So today I played in my first ANAM lunchtime concert. I hadn't really expected to be doing it quite so soon in the year. And I had really hoped that it was in a format that I was far more comfortable with: chamber music. But alas, a couple of weeks ago my teacher asked if I could play at the previous Academy@1 concert. Thankfully, I had more time to prepare for my first lunchtime concert by it being....the following week. Haha.
I had hastily and shakily answered, "Well, I could pull out.....some...Bach....?" It was agreed. Bach it shall be. It has been a while since I studied this piece. If I remember correctly, I prepared it for my third year, first semester, exam. That was a while ago...
So began the process of re-learning, re-familiarising myself with f# minor, the voices, the hand shapes, the genius that is the intertwining of the voices. I took it into my lesson about a week and a half ago - the patched together version from several years' past and the more recent layers. In about two weeks, my teacher deconstructed it and added about fifteen more layers on top of it. Wow. I guess this goes to show that one never is completely done with Bach. The Well-Tempered Clavier is a testament to Bach's genius; it never fails to amaze me at how he wrote these pieces - all different characters, all expertly and finely crafted.
So, I had played this piece for several people - in my lesson, in piano class (twice..!), to various willing friends. Each time revealed something new, something different, another layer.
This morning, I had some time in the Hall to try it out there. There is something special about being in that Hall first thing in the morning, when the sun was shining through (admittedly, pretty much into my face...) and playing Bach as a way of waking up my senses (if the squishy tram ride and coffee weren't enough...) and mentally preparing for the day. A friend came to listen. My teacher also came in to have a listen. He suggested a few things to fine-tune in the next couple of hours before the performances: some voicing, some metronome work. But he was very encouraging and confident in my ability and work.
I will be the first to admit that I suffer from nervousness of a varying degree; varying depending on context. And I'll admit that I haven't really touched solo repertoire for about two years. Lunchtime concert, first up, Bach, solo. Things that all scare me. My teacher said to me just before I went on, "You love Bach. Enjoy it!" Good thinking. Share Bach with the audience! So out I went, nervous as anything, and ready to show the audience why I love Bach and to prove that I'm here at the Academy to be good!
While playing, I actively remember actively thinking about certain things I had written in my score. This is a good thing. Far too many performances fly by and I don't remember what I thought (except for "Don't stuff this bit up...." or "Ooh, wrong note...". Maybe that should be rephrased as 'So many performances fly by and I don't remember thinking many positive thoughts) and it happens and works because I've practiced enough for it to become an automatic thing. This is something I know I have to be far more pro-active about. And to tell you the truth, I actually really quite enjoyed performing my Bach today. I enjoyed that it was completely up to me to show the audience how much I love it, and to keep them hanging onto every sound I was creating. I enjoyed being able to lead them through the complex textures of genius. And of course, it wasn't perfect. Show me a perfect performance (do they even exist?!) That's ok. I figure, once you've made a mistake, you can't go back and fix it (unless you're repeating, then you can give it a second shot! But not the case here.). What was the point of stressing over it? Better make something good happen now and into the future.
Some friends, both from Academy and outside, came along, which was greatly appreciated. It was a great affirmation of what I'm doing (is on a positive track!) and a great opportunity to perform in a different context to what most of my friends have seen and heard, and heard about. One friend remarked, "I think that's the first time I've seen you play solo since about (his) first year..."! There you go. I felt so humbled that the audience were appreciative enough for me to take a second, rather awkward and embarrassed, bow....!
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
Saturday, March 26, 2011
Figuring it out
So a couple of weeks ago I was talking to one of the staff at ANAM about life at ANAM and stuff. She asked how I was going with it all and what not, and I told her my reflections on the first couple of weeks. All good.
She has this theory that it takes people about six months to figure out how to balance the amount of learning, the rate of learning, the learning material and everything else in-between. I have to admit that I was quietly confident that I'd have this down-pat, y'know? I totally did university and so much outside of it, and so much between university. Then I did the intern position last year and also did chamber music, and a job and other freelancing. Piece of cake, right?
Perhaps not.....and it's not that I'm finding it hard per se, but it's challenging and difficult in the best way. I've always been really bad at saying no to stuff (my friends will be the first people to admit for me that I have a nasty habit of saying yes to everything and overcommitting to stuff) and like doing lots of things to keep busy. I'm still learning (obviously VERY slowly) how to prioritise; and this year, I know that study is a serious top priority. I'm chipping away at it, and hopefully making some sort of progress!
Back to the practice room....I'm only one month into the six (and counting) of a steep learning curve....
She has this theory that it takes people about six months to figure out how to balance the amount of learning, the rate of learning, the learning material and everything else in-between. I have to admit that I was quietly confident that I'd have this down-pat, y'know? I totally did university and so much outside of it, and so much between university. Then I did the intern position last year and also did chamber music, and a job and other freelancing. Piece of cake, right?
Perhaps not.....and it's not that I'm finding it hard per se, but it's challenging and difficult in the best way. I've always been really bad at saying no to stuff (my friends will be the first people to admit for me that I have a nasty habit of saying yes to everything and overcommitting to stuff) and like doing lots of things to keep busy. I'm still learning (obviously VERY slowly) how to prioritise; and this year, I know that study is a serious top priority. I'm chipping away at it, and hopefully making some sort of progress!
Back to the practice room....I'm only one month into the six (and counting) of a steep learning curve....
Thursday, March 10, 2011
36% hit rate
My teacher asked me on Tuesday, "Are you getting 36% of the notes now?"
I think I could reply in the affirmative. Which is better than 35% so there WAS improvement!
My second lesson was pretty epic. I went in with three questions:
1. How do I play fff given my stature?
2. How do I play ppp without wimping out and the notes not coming out?
3. How do I practice (Beethoven violin sonata #7) broken octaves without getting RSI?
This amounted to about an hour and forty five minutes of lesson. We talked about physiology (including muscles and bones. Do they come under physiology?!?!), the physical nature of playing the piano, what it looks like, did various exercises that were quite physical (much like going to the gym - my thighs were sore!), levers (such as the elbow!), which largely amounted to "doing nothing". Whoever said that playing the piano was easy obviously didn't think so much about nothing.
So, my first ANAM concert for 2011. Or maybe just the first one ever!
It was pretty rad. Held in the Salon at the Melbourne Recital Centre, we only had about twenty minutes of soundcheck. Pretty scary considering:
a) The entire piece goes for about 30mins. So we weren't even going to play it all.
b) Wherever I go, it's pretty much never going to be the same instrument as the one (or several) that I practice on.
c) If you know about the acoustics of the MRC, you will know how finely tuned they are. You will know that you can hear everything very clearly.
And I'll admit - I was nervous. I usually am, admittedly. In some situations, such as the accompanist (I'm ok with the term), I'm the one that has to reassure the soloist. Other times, I'm the one stressing out big time. I arrived with plenty of time to spare - getting changed and putting some face on doesn't actually take that long. Nor does eating an apple and cracking open a book to get about one page further before others started arriving and it started getting pretty hectic. There was an electronic piano in one of the dressing rooms, but I rather thought finding my sitting bones and core might be more helpful.
So, the actual performance.
Incredible Floridas by Richard Meale is a six-movement work. Before each movement, some of the poetry by 19th century poet Arthur Rimbaud, that inspired Meale was read. I would be lying if I said that the music went perfectly. Quite the opposite in some parts. But guess what? It didn't matter - it was still effective and convincing. The music is incredibly colourful. Not least because the first movement actually contains (and even starts wish) some of the ensemble reciting the vowels and some associated colours in French. It was incredibly evocative.
The Salon, while scary, was incredibly beautiful to play in. What a venue. It's incredibly intimate - there is no difference between the audience and the performer. There is no raised stage and the seating is often very close up. We joked that they could've turned out pages for us. That would have been really helpful, actually! You can hear everything so clearly - this is a scary thing, but also amazing. The audience was so attentive in this concert; they loved it. Which pleasantly surprised me, really, as I have this conception that Australian music is often very difficult to sell. I played my little heart out - those fff sections were loud. Particularly in that acoustic. I was acutely aware of trying to incorporate some of the things I'd learnt in my lesson the previous day. Some things worked - my teacher even commented that he saw me playing further up on the keys for that particular Messian-like sounds for the beginning of the third movement! I noticed he sat on the side where he could see the piano. I was a tiny bit nervous, but less than I thought I'd be. I feel very much at ease and very reassured, so that's a really good thing!
My previous teacher also came along to the concert, as I found out after. It was wonderful to see that people came, and to see me (at least!)! She mentioned that she really enjoyed the use of silence. I reflected on this and I think I am becoming even more aware of silence, especially in the week and a half we had with this piece. There are a few moments where the pianist has these amazing solos that can be played fairly freely and I really enjoyed being able to create sections that were completely me. This is not to sound ego-centric or anything, but it was cool to be able to create certain sounds and an interpretation that was mine. Preserved for posterity on recording (oh no! Haha..) I also spied a bunch of ANAM people sitting along the back (comp tickets are wonderful!), and lots of the staff came too. The audience were so into it that we even went back out twice. Okay, silly I know - but there haven't been many performances where this was the reaction. Really quite overwhelming. It was lovely to have such positive feedback particularly from some of the staff in the last 24hrs. I was so determined to prove myself at this concert, given the strange nature of my admission.
I have been asked a few times in the last week or so, "How are you enjoying ANAM so far?" and I can say without hesitation, "I'm loving it". I love that the people who work there are so helpful and kind. I love that the people studying there are so talented and work hard. I love that the teachers are so experienced and encouraging. I love that I'm learning so much already and it's only week two. I love that I have a great teacher. I love that I'm getting back into playing all sorts of pianistic things. I love that I feel like I belong and that it's as if I'm meant to be studying there. So much to be thankful for.
I think I could reply in the affirmative. Which is better than 35% so there WAS improvement!
My second lesson was pretty epic. I went in with three questions:
1. How do I play fff given my stature?
2. How do I play ppp without wimping out and the notes not coming out?
3. How do I practice (Beethoven violin sonata #7) broken octaves without getting RSI?
This amounted to about an hour and forty five minutes of lesson. We talked about physiology (including muscles and bones. Do they come under physiology?!?!), the physical nature of playing the piano, what it looks like, did various exercises that were quite physical (much like going to the gym - my thighs were sore!), levers (such as the elbow!), which largely amounted to "doing nothing". Whoever said that playing the piano was easy obviously didn't think so much about nothing.
So, my first ANAM concert for 2011. Or maybe just the first one ever!
It was pretty rad. Held in the Salon at the Melbourne Recital Centre, we only had about twenty minutes of soundcheck. Pretty scary considering:
a) The entire piece goes for about 30mins. So we weren't even going to play it all.
b) Wherever I go, it's pretty much never going to be the same instrument as the one (or several) that I practice on.
c) If you know about the acoustics of the MRC, you will know how finely tuned they are. You will know that you can hear everything very clearly.
And I'll admit - I was nervous. I usually am, admittedly. In some situations, such as the accompanist (I'm ok with the term), I'm the one that has to reassure the soloist. Other times, I'm the one stressing out big time. I arrived with plenty of time to spare - getting changed and putting some face on doesn't actually take that long. Nor does eating an apple and cracking open a book to get about one page further before others started arriving and it started getting pretty hectic. There was an electronic piano in one of the dressing rooms, but I rather thought finding my sitting bones and core might be more helpful.
So, the actual performance.
Incredible Floridas by Richard Meale is a six-movement work. Before each movement, some of the poetry by 19th century poet Arthur Rimbaud, that inspired Meale was read. I would be lying if I said that the music went perfectly. Quite the opposite in some parts. But guess what? It didn't matter - it was still effective and convincing. The music is incredibly colourful. Not least because the first movement actually contains (and even starts wish) some of the ensemble reciting the vowels and some associated colours in French. It was incredibly evocative.
The Salon, while scary, was incredibly beautiful to play in. What a venue. It's incredibly intimate - there is no difference between the audience and the performer. There is no raised stage and the seating is often very close up. We joked that they could've turned out pages for us. That would have been really helpful, actually! You can hear everything so clearly - this is a scary thing, but also amazing. The audience was so attentive in this concert; they loved it. Which pleasantly surprised me, really, as I have this conception that Australian music is often very difficult to sell. I played my little heart out - those fff sections were loud. Particularly in that acoustic. I was acutely aware of trying to incorporate some of the things I'd learnt in my lesson the previous day. Some things worked - my teacher even commented that he saw me playing further up on the keys for that particular Messian-like sounds for the beginning of the third movement! I noticed he sat on the side where he could see the piano. I was a tiny bit nervous, but less than I thought I'd be. I feel very much at ease and very reassured, so that's a really good thing!
My previous teacher also came along to the concert, as I found out after. It was wonderful to see that people came, and to see me (at least!)! She mentioned that she really enjoyed the use of silence. I reflected on this and I think I am becoming even more aware of silence, especially in the week and a half we had with this piece. There are a few moments where the pianist has these amazing solos that can be played fairly freely and I really enjoyed being able to create sections that were completely me. This is not to sound ego-centric or anything, but it was cool to be able to create certain sounds and an interpretation that was mine. Preserved for posterity on recording (oh no! Haha..) I also spied a bunch of ANAM people sitting along the back (comp tickets are wonderful!), and lots of the staff came too. The audience were so into it that we even went back out twice. Okay, silly I know - but there haven't been many performances where this was the reaction. Really quite overwhelming. It was lovely to have such positive feedback particularly from some of the staff in the last 24hrs. I was so determined to prove myself at this concert, given the strange nature of my admission.
I have been asked a few times in the last week or so, "How are you enjoying ANAM so far?" and I can say without hesitation, "I'm loving it". I love that the people who work there are so helpful and kind. I love that the people studying there are so talented and work hard. I love that the teachers are so experienced and encouraging. I love that I'm learning so much already and it's only week two. I love that I have a great teacher. I love that I'm getting back into playing all sorts of pianistic things. I love that I feel like I belong and that it's as if I'm meant to be studying there. So much to be thankful for.
Friday, March 04, 2011
Something new
And so it began.
Monday 28 February. The 2011 students of the Professional Performance Programme at the Australian National Academy of Music descended on the South Melbourne Town Hall to be officially welcomed and to begin Reading Week full of rehearsals, seminars and information overload.
I didn't sleep so well on Sunday night - nerves got the better of me! What if I really don't belong there? What if I don't make any friends? What if I haven't prepared enough? What if my tram runs late? What if they've made a mistake of actually ADMITTING me?!?! So many things could go wrong.
And so much didn't go wrong!
I walked through the door and the lovely ladies were at the front, ready with a nametag as well as my locker key and electronic tag ready for me. So efficient! And they are so good - in the few weeks leading up to the start when I've been going in to practice, they've been helpful in finding me a room to practice, buzzing me through and answering all sorts of questions. All with a smile. And they already knew my name before I got there. So many people did. And if they didn't, they made a point of asking and introducing themselves. Seriously, that made me feel so welcome. It made me feel like I belong already; like I'm meant to be there.
I had been given seven pieces to look at for Reading Week. I came to realise that this is actually quite a lot, considering that one of my violinist friends had two. There are three pianists at ANAM this year and we'll have guests come in to for various projects. That probably explains why we have so much on our plate! All my music is actually really cool, as I'm learning (at various rates!).
In no particular order, this week I had:
Malcolm Williamson's Concerto for Wind Instruments and Two Pianos (Eight Hands)
Paul Stanhope's Songs for the Shadowland (for oboe, clarinet, horn, bassoon, piano & soprano)
Beethoven: Trio Op. 70 No. 1 ('Ghost') [relearning with different people]; Violin Sonata No. 7 in c minor & Cello Sonata No. 5 in D Major [relearning after several years]
Richard Meale's Incredible Floridas - for concert in the MRC Salon NEXT WEEK! This is a pretty complex piece, with violin (doubling on viola), cello, flute (picc/alto flute. Amazing AFlute solo in the final movt), clarinet (E flat/b.cl), percussion (lots of it!) and piano.
Britten's Jamaican Rumba, which I get to play with my teacher!
So the point of Reading Week was just that - read through stuff and get used to playing with different people. It was exciting to meet so many people also this week - 50 and a bit of us, of whom I only really knew a handful. Some readings were far more successful than others. Because the Meale is for performance next week, we had two sessions of rehearsals. The incredible Paul Dean is conducting us; I feel so privileged to be taught and to work with so many amazing musicians - teachers and students alike. We have several more hours of Meale next week to pull it all together, which will be a difficult task but rewarding. The piece is complex; it doesn't sound tonal at all - I'm struggling to find a tonal centre, really. The rhythms are complex (much subdivision into 3, 5, 7, triplets within triplets. Other things like that) and the time changes into many obscure things so often! However, it is so satisfying to feel parts of it coming together already. It's a colourful work and so we aren't allowed to wear all black next week!
We also had some information sessions and met all the staff and most of the teaching faculty. They all were very helpful and it's so evident to me that ANAM is a tightly run organisation with really clear ideas of how it works and how each department manages things and works with the others. The vision of so many things is across a long period of time (for example, working on programming for six months!) and it's otherwise not clear to us just how hard these people work and how we're involved in the whole scheme of things. This year centres around us being "Fearless ambassadors. Australian Voices. Our place." There are so many exciting projects this year! I'm looking forward to them all. There was also a seminar on 'Effective Practice'. It was amazing to listen to four members of faculty (including the Artistic Director), who are all amazing established and wonderful musicians in their own right in addition to being fantastic teachers, talk about their own experiences about learning how to practice. And let me say, they weren't always perfect. They're human, they learnt many things in their time. And they were adamant that they wanted to teach us how to do it effectively, without hurting ourselves and for it to be productive and helpful. One of the things that my teacher said that really struck me was that they, as teachers, were there to teach us, the students, how to teach ourselves. That is practice. And they also admitted some things that seem like big taboo subjects to talk about. One was that some days of practice will just be bad, and one cannot expect that yesterday's experience will be the same as today's, nor tomorrow's. It was really comforting to know that these amazing people have had that experience and are realistic about expectations of themselves, and of their students.
I had my first lesson with my new teacher yesterday. I was (am) having a bit of trouble with the Meale, as it is quite complex; the rhythms are all over (my rhythm actually sucks) and the notes are all a bit messy. I admitted that I think I have maybe a 35% hit rate and my teacher said that we could just work on it for half an hour and he could give me ways to think about it and practice it. Even if it would make it a little better to 36%, that would be better. I admitted that I was nervous about having a lesson, because I haven't really had a piano lesson in two years, but he said that was ok. And he was so kind and gentle; there was nothing scary. He was helpful and forgiving. We spent about half an hour looking at about three bars. We set the metronome, we clapped, counted out loud, and tried it out multiple times. And it was really good. I was so encouraged and reassured!
I thankfully had most of Friday to myself. It had been a hectic week for me - almost all the reading sessions in the week (which were an hour and a half long) were full for me, all but one repeat had new works! It was nice to have a little bit of time to practice for myself and to take it a little easier. They were kind - they specifically didn't schedule much for me!
And so ends the first week at ANAM. I've had to pinch myself several times a day to prove that I'm awake and that it's all happening. I still can't quite believe it. I look down at my keys and see my 2011 ANAM keyring (which gets me discounts woohoo!) and the electronic tag. I think that's when you know you belong - you're given access to the buildling! I see so many talented people around me and still ask what I'm doing here, but then remember that I'm one of them too. I've been struck by how genuine everybody is and their generosity. I've been given this amazing opportunity to learn and I'm going to grab it with both hands, embrace if and run.
And I think we're going to be well-fed with lots of sugary goodness this year!
Monday 28 February. The 2011 students of the Professional Performance Programme at the Australian National Academy of Music descended on the South Melbourne Town Hall to be officially welcomed and to begin Reading Week full of rehearsals, seminars and information overload.
I didn't sleep so well on Sunday night - nerves got the better of me! What if I really don't belong there? What if I don't make any friends? What if I haven't prepared enough? What if my tram runs late? What if they've made a mistake of actually ADMITTING me?!?! So many things could go wrong.
And so much didn't go wrong!
I walked through the door and the lovely ladies were at the front, ready with a nametag as well as my locker key and electronic tag ready for me. So efficient! And they are so good - in the few weeks leading up to the start when I've been going in to practice, they've been helpful in finding me a room to practice, buzzing me through and answering all sorts of questions. All with a smile. And they already knew my name before I got there. So many people did. And if they didn't, they made a point of asking and introducing themselves. Seriously, that made me feel so welcome. It made me feel like I belong already; like I'm meant to be there.
I had been given seven pieces to look at for Reading Week. I came to realise that this is actually quite a lot, considering that one of my violinist friends had two. There are three pianists at ANAM this year and we'll have guests come in to for various projects. That probably explains why we have so much on our plate! All my music is actually really cool, as I'm learning (at various rates!).
In no particular order, this week I had:
Malcolm Williamson's Concerto for Wind Instruments and Two Pianos (Eight Hands)
Paul Stanhope's Songs for the Shadowland (for oboe, clarinet, horn, bassoon, piano & soprano)
Beethoven: Trio Op. 70 No. 1 ('Ghost') [relearning with different people]; Violin Sonata No. 7 in c minor & Cello Sonata No. 5 in D Major [relearning after several years]
Richard Meale's Incredible Floridas - for concert in the MRC Salon NEXT WEEK! This is a pretty complex piece, with violin (doubling on viola), cello, flute (picc/alto flute. Amazing AFlute solo in the final movt), clarinet (E flat/b.cl), percussion (lots of it!) and piano.
Britten's Jamaican Rumba, which I get to play with my teacher!
So the point of Reading Week was just that - read through stuff and get used to playing with different people. It was exciting to meet so many people also this week - 50 and a bit of us, of whom I only really knew a handful. Some readings were far more successful than others. Because the Meale is for performance next week, we had two sessions of rehearsals. The incredible Paul Dean is conducting us; I feel so privileged to be taught and to work with so many amazing musicians - teachers and students alike. We have several more hours of Meale next week to pull it all together, which will be a difficult task but rewarding. The piece is complex; it doesn't sound tonal at all - I'm struggling to find a tonal centre, really. The rhythms are complex (much subdivision into 3, 5, 7, triplets within triplets. Other things like that) and the time changes into many obscure things so often! However, it is so satisfying to feel parts of it coming together already. It's a colourful work and so we aren't allowed to wear all black next week!
We also had some information sessions and met all the staff and most of the teaching faculty. They all were very helpful and it's so evident to me that ANAM is a tightly run organisation with really clear ideas of how it works and how each department manages things and works with the others. The vision of so many things is across a long period of time (for example, working on programming for six months!) and it's otherwise not clear to us just how hard these people work and how we're involved in the whole scheme of things. This year centres around us being "Fearless ambassadors. Australian Voices. Our place." There are so many exciting projects this year! I'm looking forward to them all. There was also a seminar on 'Effective Practice'. It was amazing to listen to four members of faculty (including the Artistic Director), who are all amazing established and wonderful musicians in their own right in addition to being fantastic teachers, talk about their own experiences about learning how to practice. And let me say, they weren't always perfect. They're human, they learnt many things in their time. And they were adamant that they wanted to teach us how to do it effectively, without hurting ourselves and for it to be productive and helpful. One of the things that my teacher said that really struck me was that they, as teachers, were there to teach us, the students, how to teach ourselves. That is practice. And they also admitted some things that seem like big taboo subjects to talk about. One was that some days of practice will just be bad, and one cannot expect that yesterday's experience will be the same as today's, nor tomorrow's. It was really comforting to know that these amazing people have had that experience and are realistic about expectations of themselves, and of their students.
I had my first lesson with my new teacher yesterday. I was (am) having a bit of trouble with the Meale, as it is quite complex; the rhythms are all over (my rhythm actually sucks) and the notes are all a bit messy. I admitted that I think I have maybe a 35% hit rate and my teacher said that we could just work on it for half an hour and he could give me ways to think about it and practice it. Even if it would make it a little better to 36%, that would be better. I admitted that I was nervous about having a lesson, because I haven't really had a piano lesson in two years, but he said that was ok. And he was so kind and gentle; there was nothing scary. He was helpful and forgiving. We spent about half an hour looking at about three bars. We set the metronome, we clapped, counted out loud, and tried it out multiple times. And it was really good. I was so encouraged and reassured!
I thankfully had most of Friday to myself. It had been a hectic week for me - almost all the reading sessions in the week (which were an hour and a half long) were full for me, all but one repeat had new works! It was nice to have a little bit of time to practice for myself and to take it a little easier. They were kind - they specifically didn't schedule much for me!
And so ends the first week at ANAM. I've had to pinch myself several times a day to prove that I'm awake and that it's all happening. I still can't quite believe it. I look down at my keys and see my 2011 ANAM keyring (which gets me discounts woohoo!) and the electronic tag. I think that's when you know you belong - you're given access to the buildling! I see so many talented people around me and still ask what I'm doing here, but then remember that I'm one of them too. I've been struck by how genuine everybody is and their generosity. I've been given this amazing opportunity to learn and I'm going to grab it with both hands, embrace if and run.
And I think we're going to be well-fed with lots of sugary goodness this year!
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