my all-years class debut. my decision. my thongs.

My debut
So, that huge list was a list of thank yous.
Perhaps I should explain the situation?

We (Trio Reginae) played in the final Concert Class of the year! We'd put in our application during the holidays, and apparently there were HEAPS of applications (even for last week). I have played in four concert classes this year (four more than last year!). That is exciting for me! And apparently there were something like sixty applications that were rejected for last week. Just imagine how many applied for week 12. And the times I've played this semester (three), I have been second last three times. I think I'm going pretty well...!

Anyway, we had to change our programme from the Schikele to the Mozart. The Schikele was seriously under-rehearsed and didn't feel very right. So, we had to tell Dr Holtham - eek! And I ended up telling him - even more eek! But he was really nice about it (perhaps he does like me? That is excellent news if so...). He just said something along the lines of "Ok. What are you changing it to? Will you please announce it? Is there any reason for the change? It doesn't go for more than 15 mins, does it?" So, there I was, chicken - and telling Dr Holtham, ready to incur his wrath. And there I was later, chicken - announcing to the whole of concert class (which is supposed to be basically everybody in first and second years, most of third years - excluding composition students, and those fourth years taking prac, including normal prac, performance, and instrumental teaching students). Eek! (Many eeks in too short a period of time!)

Anyway, that went pretty well. It felt fairly settled. And I really enjoy playing the Mozart - it is a beautiful piece! As always, I had thoughts during playing that I shouldn't have been thinking about, such as the weekend. And then I have this thought process that goes something like

"Hey, what am I doing this weekend? Argh! Concentrate! Okay.....wow, so this is what it feels like to be playing for the all years class....lucky I'm playing with other people and not doing a solo...hmm...there are quite a few people in the audience, nearly full house....ahh...so many people...! Ahh..! CONCENTRATE!!!!! Stop thinking about what people are writing or thinking about! Think about the music!" I'm serious. I should really just think about my performance.

It was a stellar class, so I feel quite honoured to have even been included in the programme. This is how it went:

Rebecca Moret (voice acc. Bei-Mi Chen) Beethoven and Strauss songs
Emma Hunt (violin) Franck Sonata
Will Schmidt (piano) Vine Sonata
Janelle Hopman (voice), Catherine Young (violin)
Chenny Xue (violin, acc. Daniel Yim) Bartok Violin Concerto
Anne Veinberg (piano) Stravinsky Etudes
Trio Reginae (piano, clarinet, violin) Schikele cancelled, Mozart
String Octet: Mendelssohn Octet

See? Most people performing are performance stream students. Eek! The octet was so hot. In every sense of the word hot.
And imagine if we had actually played the Schikele. It would have been Vine, Head, Bartok, Stravinsky, Schikele. I don't think anybody would have survived! And so everybody probably breathed a sigh of relief when we played Mozart. Hopefully, anyway.

Anyway, we had an MSS Pizza & Beer thing. It was fun. I saw a whole heap of people I didn't even know went to the Con. Haha. That tends to happen. That tends to happen with the last lecture of semesters too....as displayed in my Music History lecture on Thursday afternoon, as well as the OB lecture on Friday morning. Wow. So full....never knew so many people took these subjects - go figure!

And then in Sinfonia, we read through the entirity of Bartok's Concerto for Orchestra. Which is almost impossible to read through. Argh! No wonder I got lost. Very difficult. But we got to play Dvorak 5 (iv) again! :) Yay! That's a good symphony! As well as a Beethoven Overture. Where I kinda got lost because I kept playing in half time or double time, instead of actual time. Haha. But it was sad.....people are leaving..!

I know, this is only going to get worse, because I will start to know more people each year who are getting closer to graduation. And I'd just gotten to know you guys.....I had feelings of sadness on Friday morning...when most music classes were over......
Christina, Roman, Tim, and even though you don't know me - Lin and Yelian - you guys have been awesome. I'll miss your playing and seeing you around the Con!

My decision
I have decided, after much deliberation (try about four weeks.... :S), that I shall not be moving into the Vic next year. This has been a very difficult decision to make - even harder than deciding to come to Melbourne..! In this four-week period, I have swung between feeling completely convicted of staying at college, and moving into the Vic. There have been a multitude of things to consider. There have been tears (I admit!). There have been doubts. But this is it. And if I don't put my foot down now, I'll be even more angsty and confused. I hope it's the right choice. But as I have likened it, this decision has been so hard. It's kinda like me having to choose between dark chocolate cake and white chocolate cake - and I love chocolate. And perhaps bigger implications. But you get the point.
I admit, I am slowly removing myself from college. Okay, so my isolation is partially inflicted! But you must understand, it's just my interests are generally so different. My focuses in life are so different to most people. I thrive being surrounded by similar people (not that differences are bad, I like them, don't get me wrong!), but I guess I have just had the most wonderful second year (particularly second semester) at the Con, and meeting friends at the Con, that I think they make me happy. And even more crazy - which I have no shame in admitting! So, please don't expect much of me at college. Even my other-college friends are mostly musos. What does that tell you? And I can tell you now, I've talked to some of them about living in college....and many of them agree that it can be pretty isolated being a musician in college - we really are a very different breed of people.

My thongs
My blue shower-cum-go-everywhere-in-them thongs had a hole in the left sole. I could feel stuff underfoot. And that was when I decided that I needed a new pair. In fact, I needed a new pair of shower thongs (which will inevitably end up being worn out and about, oh well), and also a new pair of summer thongs, because most of mine are wearing out (only to be worn on special occasions, or when one can't find desired not-so-worn-out pair of thongs). And so I succumbed to the Havaiana craze/trend. And I also succumed to the brown pair. Because although every second person I know has them (yes, so I follow the crowd....!), they actually do match very well with many things. And that was the basis of my decision.

And so Wen-Li and I went shopping today. Yes, it's SWOTVAC, and we went shopping. Roll your eyes if you like. The shower pair came from Cotton On, and a colour called Lead, and I also got one of those Enviro charity bags. And the guy serving me, whom I had this little conversation about me having issues about which colour to pick (grey or black, although he pointed out that they were both fairly neutral colours, so it was pretty easy to match stuff with), pointed out the bag matched my just-purchased thongs. So I was on the right track. Where would I be without rassuring people like him? Haha.

Last night was the last Connect of the year, appropriately labelled Dis-Connect. We had a DELICIOUS dinner of curry (yum! So good to have a good curry!), and a very relaxed hang-out evening. We talked about the most random things possible, including buzzing, the coolness of Converse (and how cool Tim would be now if he had hung on to his original Converse shoes....from the 80s!), and the oddest, or most disgusting things people had eaten. Sally-Anne grossed everybody out with her slug story. But the prize probably goes to Sam for being the most entertaining. I think all I could do is laugh at Sam. Haha. :P And we even talked about whether one would eat human. Not intentionally killing to eat (cannabilism), but if one had to eat another human to survive. I have thus vowed never to be stuck on a desert island with Sam....! Lol.

Oh well.
Study 1. What I should be doing. 2. What I am not doing at the present moment.

I finished my audio folio for my brass class. I just have to buy a CD case...I've burnt the CD to a disc, made a booklet and all (which I am incredibly proud of..haha. You should see it. If you do want to, you have to come by before Thursday, which is when it gets handed in!). I just have to finish my written assignment. Which reminds me....I should really source those fingering charts for all those tubas..........

Okay, back to it. I actually enjoy my Brass Class assignemnt...! Is that odd?