Suitcase Again, Music is My Life

Today I'm off to Boaz, AL to see my dear dear dearest friends in their college's production of "Oklahoma!" I love seeing old friends, I love musicals, and I love traveling.

And as for news- I heard back from a teacher at Oberlin; I will be having a voice lesson when I go up there in two weeks from today! Super excited! Music is treating me quite well this week. I quite love my life, and the people in it for sure.

I look forward to seeing these two characters again tonight :-)

<3 

German Lullaby

A little snippet from working on competition music. Enjoy this lovely music by Max Reger, a German lullaby entitled "Maria Wiegenlied."

Soon and very soon

I can't wait to see these two beautiful gals in two and 1/2 weeks!! <3 

Bellisimi.

Settimana di Mamma Mia! (Week of OMG!)

A friend of mine once had what he called a "week of awesome." Many big important things happened in that week, thus the nickname "week of awesome." This week, I had something very similar. Except it was less "awesome" and more "um...what? Mamma mia!!!"
To recap- Last Monday I auditioned at Jacksonville State University for their latest opera; Gonoud's Romeo et Juliette. Not only did I get a lead role, Gertrude (Juliet's lady in waiting, nurse, handmaiden, gal), but I also loved the trip down, AND got to reconnect with an old friend.
Then, on Thursday, my busiest day of the week, I came home after a long and hard day; Mom and I were telling each other about our day. Suddenly she gives me some big news: I got invited to audition at Oberlin Conservatory!! (For you non-musicians: to get into college I, as a vocalist must first apply, send in a prescreening, then get invited to an audition, then go to the school and audition, and THEN hope to hear if I'm accepted or not- so so very long!) Oberlin is one of my top choices for college, so I'm beyond thrilled. That alone would be enough to make my week a "Mamma mia!!" week.
As the commercials say, but wait, there's more! So, I went down on Friday night to Auburn for a competition (a pretty big one- MTNA). Again, I got to reconnect with a dear friend, and met some interesting new characters as well. Saturday, competition time. Dun dun dunnnnnn. I was looking forward to singing, and wasn't too stressed. I'm the oddball who LIKES to audition. For this competition I sang four songs, which is a decent amount of music. I felt confident that I had done well, but wasn't thinking too overly highly of myself. I knew where I had messed up, but I was pleased because I had had fun, and that's the most important part. Funny thing is...I kind of won. My host laughed at me because I could not process this fact at all! I was quite speechless, and being the verbose person I am, that was a big deal!
What now? Now I practice like crazy. Hoping to hear from other colleges, still applying to some, and in January I go to Regionals for MTNA. I have a busy life ahead of me, but I'm super psyched.
Thank you music for giving me a crazy exciting week.
What shall this week bring?

Oh Suitcase...

Do I live here? Or am I living everywhere?
Tomorrow I, once again, will be traveling. Where to? A local college, and when I say local I mean 2ish hours away by car. I will be auditioning for a role in an opera. I'm going to be vague on the details until I know I am actually in it. Until then, a little mystery is always neat right? Don't men love mysterious women? Or something.
Anyway. I will be gone tomorrow. But wait...there's more. I also will be gone Friday and Saturday. Where to? Oh Auburn, Alabama. A city I haven't been to yet, and I've lived in this state for four years now! Funny. I will be competing in the MTNA senior voice competition. I get to sing four songs, and one of which is brand spankin new and super complex. This I love.
I'm so glad I fell in love with music. It's worth every minute I give it, and I never do give it enough. I'm so grateful that music is my life.
<3

Hi A, High A

I'm generally a happy person. Have you ever seen me cry?
So, it is the little things that please me quite easily. Today, in a voice lesson, I hit a high note for a mezzo. It was an A, which is appropriate for me because my initials are AAA. This note meant more to me, though, than it normally would. It was literally the "high" note of my week, no pun intended. I've been traveling every day since last Saturday, and am quite exhausted. I truly did not think I would be able to sing well at all. Let alone, sing high! But...I did it!
I guess it is because of how I was raised. I appreciate things and try to not take life for granted. Music is so wonderful, and I'm so glad that it can lift me up.
Today, I got to say Hi A, to a high A.
Life is good. <3