a weekend of music

okay, i know, i blogged only a day and a bit ago.
but meh, i'm procrastinating - there! i said it. plus, lots has happened.

on friday night, i had to play for 'cop song' from urinetown. the show had been nominated for awards at the UHT cabaret and awards night, and subsequently was asked to perform just one number from the show. it went quite well, considering we had a very short time to prepare it, plus it wasn't fresh in our heads. a few hitches but nicely saved, would be how i'd describe it overall. i didn't realise that there'd be quite a few people i knew in the audience, because i'd gotten a "go gladys!" when i stepped onto stage (albeit to the side to play piano! hehe) as well as a few comments in the next 24hrs of "well done!". wow, who would have thought i had so many friends who were into theatre?!

then we rushed off to mel's 21st. thanks to D who drove S, A and me. it was wonderful to see so many of her friends (who incidentally are also half my friends hehe!) from all sorts of places. especially some that i haven't seen for a while (ie. mostly wyverns). i had a wonderful time. the place was so cute (all to herself!) and had a good chat to a few people - some old, some new. the cupcakes were a treat, sooo cute! i unfortunately managed to stack it down the stairs near the end, causing a flurry of "are you ok?!?!" don't worry, i was, but my bum hurt for a little while, but not an issue! at least i didn't twist my ankle! haha. there was a guy we didn't know (but part of the party!) who was coming down the stairs trying to bust the moves on P and me (he started busting the moves when he saw us - desparate..!) but then just as he did, he hit his head on the doorway coz he was too tall. hahahaha. shows that he really shouldn't try to flirt when it's possible he could make himself look like the biggest idiot (which is what we thought) haha. for amusement factor, good score!

did a little bit of homework on saturday morning, but kept getting distracted (i'm really good at that!) then met M at 12 to go shopping. (I haven't eaten properly all weekend......anyway, different story completely). i wanted to buy a black dress for performing, and/or a nice top for performing (so that our trio can have some colour!). we went into the city to browse and all that. went to several places, including melbourne central, myer, and swanston st. actually found a gorgeous dress in central, from ojay. tried it on, but wanted to leave it to think more about it for a while. kept going around trying to find stuff, but to little avail - nothing else really caught my eye that much. M had to go quite suddenly (well, earlier than expected because her aunt arrived at spencer st earlier than anticipated) leaving me to try on a dress in another store. that didn't quite do it for me, even though it was half-price, at $45, and quite nice. however, it just didn't quite cut it. i decided to go back to ojay to have a 2nd try of the dress. the girl who'd helped me the first time was very helpful again ("back for the dress?"), and so was another girl working with her. i totally fell in love with the dress again. mostly for the skirt, but the dress is just gorgeous! and so i decided to buy it. even though it was more expensive than i intended to spend (mind you, it was on sale because of racing season), but i figured that i'd wear it quite a lot (getting lots of value for money!) and it was just perfect - well, so suitable for playing piano (the original intention of buying a dress) and plain enough to dress up or down with all sorts of accessories, but nice enough to wear by itself. i also went to the supermarket to buy a pair of stockings (real ones with feet this time!) - but who knew it'd be so hard?! i thought i'd have lots of choice, but i didn't really, which was a pity! the time i wanted footless tights, they didn't have them. but the time i want just normal stockings, so little choice!

so, the farewell concert.
sound-check at 6.15, so had to shove down dinner pretty fast. got all dressed up. new dress and all. so nice to wear!!! a few people are incredibly jealous of it.. :P (not that it's fun to be the envy of people, but yeah, anyway....)
waited around for ages, but i guess that happens.
our sextet was wonderful. so much fun! A turned pages for me again (this is only the 2nd time i've actually met him, although i've known about him for well over a year), but he was much fun to talk to and hang out with.



i have loved working with this group of singers - i did originally tell N, "More than two singers in a room makes me scared!" but this group, you guys are incredibly talented. when and what is our next project? many happy and fun memories :)

merlyn's performance was stunning. she is just such a gorgeous singer. "I'm Tone Deaf" was performed with great amusement, and Laudate Dominum was just gorgeous (also involving the music coming on screen and the audience joining in! I love singing the alto lines!) the opera project tribute was quite amazing - i've heard about this, but never really known much about it. to see the footage of what goes on, and how it evolves was amazing. the best opera was definitely the one about camels. the composer even made all the costumes, wrote the libretto, helped with set design and construction. and wrote an aria from the point of view of the camel belonging to lawrence of arabia. HAHAHA.

when we'd finished performing, we got off the stage and sat in the audience, as they were still applauding - it was almost just breath-taking to see bebbo applauding and smiling at us as though we were his protegees! it was cute.
AK came up to me later and told me in her usual (fairly stern) way "that was fantastic, gladys" i felt all warm and fuzzy on the inside. because i'm pretty sure comments like that from her are fairly rare. and she's hardcore. well, in terms of knowing exactly how it's meant to be.
hung around for a while, especially catching up (a bit!) with G, which was wonderful - i haven't really had a chance all semester to sit down and chat with her. even though we didn't sit, it was great to discuss big issues. :)
just as we were about leaving, i stopped merlyn and thanked her for helping us out and working with us. even though i'd heard the rumour for three years about her being mean, i have found this, in my experience, to be completely untrue! she was wonderful to work with, so supportive, and so encouraging, and so full of humour! she gave me a hug, and told me that i was talented!!!! wow. i was really taken aback by this second comment from such a prominent person (people!) in one night. she said i could go far if i had determination, and that it's hard being a woman in this industry. but i assured her that i was full of determination and grit...! this was quite phenomenal - there was this lady, an amazing musician, who i'd only worked very briefly with, telling me that she could tell i was talented, and urging me to keep doing this stuff! i was really touched.

it was an amazingly touching and emotional kind of concert. of course, there was a standing ovation for her. and i don't know her that well, yet had tears in my eyes several times! what an amazing woman.


daylight saving started from saturday to sunday. gargh, i hate this time of year - one less hour of my life! i really could do with just adding hours consistently..! oh well.
didn't get much done today, admittedly.
went to parkville this morning, which was lovely. got to see G, whom i haven't seen all year! plus, i got to meet W in the flesh! (he has been in the flesh for quite a while now, though..!) soo cute!!!
tried to do some work this arvo, but that didn't go that well, because.....i'm lazy....!
was intending on going to the choir of westminster abbey musica viva concert this evening...but E and i got there at about 5.20pm, and ALL the student rush tickets had sold out. we waited to see if any would become available, but to no avail. what a disappointment - i'd been waiting for a whole year for this event, and didn't end up seeing them at all :"(
instead, M, E and i went for some early dinner-y thing at blue train. it was nice to hang out with them, because i don't get to enough, and definitely not much at all outside of uni.
it was just a pity that soo many students missed out - i find it quite preposterous that they advertised to VCA and con students (potentially at least 100 students who would go) but only had about 20 seats to actually sell!
i suppose i will just have to go to london to hear them. there will be lots of things to do on this trip!

anyway, swotvac officially starts tomorrow. as you can probably tell, i've been very successful at procrastinating for an ENTIRE weekend. i really have to knuckle down. but when one's homework and study is:
1) practicing and playing the piano, it doesn't feel like study.
2) so spread out because exams are so spread out, motivation has to last all that time..!!!
3) listening to set pieces, i can still blog at the same time. or do other stuff while doing homework. i really think my homework is too much fun to be homework.

week 12 - some stuff happened!

but is that really surprising? as i've always maintained, i think i'm one of the busiest people i know. if not, the busiest. but i suppose i don't have friends who are CEOs. so perhaps not.
anyway.

my piano lesson last week didn't go as well as the one before it. well, i felt a lot smaller after it. but i suppose that happens - one needs to be brought down to size haha. but i tell you, it made me practice a lot because i was afriad of being crap! went to the vic on friday night, but tim was unfortunately sick again. so we hung out and talked and ate yummy food (including yummy lemon coconut slice made by jon...soo good!!!) and watched a movie, "The Great Race". So old, so cliched, but so funny. Plus a fantastic pie fight scene to die for. Well, not really, but it was fantastic. jule, jac and kristen came over fairly late, and it was cool coz then there were heaps of musos friends also there - it was really nice!

S came over on saturday night to play through his programme - this was the first time we were playing together, so that was cool. plus, i was really bored that night, so it was greatly appreciated! i did most of my homework on saturday day coz sunday was huge....

there was just lots of stuff on! had a rehearsal at 1pm with our yet-unnamed trio. then dashed off to newman at 3pm for orchestra nouveau's debut concert (M stayed in my room to practice). then had a little bit of time to dash over to the vic (for about 20mins!) to at least show up for a bit of F's 21st birthday lunch (had a slice of cake that her dad had made - yum!!!), and then dashed back to queen's for the chamber music concert at 5pm. i stayed until 6.30, then ran to chapel (i have hardly been this year because i've had HEAPS on..!) and then straight to jude's. i grabbed dinner with T, J & J (and B & E) afterwards - i was STARVING!!! and got home fairly late. but it was a big day (i did warn you, yeah?)

monday was also very busy, but unfortunately i couldn't go to everything! i need to learn about hexalocation, i think!

anyway, the lunchtime concert was the chamber music comp final. the don banks trio changed their name to the senzamento trio. i was confused for a while, until it clicked. and i laughed VERY loudly, VERY hard.
they played well. actually, they all did. the yarra trio won, so well done to them.
they played the smetana trio. and revelations over two days:
in the chamber music concert at queen's on sunday, A's trio played two movements from the Schubert. and i sat there thinking "hey! I know this! the kungsbacka trio played this at their concert earlier this year!" (the one i really enjoyed) and then the smetana - i wasn't sure coz i don't know it. except that when they started, i recognised it! the kungsbacka trio also played this one! so, having been slightly put out when i saw their melbourne programme wouldn't include the ghost trio, i still enjoyed the concert. but now, with hindsight, it was FANTASTIC! it's nice when you have those moments of recognition. :)

unfortunately, couldn't go to everything that night. this is why i needed to learn about hexalocation:
1) woodwind concert
2) comp 1 concert
3) big band gig
4) SMC meeting (which i ended up going to)
5) S's birthday dinner
6) RFP's concert at queen's

yeah, no prizes for guessing, from the above list, the things that fill my life! the meeting went for quite a long time - there was much to be discussed, esp. coz the AGM was on tuesday.

had a rehearsal on tuesday for don giovanni stuff with the sextet and M. we (and i mean 'they') staged it, which was cool! it sounds really good :) i'm really excited to be working with these people, even though more than two singers normally scares me!
so, went to the AGM dinner on tuesday night. which was good. got to talk to a few people, plus heard a report about student ministries. that was really interesting, but i suppose none of it was really surprising because we'd discussed it all (plus more!) at our meetings hehe. i have decided not to continue being on the committee, for various reasons (but one more so than the others). i had thought it out and emailled R that day. all rational. that's ok. i don't feel scared to raise an issue through a committee member now anymore, now that i know how it all works.

trio reherasal on wednesday was called off coz J had to go back home for a dentist and back appointment (not concurrently, though...) so i had a lot of the day to myself. had a don giovanni rehearsal in melba; it was good to work in the actual space. and to have the Eb actually work. :) was a good rehearsal, we're all feeling good about it! then went to Rosamund Illing's recital, which was very enjoyable. of course, i felt almost like a fake because i was a pianist, and there were lots of vocal students, but hey, i was interested. and i showing interest is a good thing too (not that it's the only reason one goes to stuff). got my techniques assignment checked by M (and had a cup of tea and a chat, which was nice!) then had the aedificamus launch. my essay, titled "Economic and Social Success or Failure?: The Impact of Globalisation on Women in Eastern Europe" was published in the journal. yay for three years running! hehe. reading back over it, i can't believe i did all that research and actually wrote it! yeah, this was the essay i wrote last semester for that online commerce subject i was taking, the one that i thought i wasn't going to do that well in (turns out i got like, a 90 for it..! haha)

missed the percussion ensemble concert that night - much as i love going to concerts, i figured i should do some homework. that was the intention anyway. but after dinner, ended up on s'north for a while. quite a while, in fact. like, till 10.30 or so. i think. haha. it was good though, to chat with friends, to hang out. and to look for 'missing' (ie. that we couldn't find) bible verses!!!! we were looking for one in particular......and called all sorts of people to see if they knew where it was! kudos to J for it!

anyway, so i got back to my room, and i checked my phone, and i'd had a missed call from a landline i didn't recognise. and an sms to tell me i had a missed call from a mobile number that i also didn't recognise. but looking at the times, it seemed somebody wanted to get onto me, so i decided to text message saying something along the lines of "i got a missed call from this number earlier tonight, so if you need to talk to me, you can call me coz i'm still awake." i get a "who are you?" back and figure it must have been a mistake in the first place whereupone i apologise "i'm sorry, must be mistaken. sorry to have bothered you". "that's ok" comes back.
Then 10 or so minutes later, i get a "are you a musician?"
now, that is WAYYY too lucky. and random!
my response is "um, yeah, good guess. i suppose i'll just say i'm a third yr pianist at the con". if that makes sense, that's cool. if they're not a muso themselves, then the con won't make sense.
the message i then get surprises me beyond anything, "Then u must be Gladys CHUA?"

WOW.

and i immediately ring it because i think that this must be a friend from uni whose number i don't have or something. but that's lucky, at least they know me! sounds personal, at least.
i didn't realise it was already quarter past eleven or so when i ring, but i figure, up this late and text messaging, they won't worry if i call them.
i call this number and say "I'm gladys, who are you?!"
and get a "hi gladys, this is PB"
AHHH. all the light bulbs go on, and then turn to confusion. because i've never met him before! but i know some about him, apart from conducting MYO. he also conducted uni orchestra last year. and i read his bio then (in the programme) and incidentally also comes from perth. I blurted this out on the phone, and said "you're from perth! so am i!!!"
the real reason he called was to ask if i was willing, available and interested in playing the 1st piano part in saint-saens' 3rd symphony with MYO on 2 dec.
we had a lovely conversation (after i called back on a landline..) about perth and all that jazz. turns out we know lots of people from home - all in music, of course! and that he is an old haleian, his mother lives around the corner from me and all that. just really random, coincidental things. that really made my day, it was just so amusing and so.......WOW..!!!
and also a lot of people from melbourne, especially current students; i didn't realise just how many people i knew from uni who are in or have done MYO! he had good things to say about them all, actually. even though his rapport with students may not be in the best shape.

anyway, so that was probably the most exciting thing all week!

thursday had classes, including the concert class which started at 10.15am..! of course, i was in the middle of ANOTHER class...what odd timing of it all! mss held a bbq for the end of semester, which went really well. another successful year, i think!
then rushed home for a rehearsal with R, then went off to hawthorn to do exam! woohoo! again, i forget what it's like to do ameb exams hehe. sat around talking to D for a while, which was nice. but then got home, and had to rush to theatre for reherasal, which unfortunately didn't even start on time (ppl before us were running late, took longer etc.) oh well.

i think i'll do the friday update another time...i'm incredibly tired right now, and feel quite ill (again...)
last day of classes was today, and it's scary! i mean, i still have tutes next week for college, and chamber music and stuff like that, but it's really coming down to crunch time now. assuming i don't fail anything, i'll be well past halfway of undergrad. and to think some of my friends are finishing undergrad now! eek!
i'll continue to aim to enjoy uni - i really enjoy it and definitely value the friendships i have there!

anyway, time for bed, i think. i'd like to do some shopping tomorrow..!

"wow" on a couple of fronts

1. that people actually read the post below. i'm really impressed - it was long. which takes me to point 2...

2. the post below (fortnight du mort) is just over 4000 words. no wonder it took so long to write!

3. 4000 words is longer than any essay or assignment i've written for uni (probably also because we have word limits, but still..!)

4. there are people visiting my blog from many parts of the world. and i don't think i know who they all are..! go figure. but cool.

fornight du mort

I hope the title accurately captures what really has been the most terrifying, the most productive, and the most intense fortnight I've probably ever had.

It would probably be easiest if I did this in chronological order, yah? And I'm sorry if it gets tedious, or boring. You don't have to read it all - this really is the story of my life, and if you're not interested, I don't mind. Whatever. I often write just to collect my thoughts - so often the benefit of me, while perhaps letting my friends know what's been happening my life, because I'm away from many of them quite often, in some way or another.

Week 9 of uni kicked off as looking like an intense week of chamber music. The Chamber Music Competition schedule was released on Monday afternoon and we found out that we were playing that Friday! Eeek!!! Luckily we'd had a rehearsal the previous week, but still....!

On Tuesday we had a Don Giovanni reherasal - that went well. Also came the prospect of doing a concert (or part of anyway!) which has since been set in stone, and is a great opportunity for us to perform, as we now have something to work towards. Resumed rehearsals (after some confusion about location! Sorry!!!) with A because we were due to perform/compete twice in the next week.

I kid you not, week 9 (first week back after the mid-semester break, which is not very well placed mid-semester) involved class or meetings almost every day at 9am (no doubt that means getting up to practice, starting at about 7.15am every morning. Which means getting up by 6.30am!) and ending (ie. coming home finally to 'rest' ie. do homework etc) at earliest 6pm! Talk about getting back into the swing of things after holidays! It seems almost crazy to have ever predicted that I would practice before a 9am class or meeting, but I tell you, after realising on the morning that I met K, this would be necessary, it has seemed a given.
Gosh, the holidays feel SO long ago! I can't actually remember what it felt like to be on holidays anymore, it's been that busy!

Anyway, Week 9 Wednesday. Meeting with the Dean at 9am to discuss several matters, including preliminary discussions about O'Week 2008 which MSS will be involved in somehow. Plus just, you know, other matters the Dean should know about. My piano lesson was cancelled so we had a 2hr trio rehearsal to go over the Bruch. Pretty intense stuff. Then had lunch quickly then had to dash off so I could catch a train to Heidelberg. Why Heidelberg?, you ask. Well, the Austin Hospital is there, and Apollo was doing a hospital performance, in which case I had to conduct the choir. Sure, it was a fair way to travel to perform for 15mins, but so worth it because we knew we were bringing a smile to people's faces. Plus the Austin foyer has great acoustics hehe. Immediately after, I ran promptly from the hospital with E, B & B to jump on the 2.21pm train back to the city, to make my 3.30 trio rehearsal (yep, again). We did another hour and a half or so before we were completely buggered. But so productive! Had Collegian's Dinner that night - got a Wyvern Medal, our table was so successful hehe! Didn't go to the turn - instead, did homework at the like and had to go to bed early for yet another big day. Annoyingly, got woken up at about 2am by somebody setting off the fire alarm. Needless to say, I was very UNIMPRESSED.

Thursday was yet another early morning - had rehearsal in Melba at 9.15am because our trio was playing in Concert Class. We had to wait for a very long time because other people kept switching the order of the programme (so-and-so had to go at so-and-so time etc.) We didn't play that well, I felt (we all felt), but we received some good feedback. And even if we played comparatively &%$* to how we normally do, or expect to, we definitely feel that there's chemistry (of a good musical and relational kind, all good!) working within our trio. Which is nice. :)
After my 1pm class, went down to the ABC for my piano lesson. Bumped into E there, which was cool. Had a good lesson, especially on a Steinway D. I guess it made up for the crap non-piano chair which I had to sit on! Came back to uni for Sinfonia, which was fun again. Except that there were only four violins at this reherasal, and much of the music we were playing was divisi across both violin sections, so this meant we were all basically playing our own part. Hehe. Much fun, though very exposed! After Sinfonia, went to meet my cousin to go with her to see my aunt & uncle's new apartment in the city. So cool! I have a few photos of the views (which I may or may not post here..? Dunno) but they're amazing - city lights hello! We went for dinner at a little Japanese restaurant tucked away in a little alley, which was delicious (the dinner, not the alley). Sashimi, yum! My uncle is very good at convincing me to try food....

Friday started off with practice (surprise surprise!) and then our trio met up at 10am to rehearse briefly before our competition heat at 11.40am at Melba Hall. We played much better on Friday than we did on Thursday, felt much more comfortable (thanks to the few people who did come to see us!) but there are still some bits which we need to fix. That's ok, always a learning experience. Enjoyed lunch with S after that (after being asked, see post below re: 'celebrity', to accompany about three other people for next week!). Had a rehearsal with R at 3pm after which I was then kinda able to relax a little bit! Went to the Vic for a social Connect night (T was sick) which was fun.

The weekend was really for a bit of recuperation (although I didn't really feel recovered, because I was doing...homework? I dunno. I don't really feel weekends anymore..!) but I must have gotten some stuff done! We (QCWT plus extras woohoo!) did Jude's music on Sunday night, which was awesome. It went off, it was amazing to help people worship in a really enthusiastic manner. This then brought up some issues....(not in detail here though). Managed to fight off any convincing from T to go out after for supper - he is the only person I've met so far who can manage to convince me to go out so much!!!

Hello Week 10, the busiest week in my life, I think. Production week does not even rate compared to this...!
Monday doesn't look that busy, but always feels it. Piano practice 7.15am, class 10-12, Don Giovanni rehearsal 12pm, went to lunchtime concert (probably only the 1.30-2pm bit), class 2.15-4.15pm, Apollo 4.30-6pm, and then come home. See? Doesn't look like much, but it actually is...! There was no point going home in the middle of the day so perhaps that's it....long days at uni!

Tuesday kicked off with practice, then class at 9am, then a rehearsal with C at 10am. It went really well - it felt pretty comfortable to be playing with her, which was nice :) Practiced some more, because I could, and I'd booked a basement practice room. Then went to help set up for the MSS vs MSS Grudge Match. This mainly involved on my part transporting food/equipment/setting up stuff. I kid you not, I cooked sausages all afternoon. It was fun though! It kinda meant that even though I didn't get to watch the netball or the tug-of-war, I got to basically meet everybody standing in line for food! It was pretty funny, considering that I was clearly representing the Music side (due to my role), I kept saying hi to all these Med kids. I'm pretty sure a lot of people probably thought I was a traitorous sort! Hehe. It was nice to see two sub-sections of my life mesh though, I like it when things intersect and become a little clearer! Then had to run off for another rehearsal with A because we were playing the next day. That went well, not too long (he had to run off). I led the Bible study that night at QC, which was the 2nd in the Simply Christianity series; this was a fairly compelling session - even I was amazed as I was preparing and delivering the information!

Wednesday kicked off with practice. I really think this should be the default assumption of every day and the day I don't practice in the morning will be like, "WOW!!!" Then "What's wrong?!" haha.
Anyway, it started at QC and then shifted to the basement at the Con. Had a short reherasal with C before her performance at 9.15am. That went pretty well. The adjudicator for the day was just lovely - much fun, and easy to play for. Immediately after hers, I was unexpectedly called to page-turn for the pianist for the guy who played next. The flautist played well - pretty amazing stuff! I was really proud of him, because he's a first year (mid-yr entry) mentee of mine, and he's doing really well! He's already playing in orchestra and in chamber music class an stuff!
And then it was time for my lesson! So, went to that, thinking that I'd only have to play through the other half of my programme that we didn't get through the previous week. But no, she had a different idea. It was basically this: "You're going to play your entire programme for me this morning!". And I didn't feel ready at all. I had one memory lapse, but that's ok. It will be much cleaner and much better by the time my exam rolls around. But she was really enthusiastic! She said I did really well and that my playing had improved very much even from last week! She had some points to make about each of the pieces, which was good - I like feedback and more things to work on. And then this little conversation emerged:
C: How old are you?
Me: 20
C: When do you turn 21?
Me: Next year, April.
C: Hmm....well, I think you should look at the Shepparton piano comp - there is an age restriction, that is, you have to be at least 21, but check it out on the web and see if you qualify.

And then we were discussing what sort of repertoire I had accumulated over three years and other suggestions for things I could learn over the summer. To possibly do this comp.
Now, it should have clicked, because I do know almost all the information in general about this comp. But indeed, I googled it, and indeed, it is the one and only AUSTRALIAN NATIONAL PIANO AWARD. Is she SERIOUS?!?! I'm so not good enough for this! People like A win things like this! Not people like me even come close to him in stage 0.5! This competition is huge. You can look it up yourself if you're interested. There is a total of about $40 000 in prizes. One has to audition first by sending in a recording - and not everybody even gets to go to Shepparton to even play in Round 1! Wow. Anyway, I feel honoured that C even suggested it to me, and quite gobsmacked in general. Just really blown away.

So, I felt WRECKED after my lesson - about 30mins of intense music - and most of it's not easy by any means! But also very enthusiastic about piano! Went to listen to E (and L!) play in the concert comp - she did really well! Then went to practice some more in the basement, waiting for A for his concerto. It was running a little late, so we kinda had to wait outside Tallis and listen to another horn player, which was a little unnerving! We finally got in there. And I had to play the whole of Strauss 1. Phew!!!!! It went pretty well - we know there were some bits that weren't perfect, that could have been better, we know because we've done it before. But we managed to hold it all together that even RD applauded at the end. And even paid me a huge compliment, saying "A, you should thank your accompanist very much!" and then promptly suggested other works for A to play! Hehe. So, I was then COMPLETELY BUGGERED (as opposed to just WRECKED hehe) after an intense morning of playing piano with the pressure of two performances and one mock performance. Wow. I finally went home at 1pm - after spending all morning playing piano, 5hrs at the con on a day when I'd normally only have lesson!
I went to East Melbourne that afternoon/evening to have a reherasal with D's trumpet student (doing grade 2 AMEB exam). Their house was beautiful - really nice suburb, with wide tree-lined streets. And all the houses old and stuff, but I bet all done really nicely on the inside. On the way, I actually passed by what I think would be my perfect house...it's a two-storey apartment added into/onto a converted church. It's a modern apartment with four rooms (I think!) and beautiful spaces, north-facing, retaining the original church windows. It's up for auction, so if you do know anybody who'd be interested, I'd love to know!

Thursday was a long day - as Thursdays normally are. Thankfully, it didn't involve running around the city. We had a trio rehearsal to read through some Schumann (we left our Bruch for a little while so it doesn't go stale). Unfortunately, the piece, while it's ok, doesn't do much for us. We're hoping to do the Mozart instead too (hopefully this Thursday!) I left Sinfonia early so taht I could go to a public lecture entitled "Globalisation, Crises and Growth" given by a professor from UCLA - he's an expert in economics of Latin America. He was most entertaining. I'm glad I went to this lecture, I'd been tossing up all day whether I really wanted to go (and come home late) or regret not going at all. M said he wanted to go, but couldn't, so I should - I took his advice! The lecture was really interesting - so many of the concepts I've learnt in class (and am learning now in macro!) really came alive. And I suppose I really needed something like this, because I've been feeling for a little while now, quite discouraged about my commerce subject (this usually happens at around this time each semester). And I really needed somebody or something to inspire me. This guy did. Also because I could actually understand what he was saying from an economics perspective. Even econometrics became relevant! Who knew...?!
Came home at about 8pm (yep, it was a VERY long day...!) and had a rehearsal with A because we were playing on Saturday, and couldn't fit it in any other time. It's a good thing we live close to each other. But also to think we never had done nights/weekend other than this even though we live so close..? Seems silly, we don't catch up on weekends!

Friday was yet another huge day. I had to interrupt my piano practice (in the basement!) to go to a macro tute, because our tutor just didn't turn up on Monday. (Don't people realise that some people have schedules that are so tightly packed that it's hard to make it to other classes?!?!?! Gah!!) Chamber music class was greatly distracting due to the presence of a baby girl (the daughter of one of oboist in the trio that played in class). So cute though! I think we were all impressed that she managed to amuse herself and stay pretty quiet through the whole hour! Had a meeting with the VM about plans for next year (I had questions, still thinking about anything else I need to know!) and then had to dash off. I was debating whether to take the train or tram, but I figured that I didn't want to walk that far, so I opted for the longer ride on the tram. So, I trammed it out to Hawthorn to go play for this Grade 2 trumpet exam (student of D's). While waiting in the corridor, I saw Ian, which was funny. It struck me that I was on the other side of AMEB exams now. Even in the 'waiting room', there were lots of kids and their parents - I'd forgotten what it was like to be the one taking the exam! My mum used to take me in, and make sure I had everything, and made sure she always brought along a special treat of chocolate for after my exam! Too cute. And as I sat there thinking about how it seemed so normal to say hi to one of the examiners, I reflected on how this must have been when I did exams in my youth too! Music circles can tend to be fairly small and of course, teachers are also examiners!

D drove us to the station, where we caught the train back to Flinders. I hung out at Fed Square at BMW Edge because the Apollo Concert was on that night there! I figured there was no point going home, hanging out for half an hour, only to have to come back again. The venue is absolutely GORGEOUS! All the seats are wooden, as is the floor. The seats are arranged almost assymetrically, on various levels. The backdrop is this amazing glass looking over the Yarra, broken up into segments of different shapes and sizes. Backstage (actually, under stage) is very well-equipped - male and female dressing rooms with mirrors, toilets, and lots of space. The concert went really well. There were some awesome acts, and lots of fun was had all around! Yup, that was my BMW Edge debut! Thanks to the friends who came along - it was great to have your support and to see your smiling faces! Thanks to everybody who was in it - a successful concert, and being part of Apollo has meant a lot to me this year :) I came home at about 11.20pm, a very long day indeed!

So, the fifth performance of week 10 was on Saturday. Yeah, 5 performances in one week. Gah. No wonder I was so dead. No wonder you saw me in so much black!
The morning was fairly chilled, laid-back: a bit of work, after sleeping in till about 8.15am! Amazing!
Went to jch to meet A at about 12.45pm to head down to Southbank. I was a little early and had the chance to listen to the Japanese pop that psyches him up. Oh, and the 1-2-3-4-1-2-3 piece, I've forgotten that one. It's hilarious! But really intelligent too, contrasting against the five-note ostinato. Yeah, I know, takes a real music nerd like me to think about that and finding it intriguing (oh the things that go through my head!). We trammed down Elizabeth St (ooh, other side of the neighbourhood!) and crossed over the Southbank. We found his parents and hung out with them for a little while (we were early) then headed to St John's to suss it all out. We had plenty of time to test a few things out, get REALLY warmed up, hang out. We were playing first, so that was kinda good to get it over and done with nice and early. It's a great venue to play in, really nice acoustics, and nice piano! We played (we were recorded for national broadcast sometime in the future too...eek!) - both of us felt we could have played better, but the way I figure it, sometimes it's just the day. Stuff happens. We did make it through quite well though! So, playing first is sometimes a good thing. We watched some of the other performances, but then I was really tired and hungry (I don't think I could have sat still through three pianists in succession either after four other performances!) so we ducked out to Southgate to get food. Sometimes playing first is a bad thing too - we had to wait till the end for the adjudication! I'm really proud of A - he should know that! He's been getting lots of opportunities to perform and do stuff, and I feel really honoured to be doing half of that with him! This has been an amazing year of soloistic growth! His parents drove me home, which was very kind of them. I got out of their car only to bump into B&T and P, and I got into their car to have a chat. We then went for college dinner - it was nice to have friends over! I had really intended on doing lots of work on Saturday night. But T rings me up and goes "Come over to our place for a movie." And remember, T is the only one who is that successful at making me go out. So of course, I give in (asking for an extra 15mins to do my assignment) and we head over to their place. We tried watching "Good Night and Good Luck" except that it was really intense and serious and we really weren't in the mood for such a movie. Perhaps another time - I'd really like to watch it though! Sounds interesting. So the night kinda just turned into hanging out, which was cool. It was nice to take a break!


The last orchestra concert of the year was last night. It was an awesome night - we went with an entourage of about 21 people, which was cool. College, con and church people (basically how my friendship circles are roughly divided). It was funny that K & A weren't playing in it, but it was nice to be sitting with them too! U played really well - the Beethoven was so clean (only about 2 wrong notes if I heard right!), and at no point in time was the balance out. I don't know her that well but gave her a mighty congratulations and hug. She did so well - it was just beautiful. The Brahms, I think we pretty good. Some funny solo notes coming in funny, but that's ok. I think it could have done with even more guts (and dare I say it, balls?!) and just bigger in general, but it was still enjoyable to listen to! I even saw friends of friends last night, which was cool - who incidentally knew other friends of mine and stuff. I like seeing links!
We went out to the Glenferrie afterwards (thankfully it was open!) which was cool. Most people were really exhausted but also happy and high! (Gotta love the combination!) I had a great time hanging out with musos. We were waiting for the last train - it was so windy, but we were just hanging out, much fun-ness! I came home with the 2nd yrs (mostly Bendigo crowd who are my friends!) plus some others whom we love. So much fun. Some funny photos in general. Got home at about 12.40am (yeah, who would have thought Monday night was so good?! Haha. It's just musos that make it good there!) and put myself into bed at about 1am. And then I thought it'd be a good idea to wake up at 6.30am this morning to practice. Needless to say, by 9.15am, I was ready to climb back into bed! It's ok, I made it through the day - had another Don Giovanni rehearsal where we realised that the performance is a week and a half away!! Eek! But should be so much fun!

Went out tonight again with most of the same musos - we went for dinner on Lygs, just because we could, I think. And we rarely get the chance to all hang out together. (Last night must have been the first in a long time! And it was so much fun!)

And now, I'm heading to Bible study - session 3 of Simply Christianity.

I'm sorry this post is so amazingly long. I'll be really impressed if anybody actually reads this one too, so let me know if you do, and do leave comments if you so desire! Yeah, it has struck me to post shorter and more frequently, but given everything that you've just read, I suppose you'll forgive me when I say that I didn't really have time to do so...!

To finish off, my most memorable quote of the fortnight goes along the lines of "If anybody tries to tell me that they're busy, I'm going to hit them over the head". Now you understand why! :)

"It's funny to see how you deal with this 'celebrity' thing"

So says Samantha.....well, thank you very much....! Haha.

This was in direct response to events that occurred recently...this is the story...

I was standing in the foyer at the Con (as I do quite regularly, although I usually sit..) and was approached by a clarinettist in my year who asked whether I was around in December, and if I was, whether I wanted to accompany him in a 3MBS recital. Which is quite cool. I said I'd think about it, so long as the date wasn't after I had left Melbourne, obviously...it'd be a good way of getting out there even more. I was a bit freaked when he later told me that the Debussy was quite hard, but I'm up for the challenge. But I guess also so long as it didn't interfere with me doing my exams properly..!

So, we were discussing it the next day (some more) and a bassoonist in my year also kinda came over and asked whether I'd play for her in this week's Faculty Concerto Competition. The schedule came out really late, and so many competitors have been rushing like crazy to book accompanists, who don't really like late notice (like me..!). And because some accompanists just work on the basis of first-come, first-served, it has been really difficult to secure one. Which means many people are asking piano students, but again, not many piano students will readily say yes to preparing an orchestral reduction in less than a week! I said yes to this one because I've already played the 2nd movement, plus the 1st movement in an orchestra so at least I have heard it before. And also, she's good, and I like playing with good people :) It's a good opportunity to do stuff!

As she was checking things, I was talking to some friends. She came back to discuss the appropriate time and finer details, when a french hornist was listening in and kinda jumped on board and almost gushed, "will you play for me?!" And even though I've played parts of his before (he assumed it was just first movement, which I've played, but it's actually all or part of the concerto, 15-20mins worth, so he might have reconsidered how much he plays), I basically turned it down. Which is a bit sad, because it would have been fun, but I think then I would have been stretching myself too thin. And really working too hard at accompanying instead of my own recital programme at the moment! But I hope he understands that pianists sometimes can be overworked!

I guess I was pretty surprised that the three people who asked me to play for them actually did ask me. Do people actually think I can do it all? (That wasn't supposed to sound frustrated nor exasperated. It was more incredulous, more than anything. Like, wow, people want me to do that kind of stuff? They trust me that much? Wow...!) You see, the Con is a bit like a celebrity ring (good or bad, I just think it is). There are those people who everybody knows, who are at the top. People like that don't really talk to people like me, I think. They're just kinda...far above me. Yeah, there are Con celebrities (this was definitely more prevalent or at least more evident in my first and second years), those who are usually amazing at what they do, and usually hang out with similarly ranked 'celebrities'. That's the way I see it. I don't view it as good or bad, it just...exists. I suppose that happens in the performing or fine arts in general (as a broad overstatement).

And somehow Samantha seems to think I have somehow developed into one of these. I really don't think so. She reckons that it's because I play in class. Which is a good thing; playing in class is a good way of getting out there and making your mark (which I am trying to do!) - and opens up lots of opportunities, as I have experienced this year, I think (with a little help from amazing teachers). But, 'celebrity'? I beg to differ - I'm still the same me, still hanging out with the same friends, still doing my thing. Just more of it, I suppose! There are still those people far above me, I'm definitely not in their league! I'll just continue striving to do the best I can, hopefully attaining high levels of music and continue playing with those who want to play with me, and those who will push me.

And that's how I'm 'dealing' my my supposed climb.....

don't try calling me in the next two weeks...

the end of the holidays were quite blissful.
M and I went on a chocolate walking tour of melbourne. (see www.chocoholictours.com.au for details). we visited some absolutely delightful places, ate chocolate, had tea and generally just had a wonderful afternoon. we were in dire need of salt after it all though, so dinner was a welcome treat, and surprisingly pleasant too - salmon!
i went to the stephen hough (musica viva) concert that night (sorry michael...). it was fantastic. interestingly, the entire 2nd half was waltzes, culminating in the 1st memphisto waltz. he played 3 encores, the first being fantastically witty and heart-warming :) K, J, S and I went out to blue train after for some supper, where i spent the rest of my money, leaving about $3 left in my wallet, eek!
sunday was my off day - quite amazing, really. i did some stuff i was supposed to do all holidays (ie. my laundry....) and also managed to catch up with F & A that afternoon. we talked for quite a while, which was wonderful, especially because i haven't seen F since the beginning of july! T managed (again!!! he manages every week!!!) to convince me to go out to lygs after church....i was even so adament that it wouldn't happen, because i had told myself that this week was going to be a big week!

and indeed, a big week it so far has been.
for example:
MONDAY 7.30am practice piano before 10am class, classes 10am-12pm, lunch at 12pm (involving buying it, eating it, going to the library to do some stuff), lunchtime concert at 1pm, class 2.15-4.15pm, choir 4.30-6pm. then i finally came home.
TUESDAY 7.30am practice piano before 9am class, class 9-10am, go to the con, practice piano 10.30am-12.30pm, lunch, 1pm rehearsal at trinity, go to con again (i was checking something), chill out a little, 3.30-cum-4pm (due to communication breakdown) rehearsal with A, 5.15 macro tute.
WEDNESDAY 7.30am practice piano before meeting with dean at 9am, trio rehearsal 10am-12pm, lunch, my big adventure to heidelberg for 2pm performance at austin hospital, 2.21pm train back to flinders st, 3.14pm arrive home, 3.30-5.15pm trio rehearsal, 6.30pm collegian's dinner.

i suspect THURSDAY goes along the lines of this:
7.30am practice before 9.15am rehearsal in melba, class 10am, play in 11am-1pm class (we're 8th), 1pm class, 2.45pm piano lesson at the abc, 4.30-6.30pm sinfonia, dinner appointment (tbc time and location)

and that's the start of term 4.

in the next four weeks, i'm performing about 8 times. this includes in class, in various competitions, accompanying for exams and the like. plus fitting in rehearsals. so, anybody who tells me that they're really busy, don't come crying to me. i have enough problems of my own. i should probably learn to say no. and to speak up when i don't like it...

i've maintained for a little while that my business is my pleasure, my pleasure is my business - they're often quite interchangable or inseparable. i know this is my own decision, but it really is the way i live my life - with passion, to the max.

so, if i don't have time for you in the next eight weeks (till after exams), i apologise in advance. if i suppose you're lucky and that rehearsals and that happen to coincide with being my friend, well, lucky you! a friend of mine said that sometimes we get by with a little help from our friends. sometimes it really helps. sometimes, i think i'm a fairly internal person, so i suppose if you crack through the top layer in the next week, you're the one i'd really like to help me out. i suppose i don't really know what to think, i feel a bit lost at the moment. piano really is my work, my solace, my driving factor, my goal, all at the same time. sorry if you don't get let into it. i guess if you know me well, my hiding isn't too hard to spot - the fracture lines have only just begun...

if you'd like to come to our (trio's) chamber music exam, it's most likely to be on friday 2 november (once we schedule it in). and my piano recital is on 23 november. let me know if you'd like to come - i'd love to see some friends there (but i warn you now that it's early in the morning..)
i'm going home on dec 11; i booked flights last night (while trying to revise a 1-hr lecture with 14 slides, which took 2hrs because i had to call each member of my immediate family, who were in three different locations, and therefore had to call three different numbers, maintaining another conversation just after i'd gotten off the phone with my mum, sms-ing a friend to tell him i couldn't attend something, sms-ing another friend who was in dire need of help and needed to come over, plus maintaining a couple of msn conversations) because they were on sale for $49 on jetstar. so, that was a new experience! should be alright though, i hope all my plans work out....i feel quite sad that it's still another two whole months till i can be rid of stuff. of course, i won't appreciate the nothingness after i've been two weeks at home. but at this current moment, i am satisfied with my very spread out exam timetable, and the luxury of time at the end of it all. i am too busy now to care, realy.