spiders have eight legs

I can't believe it's already the Fourth of July... that means I only have thirty-eight days left in this place! (Well, plus the two to three days of driving time to get back to Lawrence... heh.) Now, I realize that a countdown is usually a sign of anticipation and also a sign that I feel what's to come is better than what I am experiencing currently, and in a way that's true. I really miss my daily summer routine back home, and I hate the fact that I'm not going to be able to come back to Minnesota this summer to see people. I miss teaching, I miss riding my bike, I miss cooking, I miss my friends and our bar, I miss my roomies, etc. But at the same time, I am specifically counting down the days I have left at Brevard as a kind of personal challenge: How much learning and music-making can I possibly fit into thirty-eight days? Can I handle practicing four or five hours every single day? How many pages of music can I learn in that time? How many friendships can I forge and establish? How many professors can I learn from and get to know? If I am going to be here, I am going to be here, you know?

I had my first lesson with Donna Lee on Tuesday. To be honest, it was a little frustrating. We went over the first movement of Beethoven's Sonata Op. 90, and she spent a lot of time dealing in images and musical metaphors ("Your arm is a super ball!") rather than specifically adressing my musical and techincal problems. It felt extremely inefficient as a teaching style, and I walked out feeling unmotivated and a little depressed -- I missed my old teachers a lot! But after I sat down for a practice session on the sonata I discovered that she had managed to communicate a good deal of helpful technical advice -- specifically the idea of suspension in my forearms and the shape of my fingers during fast passages -- that made a real difference in the way I played the sonata. I am very interested to see how our next lesson goes, now that we've gotten to know each other a little bit and figured out our dynamic.

As far as other teachers here, Dr. Douglas Weeks from Converse College gave a master class on Wednesday that I enjoyed a great deal. He's one of those teachers who can't help but show his genuine excitement for the music and for teaching it to his students. And of course, his own playing is superb -- he accompanied the Moszcowski violin duet on a recital this week and showed not only his technical chops but also his musical sensitivity. I find it interesting that such a talented man ends up at a tiny little school like Converse College but such is life.

I am starting to make some good friends here, which keeps me busy when I'm not practicing. It's also nice to talk to people because they are from schools across the country, and they can offer me an insider's perspective on the programs they've been involved in. It's a great way to research for graduate schools.

As far as my plans for today... there's a pops concert at 2:00 with all the stereotypical Independence Day bullhonky (Stars and Stripes Forever, 1812 Overture, etc.), and I am hoping after that I can find some people to go explore around Asheville with me for a while, maybe check out the fireworks display there. We shall see. Things around Brevard don't really stop or slow down for this holiday, so hopefully I can find a way to pull people away from their instruments long enough to have at least a little fun. ;-)

By the way, I'd love to hear from anyone who is reading this -- just shoot me an e-mail or call me up and let me know how your summer is going.