If I can after a big event, usually I like to take some time completely away from my clarinet. Although I love playing (and sometimes it takes a lot of effort to not pick up my instrument!), time away from the instrument allows me to de-stress and recover faster and better. Usually I will take a week off, sometimes two depending on how long it has been since I had a break. This time, I took just one week off - yesterday was my first official day back in the practicing grind since my recital. Last week I was able to get a lot of non musical things done...including updating my blog site!! Oh and I did another 5k on Saturday - this one was a lot harder...it went up Cobbs Hill in Rochester, which is a insanely steep hill and it goes on and on! I felt like I would never get to the top! But I still ran it under 30 minutes, which was great!
Anyway, the next thing on the agenda is the DC Navy Band audition in January. I literally have not seriously practiced any excerpts in many, many months...longest time I've ever gone since I started working on excerpts! I played through them yesterday, it wasn't too painful...ha. There are a lot of common excerpts between these excerpts and the Marine Band excerpts from January...which conveniently is the last audition I did!
I am also contemplating submitting a video to the YouTube Symphony auditions. If you don't know what that is....click here. If I make it, I'll get to go to Australia, and that would be cool. The excerpts are pretty simple - Mozart Concerto, Beethoven 8, Mendelssohn Scherzo, and Rimsky Korsakov Capriccio Espagnol. There is also an audition for Eb clarinet - Berlioz Symphony Fantastique and Strauss Till Eulenspiegel are those excerpts. The deadline for this is November 28 (ahem, which is also my golden birthday), so its coming up fast. I'm going to decide for sure if I'm going to do it next week after practicing the excerpts.
Today at work, I finally heard back from people about doing a performance for the hospital's recital series (yes-they actually have a recital series!!). Looks like it might happen! There are a lot of things that need to be finalized before anything can go forward, but I am keeping my fingers crossed. Its really funny, a lot of the people that I work with have no idea that I am a musician, let alone graduated from Eastman! They are amazed at what I do - I think it would be so great to play for them! I need to start thinking about a possible program...this time I won't be limited by time/pianist since I live here! I'm hoping to get to play with the wife of a research doctor in the Neurosurgery department, I heard her play a recital at Eastman last spring and it was a-freaking-mazing! I would be honored to play with someone of that caliber. So I hope everything works out!
On a completely different note, I voted for the last time in NY today! I messed up my first ballot, so I had to fill out a second. Yes, I was that girl. LOL. Also, tomorrow marks 200 days until I leave for the Navy! Yoohoo! Its getting closer and closer!
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