Summertime

Once again I have fallen into the no practice mode of summertime. After chamber music class stopped in April, I haven't felt compelled. Did join my husband to play continuo at some early music recorder workshop sessions. The music was pleasant and within my range for sightreading.

Vacation begins in two weeks -- I'll be off to China for 33 days to study Mandarin and plan to spend a couple of days at the Shanghai Expo. Then my sister-in-law invited me to join her at a Eastern European Folk Life Workshop in upstate New York for the second week in August.

August 23rd school starts and I begin working on my Master's Degree.

Neat

The magnet school I help out has been just listed as one of six finalists in the White House Commencement Challenge. Pretty neat, huh? http://www.whitehouse.gov/photos-and-video/video/notifying-commencement-challenge-finalists

One Down One To Go

We had about 10 minutes to rehearse before the recital with the guest violinist. Last movement went too slow but we'll get another chance to play on Friday. I'm surprised at how well one can hear the cello part even with the mute on :)

Grueling GRE

I took the GRE this morning. It was NOT easy. My friends had given me conflicting reports. Some said it was a breeze while others said it was the worse thing ever. I did do a little preparatory work. Looked over a couple of practice tests which was a good thing because some of the vocabulary and questions did appear on the test today. I ran out of time on the quantitative section and had to guess the final 15 answers. I'm not used to working without a calculator. Despite this, my unofficial scores should be adequate for my major.

Two Concerts

Last night a friend gave me tickets to New World Symphony's Baroque Concert. They played a nifty little piece by Jean-Marie LeClair called "Glaucus and Scylla". It was originally an opera but rearranged for orchestra. LeClair also had the honor of being among murdered composers. Being isolated, he was found dead two months later clutching his red Strad violin.

Today, we went to see my chamber music teacher's concert of twentieth century music. Here's an excerpt of one of the more interesting pieces.