I'M FINALLY DONE!!!!!!!!!!

Woohoo!!!  Just emailed my paper to the prof.  And the best part is....it's thundering outside!!

.....now I can finally sleep.....even though I want IHOP.....but there's no one around or awake to go with me.....so i'll just sleep.....

.....and then maybe have a social life.....

~zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Program for Saturday

This is my first graduate harp recital studying under Faye Seeman at NIU. Ms Seeman is an incredible harpist who has helped me delve into my deepest musical reserves.

So here is my program everyone (I will post program notes later before my recital so stay tuned):

Sonatine opus 30----Marcel Tournier (1879-1951)
allegrement
calme et espressive

Red Quintet----Gustavo Leone (b. 1956)
*Ilana Waniuk, violin
*Alex Wang, violin
*David Lee, viola
*Jason Young, cello

Four Preludes for Two Harps----Tournier
tranquillo
pas trop vite
lent
allegro
*Assisted by Joanne King, harp

Birds in Winter----Michael Mauldin (b. 1947)
presto
allegretto
with precision
dolce
in one
con moto

***I am especially excited about the Red Quintet and Birds in Winter.

FIRE
Red Quintet is an extremely passionate piece inspired by the color red. It explores all the combination of sounds in the string instruments to bring this passion to life, mixing mesmerizing segments of free floating sounds to sections of calculated metrical movement.
ICE
Birds in Winter is a hauntingly beautiful serious of movements that are pictorally programmatic. I have interpreted this piece as a progression through the winter season, starting with the first snowfalls in the beginning, to the windy, frozen ice covered dead of winter in IV, echoes off the cold canyons in V, and spring finally returning with the melting snows in VI. Throughout the piece, birdcalls (or absence of) can literally be heard in the music. With this in mind, I invite everyone to let their minds wander and draw up whatever pictures the music inspires.

The Tournier pieces are also very expressive and beautiful.

I have really enjoyed exploring the depths of my musicality working on this program. I hope you enjoy it as well!

link to webcast

I forgot that this goes out in email and that ppl don't actually get onto my blog, so here's the link:

http://www.niu.edu/music/media/webcasts.shtml

World Music concert TODAY AT 3PM CT!!!!

I know its last minute....if you are at the computer today at 3pm CT, 2pm MT, or 4pm ET, then you can get online and watch via webcast the World Music concert today.  It is a concert with multiple ensembles from around the world.

I am playing the liuqin in the Chinese orchestra, which is the first 3 songs on the program.  It is going to be awsome.  So come watch if you're not at church!!

(link to the url on the right)

Announcements!!!!!

I have a couple of exciting announcements for everyone:

1)   My first Graduate Recital

I wanted to invite anyone that wanted to fly several hundred miles to come and watch me play my first harp recital here at Northern Illinois University in Dekalb, IL.
...........cricket....................

Yeah, that's what I thought.  On that note, I will also be broadcasting it through the NIU LIVE WEBCAST system.  That means that yes, while I am doing a sound recording, it will also be broadcast LIVE.  That means you still have to save the date to watch me, whether here in Dekalb or on your computer screen.

The date for my recital is APRIL 17, 2010 at 4:45 pm CENTRAL TIME.  I will be posting my program later when I know my piece order.  So Save the Date!!!!!

2)   Perfect Light Photo Gallery

I have just launched my new photo gallery site Perfect Light.  I love taking photos and this site allows me to share my photography with everyone.  There is not much there so far, but I will be expanding it over time as I take more photos.  Remember each thumbpriint is for a single post so there are multiple pictures for each post. Come visit, give your comments and spread the word!  (I have also added the URL link to side under my profile)

guess what.....

I WORE SANDALS TODAY!!!


....too bad it's going to rain slush tomorrow....

Asparagus

So Diane my landlady had a whole bunch of asparagus she didn't use; so I said I would eat it. I have always wanted to try roasted asparagus. However, asparagus was never a favorite vegetable growing up (sorry mom). My mom's favorite way to eat it is to boil it. And then I would smother it with ketchup. Sounds disgusting, but at least 2 of my sisters eat it that way too, and it's actually pretty good.

You can quite making barfing noises now.

Anyway, I've always wanted to roast them, since a lot of people cook asparagus that way. So I coated them in olive oil, seasoned pepper, salt, dill, and minced onions and roasted them in the oven. Let me tell you....that was probably the most delicious cooked vegetable I have ever eaten. It literally tasted gourmet and I was extremely sad when it was all gone.

So, turns out I do like asparagus (without ketchup). I think that is probably the way with most vegetables. Many people say they don't like them. Maybe that's because they haven't found the right way to cook or prepare them yet. It's a theory, anyway.

=0>

Happenings.

Ok, still trying to figure out how to get pictures off my camera. My dad sent me this cool transfer card thing and I'm trying to figure out how it works....when I get around to it hehe.
Yeah, I got this really nice cool camera for Christmas....Canon PowerShot SX20 IS with 12.1 mega pixels....yeah it's pretty sweet. I love taking photos, kinda wish I could do something with photography now. Who knows....it has become a hobby at any rate.

So yeah we got to stay at home (Dallas) for Christmas this year. It was really nice not to have to travel, and to get a real tree!! I love trees. Also my grandparents came down which was really cool because I don't get to see them too often like my sisters do. Usually my dad's brother's family would come too, but we didn't get to see them this year, mostly because my cousin in law was about to have her twins!! Exciting!! I can't wait to see them. Anyway, it was a good Christmas, but I did miss my cousins and playing games all day with them. :(

Update: For those that knew I was dating someone, we are no more (in case you didn't get that memo somehow). Just to set the record straight, I am single at the moment.

School so far has been good...ish. I'm taking a research class and it is not my favorite class. It's not hard necessarily, but time-consuming with lots of little assignments on top of a huge research paper. I'm also taking Music History review, which I actually like...except I have to write another research paper for that. I'm going to be super busy after this weekend.
Flipside, I love Faye Seeman (harp teacher). While the school ensemble-wise is not offering me what I'm capable of, I would not trade my time with Ms Seeman for anything. She is trully amazing and has helped me grow as a harpist so much and really understands how to teach. Speaking of teaching, I have 3 students: 8, 10, and one older adult. I love it.

I am also learning to play the Liuqin, which is a small version of a Pipa. They are Chinese instruments and I am learning liu chin for a silk and bamboo ensemble that we are putting together to perform in April. It's a lot of fun, and our teacher (visiting from China) is a lot of fun to work with. She knows how to play every chinese instrument and even conducts chinese orchestras in China. If it is broadcast, I will let you know. :)

Technical Error...

So apparently no one got to see me play. According to a couple ppl I have talked to, the webcast cut off at the end of the violinist. As it happens, I was in the next piece. I don't know what happened but the feed cut out or timed out.

So if you feel bad because you think it ended and you missed me, don't worry; you didn't. Joys of technology.

Philharmonic Concert tomorrow Feb. 9th

Hi all!!

Well, it's that time again....I have my first Northern Illinois Philharmonic Concert of 2010 via LIVE WEBCAST.....TOMORROW NIGHT at 8:00PM CENTRAL TIME. Yeah, I know....I kinda forgot that I actually had the concert until this weekend, and I've been so bad about posting on my blog lately that I forgot to post about it....so sorry.

In my defense, while you might get to see me, I am only playing on one piece and you probably won't hear me except maybe in one part.

This concert is the Concerto winner concert...and the Chamber Choir concert. We are sharing....I know. Unfortunately I can't post the exact program because they do not have it printed anywhere. To top it off, I don't know which one is first on the concert. If you turn on the webcast and it is choir, then you can probably wait at least 20-30 minutes. I don't know how long the choir is singing. In the Philharmonic half, there are these pieces (these are not necessarily in order):

Violin Concerto by Sibelius - this one is very beautiful and worth listening to
Marimba Concerto by Keiko Abe - I play in this one and it is AWSOME....even if I don't play much.
Piano Concerto - I really don't know anything about this one, except it is a piano concerto.

Here is the link to the LIVE WEBCAST:
http://www.niu.edu/music/media/webcasts.shtml

Spread the Word (promise I'll give more warning next time)!!!