A land like no other
In July of last summer I took a trip to Iceland and Greenland, with my brother, and as I'm writing this it's surreal to realize that it was about six months ago when we embarked on that adventure. After I returned, I ended up with kidney stones (again) from eating too much lamb (yes, really), and then I had to return to my normal routine of working at the Sutter County Superintendent of Schools, teaching piano lessons, continuing my recording projects and preparing for several concerts. It was the classic "hit the ground running" scenario.
One of the exciting outcomes is that I composed a song called "The Ice Floes of Kulusuk," which was inspired by the majestic and stunning scenery I came across while visiting Greenland for three days. Kulusuk is the name of the village where we stayed, and I'm happy to announce that I'll be performing this piece in a solo concert coming up in March. I've been practicing it repeatedly, especially today, which is quite apparent as I'm feeling the inklings of pre-carpal tunnel symptoms even as I type. The great news is that I can talk about my experience in Greenland while interacting with the audience during the concert.
Musicians stepping up during times of crisis
Everyone now knows about the horrors and the terrifying stories shared by the Camp Fire victims, especially people like myself, who live just a half an hour away from Paradise (my town of Chico is just a hop-skip-and-jump from the burn area). Musicians all over Chico have been donating their instruments to fire victims who lost their instruments in the blaze, and it's been inspiring for everyone. Two of my students were affected by the fire, and I had several family members that lost their homes. In light of the tragedy and all the inspiring efforts by members in the community, I'll also be performing at the Paradise Performing Arts Center on February 8th, where the Baha'is of Chico and other community members will be having a memorial for the 86 people who lost their lives in the event.
I'm hoping to donate proceeds from my March concert as well, maybe to some of the Paradise reconstruction efforts. Either way I'm excited for the event, since there are several other musicians performing (and no, not just because I'll have fewer songs to practice :P ).
Why the majority of my colleagues think I'm insane
I performed at the Chico Women's Club for the second time, back in September. The concert seemed to go well, although there were only about 35 people or so, and I was somewhat sleep-deprived by the time I walked onto the stage because I had been going non-stop since 7:30 in the morning. There's a lot of prepping that goes into it, especially when you factor in food, sound checks, set-up time, ticket booths, etc. For my March concert, part of my plan is to have everything ready and set up about two days before the show.
Undoubtedly, this "have-everything-ready-ahead-of-time" approach is a wise way to go, but the "insane" part is that I scheduled a recital for my students on the same day. I mainly did this because it's more efficient economically -- both the recital and the solo concert will be at the Chico Women's Club, with just a few hours in between. I'm not too worried about feeling burned out when evening hits because I plan to actually sleep the night before (what a concept!) and the most strenuous activity required of me during the recital will be standing at a microphone and announcing the next performer.
The exciting part of the solo concert is that I plan to feature a local harp player as well as one of my composition students, who each plan to play two pieces. The best part of this is that the performance is still eight weeks away, which still gives me lots of time to practice, and I've already decided on the playlist. Maybe this time I'll be able to walk onto the stage without feeling like I'm going to fall asleep ;)
In July of last summer I took a trip to Iceland and Greenland, with my brother, and as I'm writing this it's surreal to realize that it was about six months ago when we embarked on that adventure. After I returned, I ended up with kidney stones (again) from eating too much lamb (yes, really), and then I had to return to my normal routine of working at the Sutter County Superintendent of Schools, teaching piano lessons, continuing my recording projects and preparing for several concerts. It was the classic "hit the ground running" scenario.
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| Kulusuk, Greenland |
One of the exciting outcomes is that I composed a song called "The Ice Floes of Kulusuk," which was inspired by the majestic and stunning scenery I came across while visiting Greenland for three days. Kulusuk is the name of the village where we stayed, and I'm happy to announce that I'll be performing this piece in a solo concert coming up in March. I've been practicing it repeatedly, especially today, which is quite apparent as I'm feeling the inklings of pre-carpal tunnel symptoms even as I type. The great news is that I can talk about my experience in Greenland while interacting with the audience during the concert.
Musicians stepping up during times of crisis
Everyone now knows about the horrors and the terrifying stories shared by the Camp Fire victims, especially people like myself, who live just a half an hour away from Paradise (my town of Chico is just a hop-skip-and-jump from the burn area). Musicians all over Chico have been donating their instruments to fire victims who lost their instruments in the blaze, and it's been inspiring for everyone. Two of my students were affected by the fire, and I had several family members that lost their homes. In light of the tragedy and all the inspiring efforts by members in the community, I'll also be performing at the Paradise Performing Arts Center on February 8th, where the Baha'is of Chico and other community members will be having a memorial for the 86 people who lost their lives in the event.
I'm hoping to donate proceeds from my March concert as well, maybe to some of the Paradise reconstruction efforts. Either way I'm excited for the event, since there are several other musicians performing (and no, not just because I'll have fewer songs to practice :P ).
Why the majority of my colleagues think I'm insane
I performed at the Chico Women's Club for the second time, back in September. The concert seemed to go well, although there were only about 35 people or so, and I was somewhat sleep-deprived by the time I walked onto the stage because I had been going non-stop since 7:30 in the morning. There's a lot of prepping that goes into it, especially when you factor in food, sound checks, set-up time, ticket booths, etc. For my March concert, part of my plan is to have everything ready and set up about two days before the show.
Undoubtedly, this "have-everything-ready-ahead-of-time" approach is a wise way to go, but the "insane" part is that I scheduled a recital for my students on the same day. I mainly did this because it's more efficient economically -- both the recital and the solo concert will be at the Chico Women's Club, with just a few hours in between. I'm not too worried about feeling burned out when evening hits because I plan to actually sleep the night before (what a concept!) and the most strenuous activity required of me during the recital will be standing at a microphone and announcing the next performer.
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| Chico Women's Club (Chico, CA) |
The exciting part of the solo concert is that I plan to feature a local harp player as well as one of my composition students, who each plan to play two pieces. The best part of this is that the performance is still eight weeks away, which still gives me lots of time to practice, and I've already decided on the playlist. Maybe this time I'll be able to walk onto the stage without feeling like I'm going to fall asleep ;)
