I really hate it when I let myself get my hopes up.  Doesn't even matter what it is....I try not to let it happen because it always turns out badly.  Am I bad person for that? Am I a hypocrite because I tell people they should take risks when maybe I'm too scared to make them myself?  I hope not.

I'M BACK IN ACTION!!!

Hello there!  (again)  I am back.  I have been busy and kinda forgot that I had a blog, but I'm going to do my best to keep it up now.  Being out here so far away and doing music, with so many 'fans' of my harp playing (thank you very much to all my family for supporting me in my endeavors), I know many people like to keep up to date with what is going on with me all the way out here in the heart of the midwest, branching out of the comfort zone and conformity of the place called BYU, where ALL my family has gone before and after.

Don't get me wrong...I love it that everyone is out west (or in TX of course).  Gives me places to visit, as soon as my busy schedule will allow of course.  I wholeheartedly support you and BYU!!!!  It just wasn't the place for me.  At least not then.  Who knows, anything is possible I guess.  Anyways....

Well, for those who need catching up, I am unofficially finished with my Masters degree in Music, and am now in my final semester (I hope) of pursuing a Performance Certificate from Northern Illinois University.  Basically, I practice lots of music and perform recitals for a year.  It's pretty intense, but I like the program at NIU because they give you a lot of freedom with how you want to go about it.  This year I am focusing on contemporary music, both solo and chamber ensembles.  It has been a lot of work, and I'm no where near finished, but I will update you with how things go.  Just be warned, there may not be much to report since all I'm doing is practicing.  Well, at least for school.  I am pursuing a couple other projects as well, which I will tell you about as they hopefully get up and running soon.

I am also currently working at the Kishwaukee YMCA as the Masters league swim coach.  It has been a good growing experience for me as a swim coach.  I am also trying to get into helping out doing some coaching with the age group team...my real love is working with kids, as everyone who knows me really well already knows.  I am also still teaching private harp through the NIU Community School for the Arts.  I am excited to get back to teaching soon.

Well, that's it for now.  Congratulations, if you've read this far.  I won't be a stranger if you won't!  Feel free to comment on any of my posts (link at bottom or under post title) or Follow by blog.  It's nice to know if anyone actually reads it, makes me feel more connected to the outside world.  If not, that's fine too...either way, it'll be good for me. ;)  TATA!!

To all my beloved friends and family......

Who would have thought such profound wisdom would come from someone so small . . . :)

"There is something you must always remember; you are braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think. But the most important thing is, even if we're apart, I'll always be with you."

~Winnie the Pooh

NIU Philharmonic Concerto Concert -- tonight at 8pm CT via webcast

Hey....don't have long but wanted to remind a couple of you that tonight is the first NIU Philharmonic Concert of the spring.  It starts at 8pm central time and will be on LIVE WEBCAST.  You should know the drill by now.  The link for the webcast is on the right side column of my blog, michelleheuer.blogspot.com.

It is going to be a good concert, as it is the winners of the concerto contest.  Nope, no harp.  My friend did audition with the Ginastera harp concerto, and in my opinion it should have been one of the winners....it sounds way cooler than some of the concertos on the concert.  But enough about the stupid politics of NIU.

I only play on one concerto....the very last piece on the concert.  It is a piano concerto by Ravel, and everything by Ravel is really good.  His Introduction and Allegro was the piece that I did to win the Undergraduate Concerto Competition at Ball State.
I'm not sure what time I'll be playing, since I'm last, so to watch me you'll have to stay tuned.  I'm going to guess at least 9pm, but like I said, I'm not sure how long the concert will be.  However, I do have a solo section in it, so you should definitely be able to hear me.  :)

Forward this post to anyone who you think would want to watch.  See y'all tonight!!

Happenings.....

Hi!!!  I know it's been WAY too long.  Well, let me catch you up real quick.

This semester has been really super uber busy.  Short story version:  I needed 3 classes to graduate in May.  They were all only offered in the Fall.  So I had to take Music History Review II, Performance Awareness through Movement, and a theory elective, plus a chamber ensemble credit, plus lessons.  So I had 11 credits, which by the way is a TON  for a music grad student.  My theory elective ended up being Music Theory Pedagogy, a class where we talk about different teaching strategies for theory.  There was a ton of reading, writing papers, assignments, and article/book reviews.  Plus planning a 14 lesson syllabus and a final paper about my theory teaching philosophy.  Yuck.  I really like the class, but it was soooo much more work than what I bargained for.  As many ppl know, I am not very scholarly and hate writing papers.  I also had to write papers for my other 2 classes.  Also, my chamber piece took up the whole first half of my semester....the Caplet Masque of the Red Death.  It was an amazing experience, but there was a ton of rehearsing to do since it is a very hard piece.  So between rehearsing for the Caplet, and doing all my other class's assignments, I hardly had any time to practice this semester...which is bad because my recital is coming up in April, two of the pieces for which I am also doing a competition in June.  Plus, I am auditioning for the Chicago Civic Orchestra in March and that is going to take a lot of time as well.  Crossing my fingers that I get it, that would be awesome!!!

So there it is....my semester in a nutshell.  The only good thing about this semester is that I am officially DONE WITH CLASSES!!!!  That's right....all I will have to do is my big recital.  No more papers, no more reading, no more tests....just practicing all day long.   Woohooo!!!!!  I am really excited for that part.

Well, besides being so incredibly busy and often stressed out this semester, it is finally finals week and I will be driving home with my harp next week.  Provided it doesn't snow and close down the roads.  Then I have to wait.  But hopefully the roads will be clear enough to drive without problems.  I am a seasoned winter driver now, being up here in the midwest for so long, so I don't think it will be too bad getting home.  Again, fingers crossed!!

Sorry for neglecting my blog.  I know everyone likes to get updates on how I'm doing....I've just been going through a lot with school and such that I just haven't really had time, or really thought about it for that matter.  But for now on I am going to do better!!  Promise.  Love to all!!!!

Britten Ceremony of Carols--Live Webcast!!!

Hi everyone....I know it's really super last minute, but I wanted to let you know that I will be playing harp on the NIU Christmas Choral Concert, TODAY (Sunday) at 3pm EASTERN TIME.  That means 2pm mountain, and 4 pm eastern.  I usually don't announce things I play on Sundays because I don't want to interrupt anyone from church.  However, if you happen to be home with an internet connection, this is a really cool piece with choir and harp.  In the middle I even have a solo, which is a pretty well known solo in the harp repertoire.  So if you get this, you can tune in online and watch via LIVE WEBCAST.  The link is on the bottom of the page. 

Ceremony of Carols by Benjamin Britten
--choir and harp

I am not at the beginning....more like the third piece or second choir into the program.  So if you don't tune in right on time that is ok, you won't miss me.


Link to webcast:  http://www.niu.edu/music/media/webcasts.shtml

Love.

Everyone deserves someone who will love them, care for them, and uplift them despite their imperfections.  Everyone deserves someone who will help them and support them in their weaknesses.  Everyone deserves someone who genuinely strives to understand you, and who will never give up on you even if you have already given up on yourself.

Everyone deserves to be loved like that.  There are no exceptions.  

And when you realize you are loved like that, there should be no more reason not to be happy with who you are.  

Keep Living.

Living fully are those who fight;

Whose soul and brow are filled with definite purpose,

Who climb up the fierce summit of a high destiny, 

Who walk pensive, enthralled with a sublime goal,

Unceasingly looking forward, day and night,

To some holy task or some great love.

~Victor Hugo

       Excerpt from Les Châtiments

Brahms Requiem

Hi everyone!  It's been a while.  Sorry I've never posted, or haven't in a long time...I've been so busy that I keep forgetting about it.  Anyway, it's that time of year again.  I am playing a couple things this semester with the NIU Philharmonic Orchestra. I'm sorry it's such late notice...I was thinking that the performance was next week instead of this week.

The first concert I am playing on is THIS WEDNESDAY OCTOBER 20TH, 2010 at 8:00PM CENTRAL TIME (7pm mountain, and 9pm eastern).  And, like the others before, it will be WEBCAST LIVE (see link on the right column of my blog), which means you can watch (or just listen) online in HD!! (In case you are new to the webcast, they recommend that you get the latest updates in Adobe Reader and Flash Player, especially if you experience problems.  Links to do that are on the Webcast page, I believe)

So tell all your friends and family, it's going to be an awesome performance....especially because I am in it! 

There is only one piece on this concert, because it is very long:

Ein deutsches Requiem by Johannes Brahms (1833-1897)

- for Choir and Orchestra

This is a very beautiful piece by Brahms. Personally, I think Brahms is one of the most expressive composers of the 19th c. 

Program Notes:

    Brahms’ text seeks to comfort the living who must deal with and accept death. Just 33 years old when he completed the bulk of A German Requiem, Brahms already had a very personal perspective on mourning. The requiem had begun to gestate in Brahms’ mind a decade earlier, in response to the untimely and protracted death of his close friend and mentor, Robert Schumann: And there can be little doubt that the death of Brahms’ mother in February 1865, spurred him on to complete the work.

    A German Requiem, however, is not simply a memorial to the composer’s mother or mentor, but a message of hope for us all. Brahms took great pains putting together his text, piecing together fragments from throughout the Bible to create a tapestry of solace.

    The musical form is a tightly wrought edifice, a seven movement arch with the music of brightest comfort at its center. The first and last movements echo each other in conveying blessings, first upon the mourners, finally upon the dead. The second and sixth movements are the darkest (and longest). The third and fifth movements feature soloists in meditations, the baritone seeking hope, the soprano bestowing it. Nestled in the middle is the shortest movement, the gorgeous chorus of tranquility, “How Lovely Is Thy Dwelling Place.”

For complete notes about this piece, visit the below link (or google for other sites):

http://www.cascadianchorale.org/brahmsrequiumnotes.htm

For the chorale text and translation, visit this link:

http://hector.ucdavis.edu/evenings/TEXTS/MoreTxts/BrahmsReq.htm

 Harp in the Requiem

~There are two harpists in this piece: myself and Annie, a senior harpist at NIU.  Although we only play on Movements I, II, and the very end of VII, the piece is well worth listening to in its entirety, even if you are not specifically watching it. It is great background music as well. It is very beautiful and the choir does a very good job considering the magnitude of the piece.  The harp parts are also very exposed...so you should be able to hear us for most of our playing.  In addition there are 2 solo parts that I play.  The first is at the very end of Mvt. I, the second is at the very end of the piece, in Mvt. VII.  I think that's cool because it ends the way it started, and ends with the harp.  :)

  

I know it's last minute, but if you can, save the date for WEDNESDAY OCTOBER 20TH, 8PM CENTRAL TIME.

~P.S.  Oh, and for those who were wondering, the header photo on my blog was indeed taken by me.  =)  For those who only get my email, you should click on the link to my actual blog page (michelleheuer.blogspot.com)...it looks way cooler up there. You will actually have to do that anyway to find the link for the live webcast.  And you can comment on my posts if you like as well (when I finally have time to post anyway...)

just hang in there.

From Small and Simple Things by Marjorie Pay Hinkley:

It's a common saying, but one that gives us heart: "When the going gets tough, the tough get going."  when trials and tribulations come, we can just hang tight and keep doing our best and things will eventually get better.

And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience.

~Romans 5:3