

So many years, I worry that my dad should do more things that he wants to do, instead of just spending them at home as he would pretty much any other day. The only thing so far that I have witnessed him do is stay home from work, and then there was the movie.

Around noon, my dad drove us to the movie theater to see the new film The Book Thief. I was interested to see it because I absolutely adore the book by Markus Zusak. What I love best about the book is its characters, and how the whole book is from the point of view of Death. It's cleverly written, an it took Markus three years to complete, which shows me how much he cared to make this book something special. No matter how many times I read it, the ending always makes me cry. Death even tells you the ending multiple times before it occurs, and yet it still gets me every time. That being said, the movie was pretty well done. It was very true to the book, obviously with a few short cuts to make the plot go faster than it did in the book, where the author could be more laborious with his descriptions and the thoughts of each character. This film was definitely cast brilliantly. Many of the characters appeared exactly as I had pictured them in my mind, and the same for the settings. I don't think I would see the movie again, only because there were too many differences from the book that I was scrutinizing it too much and it wasn't as good as it would have been otherwise. But still, I have to say they did a fantastic job. One thing I think everyone can pull out of the book and the movie is that it really accentuates the importance of books in our lives. Their popularity has not diminished over time, even with the advancements of cinema. You can get so wrapped up in a book that you're turning pages and you don't even realize it, and that's a wonderful thing.

3 Idiots

Bollywood movies are really nice. They're so colorful, and the random songs don't seem cheesy or out of place, for some reason. My brother just showed us the movie "3 Idiots," which he was shown in his Eastern Faiths class. It was a very fun movie. 

It seems like I'm mostly going to be posting when I see a good movie. I think that might be because after a movie, I feel good (if the movie was good with a happy ending, of course). When I see a happy movie, I feel peaceful and it's really nice. I think the same can go for a great book, though I usually just feel sad that it's over. It's nice to lose yourself in another world. It also helps boost my imagination and gives me new ideas. Having an active imagination is very handy in a boring class in school. 

Well I guess that's it. Until next time!

Cuisine de France

With my dad, I just watched the film Haute Cuisine. It was about the story of the personal chef for the president of France. It was lovely. The chef, Hortense, was very passionate about what she cooked and she did it beautifully. The only indication that she was an actor and not in fact a chef was when she was chopping a truffle, she was holding it incorrectly that left her in danger if cutting herself. I was so caught up in listening to it in French that I almost replied to a question my dad posed in French instead of English. I would really like to learn the language fluently. 

Food is something that is treated like a religion in Europe that is followed by everybody. Today, it is taken for granted. It's all about quantity, not quality. Still, within that food machine, it is still possible to cook with beautiful ingredients grown to perfection. The best part of that movie was the way Hortense and the president described the food. 

I don't want to be a chef for the food. Well, that's a lie. What I mean is I don't want to be a chef JUST for the food. I want the creativity. I think it will be fun. Très amusant. Parfait.