Music and Livelihood

I am not going to be able to work as a performer for the rest of my life. There are a number of reasons for this, and none of them are up for discussion in this post, but my current strategy is not working and is unsustainable. However, I am a musician through and through: when I am not making music I am pretty miserable. So I've been thinking lately about how to make a living as a musician,...

To everything there is a season.

In May 2000 I moved to London. To Hendon, precisely. My plan was to teach music and convert to Judaism and, eventually, marry the boy I was chasing. I was nineteen.I don't remember how long after moving there I got my first piano student in the area, but it wasn't a desperately long time. She was a lovely older lady who'd been on a "singing for the brain" course and wanted to study the piano in...

Still ticking.

What have I been up to?I'm learning to play the organ. This is a lot of fun, but rather difficult. I try to play the right hand line with my right hand, the left hand line with my left hand, and the pedal line with my other left hand. It's going well, though; I've played at a few services, and a funeral, and I have a few more lined up. I'm also rehearsing a lot with the Brigantia Consort. No, we...

External validation

Yesterday was my graduation ceremony: I got to dress up in very silly clothes and was given a piece of paper confirming that I have done the work and can put letters after my name. It was a happy occasion, and a slightly surreal experience.I have observed, as have many other graduates, that I couldn't have finished the degree without the help and support I received from family, friends, and...

Results, moving on and settling in…

Where to start?I got my degree. Specifically, I have been awarded a Bachelor of Music (Hons), Second Class Honours, Upper Division. In ordinary terms that's known as a 2:1 in the British system. I had a celebratory recital on 10th July. I'm listening to a recording now, to try and make a CD to hand on to someone who couldn't be there. It's interesting... a note in the Mozart that I had pegged as...
It's been a busy week and it isn't even done yet.Monday I was teaching, then wandered around a bit and found a silk sari for £5 in a charity shop. That prompted me to come home and do some simple sewing, so I now have two new sarongs (hey, I said it was simple), lovely and cool for the hot weather. I was absolutely shattered, unsurprising after my late night on Sunday.Yesterday was a day of...

Back to work

Friday was indeed a lovely rest day. I sat around and ate too much toast and read some of a rather grim book by Ayn Rand. Classes have re-started; this is the last stretch before exams. It's good to be back, but I'm already very busy. Yesterday I didn't get much practise in at all, partly because of leaving home a bit late and partly because of problems on the Docklands Light Railway. I walked...

General Update

First of all, I have to say I'm quite pleased with the grade I received on my last Arrangement assignment: 80%! Yay!I've got another one due on Thursday. In a few minutes I'll be off to the keyboard lab to work on it and have it checked over for obvious glaring errors. Congratulations are due to my three piano students who took exams in December. All of them worked very hard, and all of them...