Back to Bach

Yesterday I went to the Early Music Festival in Greenwich.It was a little strange being in the area again. Attending a concert in St Alfege church as a member of the public was a little odd but not hugely so, despite the fact that the last time I was there was for my final recital. It was good to hear the Trinity recorders play as I've been doing some playing with recorders myself recently...

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...

The week ahead, the year ahead.

It's Monday, just barely. I've had a good couple of days of teaching, and got back to Trinity for the first time in 2009 today.I have a lunchtime recital to play in next Wednesday, so most of my practising goals this week are related to making sure I'm in good form for that. This means lots of long, gentle warm-ups, lots of mental study of the pieces I'll be playing and lots of playing through...

Exam Countdown Time

Only ten sleeps until my Performance Assessment. Only one weekend between me and it. The weighting is 50% on one solo piece, to be performed from memory, and 50% on everything else (technical exercises, orchestral extracts, sightreading and transposition). In addition there is a Pass/Fail Technical Portfolio which must be handed in: this will include details, analysis and evaluation of what I've...

Is it any wonder I don’t post much?

I've not been posting so much this past week; between having a cold, finishing up the last bits of moving house and trying to keep up with paperwork I've been short on computer time.I've just come out of an information session with representatives of Impromptu Publishing, who publish Muso magazine. They will have a stall in the UNPLUGGED section of the forthcoming London International Music Show,...

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...
Practising was unpleasant this morning. I've had three days in a row of not playing, and things never sound or feel quite right after that. It went reasonably well, though, so I think I'll be on track again by tomorrow.The reason for my non-practising yesterday is that I was attending a seminar presented by Open Rights Group, Creative Business in the Digital Era. The curriculum and various other...
The past few weeks have been a well-deserved rest from just about everything. I've been visiting family in Canada, and I've made the most of the opportunity to really have a good rest. It's been wonderful in many ways. I did some playing in church on Christmas Eve but haven't really picked up my horn since, which is maybe not so good.The few weeks before that were extremely busy and stressful,...