settling in

My third day here and already things are familiar. It seems like everyone here is an early riser, which I really appreciate -- I think my inner morning person has been waiting for an opportunity like this to show herself. After my morning run and shower I walk down to breakfast and even at 7:30 in the morning I can hear trumpets and violins echoing across the ponds and pathways.

So far it has been difficult to establish a "routine" for myself... it's taking a while for the piano department to let us know what's going on and to get a schedule rolling, but I think on Monday things will finally start up. It looks like my days are going to be very much my own; studio class, master class, and a private lesson each happen once a week, plus the intermittent chamber coaching and a weekly lecture on the Well-Tempered Clavier. But each of those is only one hour long at the most, and the rest of the day is my own. Of course there are performances I can attend almost every day (for example I saw Yo-Yo Ma last night!), but even with those I still have a good eight hours a day to spend exactly how I please. Really, it's wonderful -- I can read as much as I want, linger at mealtimes, and explore Brevard and the forest surrounding it. Everyone has been talking about how I have to go see all the waterfalls that are around here, and I really want to go whitewater rafting, so I'll have to be assertive and gather up a group of people to go do that.

By the way, I finally found out I will for certain be studying with Donna Lee and Elizabeth Pridonoff this summer, for three weeks each. I've talked to Donna Lee a bit and she seems absolutely wonderful -- sooooo friendly, and her previous students tell me she is a very gifted educator. I've also found out some of the collaboration I'll be working on, and it sounds like I'm going to be the rehearsal accompanist for the opera company's production of the Carmina Burana, as well as possibly getting a part or two in the orchestra (?), plus as many chamber sonatas as I can get my hands on. Lots of music, but I can't wait.