gravel in my sandals

This week has been going so so so well. The pages of my daily planner fill up with incredible speed, between rehearsals, practicing, concerts, lectures, master classes, running, reading, and meals. It feels really good, though, to see how much I am accomplishing. Here's a list of my current repertoire:

• Solo: Beethoven's Sonata No. 27, Op. 90 in E minor; Bach's Partita No. 3 in A minor
• Concerto reductions for the competition in 9 (eek!) days: Richard Strauss's Oboe Concerto in D major; Mozart's Oboe Concerto in C major; Tchaikovsky's Cello Variations on a Roccoco Theme
• Chamber Works: Debussy's Violin Sonata; Beethoven's Violin Sonata No. 4, Op. 23 in A minor
• Orchestra parts: John Adams's The Wound-Dresser; Saint-Saens's Organ Symphony

Oy... so much music!

My second lesson with Donna Lee went much better than the first. I think it helped that I am now feeling much more at ease with myself being here, and I also came in with specific questions so that our lesson time was very focused and efficient rather than filled with lots of fluffy talk. Unfortunately I can't really focus much on my solo rep, for obvious reasons! I have noticed that the increased amounts of practice time haven't put as much strain on my arms as I had been expecting. In fact, I feel much more at ease at the piano than I ever have before. Let's hope that feeling continues.

Yesterday was an especially fantastic day. The first part of the week was very mentally exhausting so I took the entire day off and drove to Asheville. I shopped and ate delicious food and walked everywhere downtown. Asheville is a very interesting city with an incredibly diverse population and beautiful archictecture, not to mention the mountains that surround it. The best parts of my day: spending an hour in a bookstore waiting for the rain to stop, eating sea-salt dark chocolate caramels from a chocolate shop, and ending my day with an escape into the hushed and beautiful St. Lawrence Basilica. I also discovered what may well be the greatest antique store known to man -- huge and full of clutter but none of it junky, just intriguing and quirky. And after spending such a wonderful and selfish day, I feel much more energized and excited about the things I am doing here.

I wish I could write longer, but I should go practice!