What's happening in June

Everything, actually. Well, not quite, but it sure feels like it sometimes! This month has been one of the busiest in my life so far. So exciting! It feels amazing to be getting so much done. Having said that, I'm very much looking forward to the holidays and having a break from it all.

In no particular order, here are some of the things that have been happening or are going to happen in June:

• AMEB exams: My Grade 8 flute exam is on Saturday. I not exactly nervous about it, but I don't think I'm going to do terribly well. My teacher hasn't even heard a quarter of the pieces I have to play, or even mentioned General Knowledge or Aural Tests - both my biggest weakness in all previous exams. Caitlyn also has her first exam (3'rd grade flute) straight after mine, and as her teacher, I am also accompanying her on the piano. It will be a totally new experience for us both. Since Caitlyn is the first of my students to do an exam (I have 2 more preparing for exams), I'm almost more nervous for her than I am about my own exam!! She's prepared very well, and I'm sure she'll do really well, though. I'm actually really looking forward to Saturday, and at the same time I can't wait for it to be all over!
• Recital: I had my first public performance of the year a couple of weeks ago. I did my first concerto performance in one of the ANU Young Performers Recitals. The piece was a Concerto in G minor by Vivaldi - a piece I loved so much I'd been dying to learn it since before I even started playing the flute!!! I got to catch up with a few friends from MuST I hadn't seen since November, so that was very exciting. Since Bradley and I were both in Canberra, we were both invited to spend the rest of the day with the
• Axelbys: We went to their church with them before my recital, and afterwards spent the afternoon and evening at their place. Thanks for having us over! We had a great time and enjoyed catching up with you all. On the same weekend the rest of the family went to
• Sydney: Dad's sister from America was visiting, so the whole family had a reunion. It was the first time I can remember that Dad and his sisters have all been together. From what I'm told it sounds like the whole get-together was extremely successful and everyone got along really well. Of course, while they were in Sydney they caught up with Mum's side of the family as well. Joshua even came down from Newcastle when he should have been studying for his 3 big exams to spend a bit of time with the family. Needless to say, Bradley and I had a ball at home all alone... haha, not really, we - or I - didn't have time for that much anyway, but it was great being able to practice anywhere in the house without being shooed off to another room. I discovered the joys of practicing in front of a nice warm fire...
• Concert: The Snowy Mountains Ensemble is joining forces with the Cooma Harmony Chorus and putting on a concert on the 3'rd of July. For a beginner ensemble, preparing half a concert programme worth of pieces in the space of about 6 weeks is a lot to ask, so it'll be interesting to see how things come together. We're also combining with the choir to perform two amazing pieces at the end of the concert which is very exciting for two music groups only accustomed to performing alone. It's been a huge learning experience for me too, being the first time I've ever had to plan and organise a concert.   
• The Roberts family came to visit us on Saturday. We always enjoy visiting with you! I'm sure you'll hear more about it either here on on Bethany's blog, so I won't bother you with descriptions of the day. A picture is worth a thousand words, and I'm in no mood to sit and type several thousand words when there are photographers around...
• The Australian Flute Festival is being held in Canberra this year and my teacher is keen for me to enter the Young Artists Competition. Apart from the fact that it is the largest flute competition in Australia and I only have 4 years' experience, I'm rather apprehensive about it because one of the 2 pieces that we have to perform for the first round is an 8'th grade piece which I've only had two weeks to learn, due to a bothersome complication. Since the first round involves recording a CD, my teacher is having a recording session next week, which doesn't give me much time. Funnily enough, I'm actually more comfortable playing the new piece than this other one which I started learning last year, auditioned on, and have been practicing for my exam all year!! I'm still not sure whether I want to do this competition though...
• Joshua is coming back from Newcastle for the holidays after his last exam on Friday. Of course we can't wait to see him again. When he returns, Routine tends to disppear, so even though we're still "officially" doing school, it usually ends up like being more of an early holiday break.

So those are just some of the things that are happening at the moment. I can't wait for the holiday break to hurry up and get here! What have you been up to?