Music of the Week

^-^ Introducing the Don Juan Symphony, by Richard Strauss.

I'm going to see the MSU Symphony perform this at the Wharton Center tomorrow. This piece is absolutely terrific, and will definitely keep me, if not all the rest of the audience (even those who are texting in the next row down), on the edge of my seat. This is one of the most difficult-to-play scores ever written for orchestra, according to my violin instructor. And if he thinks it's hard, it's probably enough to blow the mind of any average person, 'cause the guy can play.

Notice the conductor's interesting way of directing:

^.^ Tomorrow, the orchestra is also performing Beethoven's Ninth, which includes the choir; so, *squee*---I can't wait to hear the choir and orchestra together.

Picture of the Week

Psalm 39:11b: You consume as a moth what is precious to him; surely every man is a mere breath. 

Psalm 139: 7-10: Where can I go from Your spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence? If I ascend to Heaven, You are there; if I make my bed in Hell, behold, You are there.  If I take the wings of the dawn, if I dwell in the remotest part of the sea, even there Your hand will lead me, and Your right hand will lay hold of me.

Music of the Week

This is a piece that our conductor threw in for us to perform; we had used it for sight-reading practice, and liked it, so they added it to the program. It's pretty easy, and quite fun. The 'squeaks' are made by sliding one's hand up the shoulder of the instrument. Everybody loves those.

This is one of my favorite songs from The Lord of the Rings soundtrack (though all the pieces are epic). I sang this at a performing arts contest last summer; and believe me, it's trial-some for a lyric soprano. Definitely makes me work on my lower register.

Aren't I a Genius?

Forgo the grammar issue for a moment, dear Reader. Yes, my genius self has discovered a new way through which to obtain a concussion. No, I didn't actually get a concussion when I did it, just a bit of a head-smack. But it is possible, and I'm thoroughly convinced of it, to actually crack one's head open performing the following stunt.

You're probably thinking, "Kayla, your head already is cracked," and I won't deny the statement. But my most recent episode unfolded in the following manner:

I've always liked to go down stairs in a unique way. Sort of bound down them with a dotted-sixteenth rythm, and then skip the last two steps, hanging onto the railing and sort of sliding epically into the laundry room. Well, this time, everything went absolutely normal until the last bit. I was wearing wool socks, you see, and they slide gloriously well on a hardwood floor. They slid a little bit too well on the concrete when I made my triumphant leap off the steps, and, well, you can imagine the rest. Because I was still holding onto the rail, I didn't hit very hard at all. But I spent a few moments thinking of how much worse it could have been.

Will I learn from my crash, and change the method in which I traverse the steps? Not a chance. I will, however, not be so cocky when flinging myself off of them.

Oh, and the real reason for this blog post is actually my newest poem. Enjoy:

Journey

Midway through the tread of time
I stepped onto the road
With eyes cast down to mind the ruts
Precariously forward strode

Though scanned with mortal perception
Some pit would catch a hold
My cloak, though black and heavy
Did not fend off the bitter cold

A little further onward
And did my eyes perceive
A strange and stately figure
Hastening to meet me

We had but spoken little
When he suddenly took hold
And changed my blackened garment
For a dripping crimson robe

From that moment forward
Though still toiling up the road
His hand anchored when I stumbled
His presence made me bold

When at length, and weary-worn
I came to the shore of the sea
I left the sands of Time behind
And turned toward Eternity

I could not see the distant shore
My feet no longer felt the ground
I kicked my tattered shoes off
And He pulled me, safe and sound

And carried me up the opposite shore
And I, with awestruck delight
Looked down upon my garment
To see it gleam the purest white.

Music of the Week

All the Strange, Strange Creatures

Poetry for Thought

Maestro, Please

Sit back now, O Listeners;
But shortly you will not be
The breathing wood of the framework here,
Scarcely can strive to contain you!

The curtains ascend and the silence unbends;
The Maestro has ordered a rally!
The bows fling you forward into unfathomed sea,
Bring you out of your close-minded alley

Harp strings sing golden, piccolos ebony
Brass scatters pearls, percussion hard diamonds;
String section pours out cascades of sapphires
That rise to sweep blazing 'cross Heaven's empire!

The oboes reach deeper to lead you down under
To forests of emerald waves;
Streams of quicksilver from woodwinds do quiver
And guide you upward to behold:

Sun's blazing chorus, burns right o'er the surface;
You touch it as you break from the sea!
Fortissimo astounds you, fermata swells 'round you,
And the orchestra returns you to your seat.


~One of my recent projects.

Revive the Thing

Okay.

I did not abandon my blog. Really, no. It could take care of itself for a little while, don't you think? But at last its wailing has brought me back around (perhaps a wee bit late?) and I'm going to try and breath some life back into it.

The past couple of months have been cram-packed with stuff. Good, wholesome stuff that took precedence over ole' bloggy here. I participated in two solo and ensembles, one for voice and one for violin; I worked at a health fair run by the hospital; I performed in two concerts; and in general my days were filled with much practicing and schoolwork. I calculated it out that if I keep on the way I am, I can finish 11th grade by the beginning of May. And then I shall start 12th grade immediately (well, somewhere within a couple months of that), and try to graduate this year. Yes, as in, be done with grade school forever. Aha!

For solo and ensemble (for those of you who don't know what that is, it's when you perform for a judge and that judge rates your performance on a scale of 5-1, 5 being the worst. Those who get 1's get to go to States) I got a 1 for voice, and a 2 for violin, so I'm going to go to States in a couple of weeks to perform again. Orchestra and choir are each performing at Festival, which is basically the same thing as solo and ensemble, except that the whole group performs. Exciting, eh?

So, yes; there is still much coming up in my life. At this very moment, my father and two of my brothers are collecting sap from my grandfather's sugar maple trees. Yesterday they gathered 400 gallons of the stuff, and hopefully they'll get just as much today. It takes about 40 gallons of sap to make 1 gallon of maple syrup, so really, it doesn't amount to much when you consider how many families we have to split this between.

Recently I've started helping with one of the younger choral groups in the Homeschool Music association. Now, my job is really to help the little noisemakers to sing their parts (it's a two-part chorus, so they're not all singing the same thing) and help them stay with the conductor and such. I'm not sure how much singing we actually get done, though, because all of these children are anywhere from six to eleven, and what they like to do best is chatter. For instance, one of the youngest boys told me, during practice, that he could put a whole banana in his mouth. Whether or not he really could, it wasn't relevant to the song that we were singing! The conductor's two youngsters are also in the room with us during class, and they seem to keep themselves occupied by ramming each other into chairs with the stroller.

I've also written a couple of poems in the past couple of months, which I shall put up shortly. One is an amusing ballad that involves a dragon and stubbed shins, and the other has to do with orchestra.

Waving from beyond the Edge of the Universe,

Yaya

(Oh, and did I mentioned that I am a published poet? Yes, indeed; I entered Awaken Life in a contest and got it published in an anthology.)