Phew.
The concert is this coming evening. I'm not especially nervous, since this particular piece has already been stress-tested as it were; it's the same string quartet that was performed this April. I had finished the other work, which ended up being voice, two clarinets, and piano, but we didn't have enough rehearsal time to get it together well enough for the concert, sadly. Still, none of the other composers have two pieces either, so it would have seemed incongruous; thus, it's probably for the best.
I've really enjoyed this camp: I feel it's been a good mix of productivity and sociability. Out of the structured activities, the composition lessons were the best: freeform, but still immensely useful in speeding up the lengthy process. However, apart from those, it's clear that the kids and not the classes make this program what it is. That's not to say that writing the little piano piece in Theory hasn't been fun or that "Analysis" hasn't been... extremely bizarre, but I've met so many great people that have an amazing degree of commitment and enthusiasm for their art. I think, if nothing else, my time here shown me that this is something that I can really do, and that regardless of my current technical level or instrumental chops, there's a place for me in this realm. The beauty of it is that it's not escapist, this world of music: it has a very authentic connection to the emotions and ideas of all people, and though the mechanisms differ, there's always a soul and a passion behind the work.
Soon, of course, I'll have to float down from my cloud and start work on the extended essay and the assigned summer reading. For now, though, I'm content to settle in with my manuscript paper and Lucille Clifton's poems and daydream.
I hope you are all enjoying your summer, as I am. Best wishes!
I've really enjoyed this camp: I feel it's been a good mix of productivity and sociability. Out of the structured activities, the composition lessons were the best: freeform, but still immensely useful in speeding up the lengthy process. However, apart from those, it's clear that the kids and not the classes make this program what it is. That's not to say that writing the little piano piece in Theory hasn't been fun or that "Analysis" hasn't been... extremely bizarre, but I've met so many great people that have an amazing degree of commitment and enthusiasm for their art. I think, if nothing else, my time here shown me that this is something that I can really do, and that regardless of my current technical level or instrumental chops, there's a place for me in this realm. The beauty of it is that it's not escapist, this world of music: it has a very authentic connection to the emotions and ideas of all people, and though the mechanisms differ, there's always a soul and a passion behind the work.
Soon, of course, I'll have to float down from my cloud and start work on the extended essay and the assigned summer reading. For now, though, I'm content to settle in with my manuscript paper and Lucille Clifton's poems and daydream.
I hope you are all enjoying your summer, as I am. Best wishes!