I Wish You Love

Me Holding The MYSO CD at the 2014 Symphony Gala. 

I am lucky to be apart of Metropolitan Youth Symphony Orchestras of Atlanta, and I am also lucky to have been able to record with Joe Grandsen. He is an amazing trumpet player, and I had a wonderful time playing with him and his trio. The music was incredibly interesting and a little difficult, but it was so fun to play. The actual recording process was fun and not as scary as I had imagined it would be. Being with my friends and fellow musicians was the best part. Studio recording sessions are difficult and require precision. We were in the studio for four days for 5-6 hours per day. I am glad to be able to say that I have actually played violin on a CD. The opportunity was amazing and I am very grateful for it.

You can purchase a copy of the CD - I Wish You Love by Joe Gransden with the Metropolitan Youth Symphony Orchestras of Atlanta on the symphony website here.

Enjoy some great photos from our week-long studio session. 

The best way to deal with a "C" on a test.

It hurts. When it first happens. You cry. You sob. It rips a hole in your body, leaving a large gap where you used to be.

Anger, that abyss takes over.

Then, it does nothing. It just sits there, lonely and wishing you had some left with which to rip and shred.
Don't worry, the anger, pain, sadness, will subside. All that will be left is nothing, scratch.

And, what better way to erase the past, than to start from scratch with the present?

Memories

Today I saw a man that reminded me of my father. He wasn't scary or menacing. He just was alone.
I remember him, my father, taking me out, just us two, and he wouldn't say anything. I always wondered what he was thinking. Now I wonder, when seeing men by themselves, if they are lonely. I look at the man and see he is married. So, he just needed solitude. I wonder what he was thinking about: what bills are due, how his family is at home, what secrets he had to hide.
Sometimes I need to stop myself from over thinking these small coincidences.
I don't know, maybe just memories.

TED-Ed Video: How to Read Music by Tim Hansen

Found this cool video on TED.com on how to read music. Enjoy (there will be a quiz later).

Crime and Punishment

My only question: If a tree falls in a forest and no one hears it, does it still fall? Yes (Doesn't the same mentality apply to crimes as well?) 

Time to Get It In! - College Tours

Wellesley College Admission Office, April 2014

Of course my mom started talking about college tours a year ago. This past April we visited four schools in the northeast and one in Ohio during spring break. It was crazy, it was exhausting. I really got a chance to experience first hand what college life is like: seminar classes, dormitory living, urban vs. small town or rural setting, etc. I became painfully aware of the difference between 2,000 students on a single-sex campus and 20,000 co-eds on a campus in the middle of a city.

This list of College Fly-In programs are a good resource if you're planning to squeeze in some college visits this fall before you start working on those admission applications. Here are a few programs that (some offer travel assistance) are fantastic opportunities for multi-cultural students.

Farewell to a season

The season is over.

I have been playing the violin for almost ten years (nine and a half years to be exact.) My school orchestra just had its farewell concert and my partner and I rocked our duet! I just HAVE to share it with you all. The duet is a classic- Bach Violin Double in D minor. Below is a link to the music file along to which you can read while listening to us play. No, we did not play the entire piece. Yes, it is EXTREMELY difficult. And, Yes, we had so much fun.

Enjoy the music!

Music sheet: http://violinsheetmusic.org/classical/b/bach/bach-double-concerto-violin-2.pdf
(The music we are playing starts on page 5. The font is horrendous, but being a musician, I am used to horrendous-looking musical font. If it is too hard to read, or you just don't read treble clef, simply listening to the music will suffice! Mind you, my partner and I only play to page 6 of the piece. Enjoy!)

I must get back to eating croissants and stealing hearts!

Farewell, for now.