My first page-turning experience...

was, in a word, nerve-racking. As I mentioned briefly at the end of my last post, I had been asked to act as a page-turner for the pianist at a concert today. This wasn't just any concert, it was a concert put on by [apparently] one of Australia's best cellists, an extremely accomplished pianist, and a fantastic clarinettist - meaning that there was a huge amount of pressure on my shoulders to not stuff up anything. Unfortunately I had never done any amount of page-turning before - not even at home - so I was already feeling quite nervous. The rehearsal did absolutely nothing to help my nerves, especially with quite a large audience gathering 1 hour and 15 minutes before the concert! I hadn't felt so nervous since... well actually last time I performed, because I did this enormous stuff-up in which I totally forgot what to play and had to 'fudge it' (aka improvise) for about 15 bars... anyway, I was feeling extremely nervous. Enjoying the beautiful music only helped a little, because I had to pay such rigid attention to following the music so I wouldn't get lost. While it was a good experience and I was delighted to be able to help in some way, it wasn't exactly the sort of thing I would choose to do for fun. It is unbelievably easy to make a mistake that could ruin the performance, or even the whole concert.

On the bright side, I was given the privilege of meeting and getting to know David Pereira, which I'm very pleased about. I was also very happy to be able to do a favour for the pianist, who has done lots of things for me in the past.

The moral of the story is that I now have a proper appreciation for page-turners and what they have to go through. To anyone in the world who's ever done page-turning - thank you for making a difference by offering your services, and I can now empathise with you.

And now I shall go find a CD so I can hear what Beethoven's Clarinet Trio IV actually sounds like without the sound of a heart thumping 180 beats per minute...

My exam is OVER!

Yes, it's almost too good to be true! Don't get me wrong, I thoroughly enjoyed preparing for it and I'm 100% glad I did it, but it's so good to have it behind me and know that I don't have to do anything now except wait for my results.

For those of you who are wondering what I'm going on about, I had an AMEB Theory of Music exam this morning. It started at 9:30 am, so we had to get up at 5:45 am to get ready and leave on time. We arrived at the Institute of Technology at 8:30, so I had plenty of time to sit around and get nervous. Finding a couple of people I knew quickly made me feel more at ease, though. A very musical homeschooling family we know from Yass had a daughter doing a theory exam, too, so I spent some time chatting with them.

As for the exam, it was significantly different to the practice tests I had done - but not really any harder. I was caught off guard for a couple of questions, but I think I got enough right to at least pass... Thanks to those who helped me out - you know who you are.

Anyway, the main thing is it's over now. No more exam pressure for 10 whole months!! Maybe now I can actually get some practice done. Which reminds me - on Saturday we're attending a concert which is being put on by David Pereira (apparently one of Australia's best cellists), and 2 local musicans (1 is my old music teacher and the other is my accompanist whenever I have to perform somewhere :-P) and I have been asked to be a page turner!! It's only for one piece for the pianist, but I'm 100% excited to be involved in a concert by David Pereira!

Introducing... Vella, Edgar & Alexander!

At last I have names AND photos of all my instruments! Okay, so the piano's not mine - much as I wish it was. But I still feel like I own a part of it... or it owns a part of me. Anyway, this first photo is Vella, my flute. She's got a rather interesting story behind her name. We (Caitlyn and I) were in search of a name - or rather were trying to discover which name belonged to her, because we believe that everything has its own name and you just have to discover it, or so we like to think. Anyway, we providentially ran out of rabbit pellets at the same time as our usual animal feed store, so we had to buy some from a different store. The different brand of rabbit pellets was called "Vella." It didn't take us long to realize it was perfect. It started with 'V' (the 2 flute teachers at the ANU School of Music both have names starting with V), it suited her character, and we later found out that the name meant "beautiful." So she is essentially named after a brand of rabbit pellets. 

This is Edgar. Edgar means "wealthy, magnificent, or royal spear," or something along those linges. Obviously the spear bit doesn't apply, but it was nice to have a name that described the magnificent royalty which is present in all pianos. Taking this photo brought into sharp realization the true difficulty of taking photos of shiny, reflective objects!! If only you could have seen me balancing on the stool trying not to be in the reflection when I was taking this photo...

Last, but not least, is Alexander, who has been introduced previously. Not much of a story behind his name, but we all agree it suits his colour and tonal qualities. Interestingly enough, a cellist who started coming to a local music ensemble about the same time that I started playing bassoon in it also happens to be as crazy as me to name her cello - and coincidentally she named it Alexander too! It feels good to know that Alexander (the bassoon) will have a friend - and one with the same name, for that matter.

I know, the photo emphasises the piano more than the bassoon - I couldn't help it, though, as I didn't have anything else to stand the bassoon against that didn't look worse. I thought the bassoon and piano looked quite elegant together, though.

By the way, if anyone has any tips on how to take good photos of shiny objects, I'd love to hear them!

Openness

I'm not sure if that's the correct spelling, or if 'openness' is even a proper word. But it's something that's really been on my heart lately. One thing (of many) that really frustrates me is secretiveness, and I'm absolutely convinced that less of it - and consequently more openness - would solve a lot of the problems in our society. I'm constantly shocked at how much of their thoughts or feelings people will try to hide. I can only wonder how much more is hidden that we can't even detect. What frustrates me even more is that more often than not, these people don't really even have a good reason for hiding their thoughts! Maybe they do it because that's the way they've always done it, or because their family did it and they followed suit - however, the most common 'reason' seems to be that they will not volunteer extra information to someone unless the other person does it to them first. This just creates a bad case of circular reasoning; "I won't do it unless s/he does it and s/he won't do it unless I do it." So many people are left wondering what their friends, acquantaintances, and even family members are thinking just because they aren't open enough with each other! Imagine the problems this causes in their relationships. I can hardly think of something worse than 'friends' not being able to share with each other everything they're thinking.

Which brings me to another reason (which is relievingly more reasonable than the others) for lack of openness - the fear of offending someone. While there are a few people who can (and will) take offense very easily, I believe that the vast majority of people will respond very well to honest and genuine openness. The very fact that you care enough about your relationship with the person to bring up a topic like being open with each other should be enough to convince the friend that your intentions are sincere.

It's interesting being able to hear about people's own experiences with this. Half the people I see are convinced that if they told their friends what they really thought, they might take offense. The other half think that their friends are hiding things from them, creating a kind of barrier in the relationship. See the problem?

I happen to know quite a few people who are very open and will not hesitate to tell you exactly what they think, be it good or bad. Even though I am not particularly close to any of these people, I feel so much more comfortable when I'm around them, because I know that they aren't hiding anything from me. Besides, if I have a fault (and I know that I have plenty!) I really want to know about it so I can do something to fix it! Personally, I can't see any benefits from people not being open with me. I guarantee that you would find it pretty much impossible to offend me if you speak in genuine sincerity.

So here's your chance to tell me anything you've always been afraid to say before. If you've already told me everything (blessings to you!) but you'd like to hear my honest thoughts, please send an email anyway, mentioning this, and I would be delighted to oblige. I'd also like to encourage you to be open with all your other friends, acquaintances, and family members, and I guarantee that the relationships will be the better for it. Of course, I should mention that we can't do everything (or anything!) with our own power, and it is only with God's help that we will ever be able to solve any problems.