If you are in Melbourne, you can tune into 103.5FM; if you are interstate, or even abroad, you can listen online by going to www.3mbs.org.au, and going to the "Listen Live" tab.
I hope you are able to tune in - your support is always appreciated.
Friday, July 27, 2007
Live-to-air broadcast
3MBS, Melbourne's local classical music radio station, presents on Tuesdays their "Live at the Convent" series, featuring young Australian artists in direct broadcasts from their studio in Abbotsford, Melbourne. This Tuesday, 31 July, starting at 1pm (AEST; for time difference conversion, try http://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/ ), will be the Beethoven cello sonatas, of which I will be playing the 5th one (Op 102 No 2 in D Major) with a cellist. So I will be a little while after 1pm AEST but all of the Beethoven cello sonatas will be great to listen to!
If you are in Melbourne, you can tune into 103.5FM; if you are interstate, or even abroad, you can listen online by going to www.3mbs.org.au, and going to the "Listen Live" tab.
I hope you are able to tune in - your support is always appreciated.
If you are in Melbourne, you can tune into 103.5FM; if you are interstate, or even abroad, you can listen online by going to www.3mbs.org.au, and going to the "Listen Live" tab.
I hope you are able to tune in - your support is always appreciated.
Friday, July 20, 2007
new friends, new stuff in general
admittedly, i have been a bit dormant here. so i'm sorry if you've been waiting for posts, checking regularly only to find that i haven't updated.
but there is a good reason for this. and that is because i've been INCREDIBLY busy.
but now is the time to update on what this business has been.
so, went to ballarat for the first weekend i came back to victoria. ace and i caught the train from spencer street to ballarat, only took about and hour and a half. it was ABSOLUTELY FREEZING! good thing ace had figured most of it out, and pen had given us directions, coz i was absolutely lost! all i know that in ballarat, it is cold. we spent about an hour and a bit in one of the main shopping centres waiting for pen to finish work. most of that time was spent in a cute cafe where we spent them time eating yummy baked goods and drinking tea to warm us up! (you think melbourne is cold, go to ballarat..! haha) anyway, pen came to pick us up and we went to her house! it was so exciting!!!! her house is wonderful! we were treated so well. everything was so beautiful, and so comfortable! we watched pride and prejudice that first night (the new one) and fell in love with jane austen, and lizzie, and darcy, and bingley and all them delightful characters. we stayed up for ages talking that night as well, even when the lights were off! hehe (i find this always happens on the first night..!) it was wonderful being there with pen and her family.
we went to sovereign hill the next day, which has been voted the #1 victorian tourist attraction for a number of years. and golly, does it deserve it or what?! ace and i got 10% off the admission price, plus a free coach ride because we'd come on the VLine. cool offer! there's so much to do at Sovereign hill - watch displays of various sorts, go to the little stores/other town stuff like the school, gold-panning, watching shows, going into mines etc. So much fun. Plus it SNOWED!! at precisely 1pm and 4pm on the dot in the main street. mind you, the snow resembled bubbles from bubble machines very much..... hehe :P it was fun though! there were also guards who marched through the main street ('red coats'!!! ooh!!!) and we got some photos with them, including an amazingly hilarious one of four of us (in the style of pride and prejudice's "Officers!!") with one of the guys. i think his smile in the photo is incredibly honest..!
we went to church with pen's family on sunday morning, which was totally cool. it's nice seeing where people go about their everyday things. things that seem boring to one often seem interesting to others! we went to pen's work afterwards and got to see that too! in the afternoon, pen got her bells out and started playing for us. then i started joining in with some harmonies. eventually, we worked our way basically through an entire hymn book playing tunes with harmonies. it was hilarious!!! unfortunately we had to leave on sunday afternoon... :( but it was a most enjoyable weekend! it was great to hang out with such lovely friends :D
on monday we had a training day for welcome. there was mostly administrative stuff, and brainstorming things like "what will they feel like when they get here?". a fairly comprehensive of "what to do if this happens..." of everything. then we had a st john's ambulance guy come talk to us for about an hour and a half about basic first aid. oh my. this was first aid crammed into this time. and if you've done first aid of any sort, you know how much material there is!
so, what did we learn?
*blue ringed octopuses can kill you in about 6 mins if untreated.
*cone shells are also deadly (unlukily for us, they don't look dangerous at all)
*both of these sea-dwelling creatures live in australian waters
*(i think the box jellyfish also made it....? not sure..)
*sydney funnelwebs are insanely venomous. ie. you can die very quickly
*the taipan is also deadly
*these two also live in australia
(see why i didn't want to leave the room after the talk..?!)
*there are seven ways to burn yourself
*the treatment of spider and snake bits (tightly bandage from beyond the limb to the very top of the limb)
*if you get a snake bite, and if there is venom still on the skin, leave the venom there so they can treat you with the right antivenom.
*bleeding (well, loss of blood) is one of the biggest dangers of losing somebody
*in australia, the emergency number is 000. or 112 from any mobile in australia
*different poisons (ie. chemicals) have different treatments
lots of what the guy talked about i cringed at....especially the story about the blood spurting all over the room - walls, and ceiling - when he fell through a window. urgh, i'm cringing now....
the next day i did RSA training (responsible service of alcohol). this was held from 3-6pm. ie. ideal time for napping. there were times when i had to fight very hard to not fall asleep, particularly in that 20min video. the video was incredibly bad, particularly as it was made in the 80s, and you could tell......
and then there was an assessment at the end. where the instructor was like, "Ok, you have two choices on how to do this! either you individually do your assessment as an open book test or we do it all as a class, and if anybody can tell me the right answer, we can write it down. if nobody can give me the right answer, we'll revert back to the first option, and i'll probably give you the answer anyway." needless to say, i'm pretty sure i got 100% for that test...!
Welcome finally started on wednesday! people moved in, we lugged bags and more bags up lots of stairs. we met lots of new people, of whom i can hardly remember all their names. we met LOTS of new people, it was awesome.
throughout the week, we did lots of fun stuff, including going to:
*the melbourne museum (my first time inside this place, it's awesome! you should totally go, and students get in for free!)
*scav hunt through the city (this was excellently organised! one of the tasks was to go to the audi showroom, and get a quote and all that kind of stuff from the people there. some people actually got driven home in it, and others got a quote - read about $90 000 - for a car etc. it was amazing. they got lots of extra points! and another of the tasks was to buy krispy kremes for one of the hosts. hehe. one group did this!!!)
*Healesville sanctuary (first time there!). renee and i organised this day. there were a few glitches with timing, but mostly turned out well! pity it was so wet though! healesville was awesome, it's a really fun place to go! we had a bbq lunch (true australian style!) and then went to a winery on the way back. it was a beautiful day!
*footy match at the mcg! (first time i've been to the mcg, and first time i went to the footy!!) it was so much fun! admittedly, i think that footy looks quite barbaric, especially on tv. but seeing it live was much more exciting. and even though i didn't really support either team (collingwood or geelong), it was still fun. and it was almost sold out, about 85 000 people! pretty cool :)
on the last night we all went out for dinner (we split up into a few different groups) and then we all met up at commercial for our last night out. it was great to hang out with these new friends, and especially cool because we stayed around for two birthdays the following day.
welcome ended way too soon. it was really cool to meet so many new people, show them round our home, hear different experiences and the like.
had one day of rest, then it was straight into URINETOWN! we went out for dinner on the monday night, as a bonding session. then it was straight into INTENSIVE rehearsals. it has been intensive for the entire week...i know i get up early so that i can fit in some of my own piano practice! so, i'm doing orchestra rehearsals (going quite well!) as well as playing for some of the singing rehearsals (but thankfully freya could do about 3 days worth for me!) and looking in on some other rehearsals. it's a lot...!! it's been lots of fun to work with this group of people though - they're fantastic, usually quite light-hearted, and definitely dedicated.
so the latest development is that there absolutely needs to be a conductor for Urinetown. and that conductor is going to be ME!!! that's it, i'm CONDUCTING THE WHOLE MUSICAL. the whole 1 3/4hr show! me. with a baton in my hand. which means i can't play keys for it (slightly hard..there is a lot of piano in this show), so i've asked lauren to do it - she's agreed (what a champion). really looking forward to it, but am a bit freaked out as i've never done anything like this before. let alone wielded a stick for people to follow.....! any conducting tips would be greatly appreciated!
today i had a rehearsal with lily, which went quite well. then we had a lesson with zoe (lily's teacher) and that went FANTASTICALLY. zoe gave us lots of think about. and was really happy with some bits, so that made us feel more confident about what we were doing. we put in to play the entire sonata for next week's concert class, but we'll see how we feel about it. if all else fails, we'll just play the first movement. but it'd be good experience! and let me tell you, playing on a nice piano and in a spacious room (as opposed to a basement practice room) makes a lot of difference to how you play as well, and how you feel doing the performance, as opposed to just repeating stuff in a banal manner.
i haven't yet seen the HP movie - haven't really had time for very much besides rehearsals! (let me tell you, my own piano practice is taking a battering right now.. :S) but the book is comign out TOMORROW!!!!! like, in 9.5hrs!!!! ooh!!!!!!!!!!! i'm really excited for it, but don't really know when i'm going to read it (in-between rehearsals?!) penny and i went to the shops the other day to pre-book at borders (will be getting plush owl! hehe) - i used my borders gift card, i figured, i have it so i might as well use it!
anyway, just doing some looking over the beethoven (at the insanely hard, complex and weird fugue that is the 3rd movement) and finishing up last things for today, before an early morning down to the bookstore!! xo
but there is a good reason for this. and that is because i've been INCREDIBLY busy.
but now is the time to update on what this business has been.
so, went to ballarat for the first weekend i came back to victoria. ace and i caught the train from spencer street to ballarat, only took about and hour and a half. it was ABSOLUTELY FREEZING! good thing ace had figured most of it out, and pen had given us directions, coz i was absolutely lost! all i know that in ballarat, it is cold. we spent about an hour and a bit in one of the main shopping centres waiting for pen to finish work. most of that time was spent in a cute cafe where we spent them time eating yummy baked goods and drinking tea to warm us up! (you think melbourne is cold, go to ballarat..! haha) anyway, pen came to pick us up and we went to her house! it was so exciting!!!! her house is wonderful! we were treated so well. everything was so beautiful, and so comfortable! we watched pride and prejudice that first night (the new one) and fell in love with jane austen, and lizzie, and darcy, and bingley and all them delightful characters. we stayed up for ages talking that night as well, even when the lights were off! hehe (i find this always happens on the first night..!) it was wonderful being there with pen and her family.
we went to sovereign hill the next day, which has been voted the #1 victorian tourist attraction for a number of years. and golly, does it deserve it or what?! ace and i got 10% off the admission price, plus a free coach ride because we'd come on the VLine. cool offer! there's so much to do at Sovereign hill - watch displays of various sorts, go to the little stores/other town stuff like the school, gold-panning, watching shows, going into mines etc. So much fun. Plus it SNOWED!! at precisely 1pm and 4pm on the dot in the main street. mind you, the snow resembled bubbles from bubble machines very much..... hehe :P it was fun though! there were also guards who marched through the main street ('red coats'!!! ooh!!!) and we got some photos with them, including an amazingly hilarious one of four of us (in the style of pride and prejudice's "Officers!!") with one of the guys. i think his smile in the photo is incredibly honest..!
we went to church with pen's family on sunday morning, which was totally cool. it's nice seeing where people go about their everyday things. things that seem boring to one often seem interesting to others! we went to pen's work afterwards and got to see that too! in the afternoon, pen got her bells out and started playing for us. then i started joining in with some harmonies. eventually, we worked our way basically through an entire hymn book playing tunes with harmonies. it was hilarious!!! unfortunately we had to leave on sunday afternoon... :( but it was a most enjoyable weekend! it was great to hang out with such lovely friends :D
on monday we had a training day for welcome. there was mostly administrative stuff, and brainstorming things like "what will they feel like when they get here?". a fairly comprehensive of "what to do if this happens..." of everything. then we had a st john's ambulance guy come talk to us for about an hour and a half about basic first aid. oh my. this was first aid crammed into this time. and if you've done first aid of any sort, you know how much material there is!
so, what did we learn?
*blue ringed octopuses can kill you in about 6 mins if untreated.
*cone shells are also deadly (unlukily for us, they don't look dangerous at all)
*both of these sea-dwelling creatures live in australian waters
*(i think the box jellyfish also made it....? not sure..)
*sydney funnelwebs are insanely venomous. ie. you can die very quickly
*the taipan is also deadly
*these two also live in australia
(see why i didn't want to leave the room after the talk..?!)
*there are seven ways to burn yourself
*the treatment of spider and snake bits (tightly bandage from beyond the limb to the very top of the limb)
*if you get a snake bite, and if there is venom still on the skin, leave the venom there so they can treat you with the right antivenom.
*bleeding (well, loss of blood) is one of the biggest dangers of losing somebody
*in australia, the emergency number is 000. or 112 from any mobile in australia
*different poisons (ie. chemicals) have different treatments
lots of what the guy talked about i cringed at....especially the story about the blood spurting all over the room - walls, and ceiling - when he fell through a window. urgh, i'm cringing now....
the next day i did RSA training (responsible service of alcohol). this was held from 3-6pm. ie. ideal time for napping. there were times when i had to fight very hard to not fall asleep, particularly in that 20min video. the video was incredibly bad, particularly as it was made in the 80s, and you could tell......
and then there was an assessment at the end. where the instructor was like, "Ok, you have two choices on how to do this! either you individually do your assessment as an open book test or we do it all as a class, and if anybody can tell me the right answer, we can write it down. if nobody can give me the right answer, we'll revert back to the first option, and i'll probably give you the answer anyway." needless to say, i'm pretty sure i got 100% for that test...!
Welcome finally started on wednesday! people moved in, we lugged bags and more bags up lots of stairs. we met lots of new people, of whom i can hardly remember all their names. we met LOTS of new people, it was awesome.
throughout the week, we did lots of fun stuff, including going to:
*the melbourne museum (my first time inside this place, it's awesome! you should totally go, and students get in for free!)
*scav hunt through the city (this was excellently organised! one of the tasks was to go to the audi showroom, and get a quote and all that kind of stuff from the people there. some people actually got driven home in it, and others got a quote - read about $90 000 - for a car etc. it was amazing. they got lots of extra points! and another of the tasks was to buy krispy kremes for one of the hosts. hehe. one group did this!!!)
*Healesville sanctuary (first time there!). renee and i organised this day. there were a few glitches with timing, but mostly turned out well! pity it was so wet though! healesville was awesome, it's a really fun place to go! we had a bbq lunch (true australian style!) and then went to a winery on the way back. it was a beautiful day!
*footy match at the mcg! (first time i've been to the mcg, and first time i went to the footy!!) it was so much fun! admittedly, i think that footy looks quite barbaric, especially on tv. but seeing it live was much more exciting. and even though i didn't really support either team (collingwood or geelong), it was still fun. and it was almost sold out, about 85 000 people! pretty cool :)
on the last night we all went out for dinner (we split up into a few different groups) and then we all met up at commercial for our last night out. it was great to hang out with these new friends, and especially cool because we stayed around for two birthdays the following day.
welcome ended way too soon. it was really cool to meet so many new people, show them round our home, hear different experiences and the like.
had one day of rest, then it was straight into URINETOWN! we went out for dinner on the monday night, as a bonding session. then it was straight into INTENSIVE rehearsals. it has been intensive for the entire week...i know i get up early so that i can fit in some of my own piano practice! so, i'm doing orchestra rehearsals (going quite well!) as well as playing for some of the singing rehearsals (but thankfully freya could do about 3 days worth for me!) and looking in on some other rehearsals. it's a lot...!! it's been lots of fun to work with this group of people though - they're fantastic, usually quite light-hearted, and definitely dedicated.
so the latest development is that there absolutely needs to be a conductor for Urinetown. and that conductor is going to be ME!!! that's it, i'm CONDUCTING THE WHOLE MUSICAL. the whole 1 3/4hr show! me. with a baton in my hand. which means i can't play keys for it (slightly hard..there is a lot of piano in this show), so i've asked lauren to do it - she's agreed (what a champion). really looking forward to it, but am a bit freaked out as i've never done anything like this before. let alone wielded a stick for people to follow.....! any conducting tips would be greatly appreciated!
today i had a rehearsal with lily, which went quite well. then we had a lesson with zoe (lily's teacher) and that went FANTASTICALLY. zoe gave us lots of think about. and was really happy with some bits, so that made us feel more confident about what we were doing. we put in to play the entire sonata for next week's concert class, but we'll see how we feel about it. if all else fails, we'll just play the first movement. but it'd be good experience! and let me tell you, playing on a nice piano and in a spacious room (as opposed to a basement practice room) makes a lot of difference to how you play as well, and how you feel doing the performance, as opposed to just repeating stuff in a banal manner.
i haven't yet seen the HP movie - haven't really had time for very much besides rehearsals! (let me tell you, my own piano practice is taking a battering right now.. :S) but the book is comign out TOMORROW!!!!! like, in 9.5hrs!!!! ooh!!!!!!!!!!! i'm really excited for it, but don't really know when i'm going to read it (in-between rehearsals?!) penny and i went to the shops the other day to pre-book at borders (will be getting plush owl! hehe) - i used my borders gift card, i figured, i have it so i might as well use it!
anyway, just doing some looking over the beethoven (at the insanely hard, complex and weird fugue that is the 3rd movement) and finishing up last things for today, before an early morning down to the bookstore!! xo
Tuesday, July 10, 2007
quotable quote
Heard on national radio during the Melbourne International Chamber Music Competition:
"If only more young men realised how sexy it is to play a string instrument."
I would be inclined to extend that to an instrument in general, but I guess particularly for me, orchestral. Or just classical in general...
"If only more young men realised how sexy it is to play a string instrument."
I would be inclined to extend that to an instrument in general, but I guess particularly for me, orchestral. Or just classical in general...
darn!
i have lost my second earring in three weeks!
this sucks. because they were both really good earrings (in terms of colours, and matching). i am looking for my second one, because i think it dropped out sometime around lunch time. perhaps i'll find it.
the first pair were just a black pair. the second a blue one. both highly functional. well, not anymore, because i only have one now.
i think it's got something to do with my left ear, because they both fell out of my left earhole.
so, what does this mean now?
i should only wear earrings that won't fall out. how i shall ensure this, i'm not too clear. but if anybody has suggestions, it would be greatly appreciated.
and now i have to go look for a pair of suitable replacement earrings. which probably means the market stalls at university, or to hope really hard that a nice friend will make some for me. or that i will learn myself!
gargh. this is almost as annoying as the mouse. :(
this sucks. because they were both really good earrings (in terms of colours, and matching). i am looking for my second one, because i think it dropped out sometime around lunch time. perhaps i'll find it.
the first pair were just a black pair. the second a blue one. both highly functional. well, not anymore, because i only have one now.
i think it's got something to do with my left ear, because they both fell out of my left earhole.
so, what does this mean now?
i should only wear earrings that won't fall out. how i shall ensure this, i'm not too clear. but if anybody has suggestions, it would be greatly appreciated.
and now i have to go look for a pair of suitable replacement earrings. which probably means the market stalls at university, or to hope really hard that a nice friend will make some for me. or that i will learn myself!
gargh. this is almost as annoying as the mouse. :(
Friday, July 06, 2007
new news
am now back in melbourne. had a good day yesterday, despite the 6am flight. ace picked me up from the airport, helped me move in a bit and then we had lunch, then went to the shops. then had a rehearsal with lily. that went pretty well; the fugue is going to be hard to co-ordinate, but we'll make it happen :) the first movement is most excellent, and the 2nd movement has lots of notes for both of us.
woke up at 6.45am this morning. practiced for a little bit, but didn't feel very motivated to practice more than an hour - poor effort :(
am in the mdist of packing and stuff, am going to ballarat today with ace to visit pen.
just then, i reached into the front pocket of my backpack, only to find a(nother?) STUPID STUPID MOUSE had obviously gotten in LAST NIGHT (GARGH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) and chewed at the muesli bar in there. stupid me for having left it on the floor. and it CHEWED THROUGH MY BAG AS WELL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! GARGH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
so now my bag has UNWANTED HOLES. because of the STUPID MOUSE! they are so INCONSIDERATE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! and it looks messy and is DISGUSTING!!!!! and i had just gotten mum to fix up the broken other pocket. but now, there are TWO OTHER BROKEN POCKETS!!!! GARGH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! of course, i didn't touch the muesli bar. and then i found ANTS on my wall. i saw them coming up the stairs, but i live on the THIRD FLOOR!!! there is a massive PEST PROBLEM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
As you may have guess, i am incredibly ANNOYED!!!!!!!!!! and freaked out that the mouse is STILL AROUND!!!!!!!!!! WHY OH WHY...?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?
STUPID STUPID STUPID MOUSE!!!!!!!!!!!
Okay, i think that was my rant. Apart from that, i am really looking forward to seeing pen so soon! it should be heaps of fun, and i've never been to the 'rat, let alone you know, to country vic to visit friends. am in the process of trying to desparately organise everything that needs to be done before i go away. maybe it'll be good for me.
and i hope the mouse doesn't come back. I HATE MICE!!!!!!!!!
and hoepfully the ants don't attack my food. THIS SUCKS!!!! I HATE PESTS!!!!!!!!!!!!
GARGH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
okay, that clearly wasn't the end of my rant, but i must depart now.....more stuff to sort out...i only did come online to see if the dude had emailled back (re: melbourne welcome). gah.
woke up at 6.45am this morning. practiced for a little bit, but didn't feel very motivated to practice more than an hour - poor effort :(
am in the mdist of packing and stuff, am going to ballarat today with ace to visit pen.
just then, i reached into the front pocket of my backpack, only to find a(nother?) STUPID STUPID MOUSE had obviously gotten in LAST NIGHT (GARGH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) and chewed at the muesli bar in there. stupid me for having left it on the floor. and it CHEWED THROUGH MY BAG AS WELL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! GARGH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
so now my bag has UNWANTED HOLES. because of the STUPID MOUSE! they are so INCONSIDERATE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! and it looks messy and is DISGUSTING!!!!! and i had just gotten mum to fix up the broken other pocket. but now, there are TWO OTHER BROKEN POCKETS!!!! GARGH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! of course, i didn't touch the muesli bar. and then i found ANTS on my wall. i saw them coming up the stairs, but i live on the THIRD FLOOR!!! there is a massive PEST PROBLEM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
As you may have guess, i am incredibly ANNOYED!!!!!!!!!! and freaked out that the mouse is STILL AROUND!!!!!!!!!! WHY OH WHY...?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?
STUPID STUPID STUPID MOUSE!!!!!!!!!!!
Okay, i think that was my rant. Apart from that, i am really looking forward to seeing pen so soon! it should be heaps of fun, and i've never been to the 'rat, let alone you know, to country vic to visit friends. am in the process of trying to desparately organise everything that needs to be done before i go away. maybe it'll be good for me.
and i hope the mouse doesn't come back. I HATE MICE!!!!!!!!!
and hoepfully the ants don't attack my food. THIS SUCKS!!!! I HATE PESTS!!!!!!!!!!!!
GARGH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
okay, that clearly wasn't the end of my rant, but i must depart now.....more stuff to sort out...i only did come online to see if the dude had emailled back (re: melbourne welcome). gah.
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