Looking to Crystal Concert

Oh my GOD, I am so excited for this year's holiday concert at my school, the Crystal Concert. 

We're playing a piece called Laughing All the Way in band. It's like Jingle Bells, except on steroids. 

And in Chamber Singers, we are singing this beautiful piece called Breath of Heaven. It's AWESOME. My friend who is singing it in her choir at Purdue recommended it to my director. 

I just can't wait to perform again!!!

The End of Marching Band, 2013-2014

This marching band season at Neuqua was truly amazing. I don't think I've worked with a group of more talented and dedicated people in a long time (besides the time I did North Central College Summer Theatre. That's a whole different story). 

Our show this year was music from the opera, Carmen, by Bizet.  The music was so well picked for this year and was very beautiful and moving. There were many times in rehearsal where I was close to tears because the music had such an emotional connection to me. We played it really well, too! I played piccolo this year in the band, so learning how to re-play it was challenging and fun at the same time. 

The drill was amazing. We did some really cool things on the field this year, and I don't think we will for a very long time after this year. We executed drill well, and I'm really proud of the way that we did. 

Not only was the actual work part of it amazing, but the social aspect was the best it has been in the past three years I've been in marching band. I connected with seniors, juniors, sophomores, and freshmen. Some of them I can tell are going to be great friends in the future. Plus, one of my really good friends joined this year as a junior, as she has loved it so far!

Band camp in August, at Monticello, was the best. The annual dance was amazing, we accomplished so much, and we had great team bonding while we were there. I will never forget dancing with my friend Will to "Get Lucky", kayaking for the first time with my friend Matt, and sitting at the senior campfire with my friends Bethany and Katie. I know these are memories that I will treasure as some of the best moments of high school. 

Although we did not place at our annual U of I festival, I am proud of the band and everything we have done this season. This Friday is Senior Night, so it will be a very emotional, yet happy night, for the seniors departing, and for the juniors (that's me) waiting to take their place. And after this season, I can't wait.  

Trials and Tribulations

As one of my good friends once said, a day is made to test your limits. I have definitely had a couple of trying days! 

So, tomorrow is the first day of school. There has been a lot of rushing around, stressing out, and just generally getting prepared so nothing is forgotten. In that vein, my sister and I have been having several fights about petty things that basically turn into screaming matches within ten minutes. 

I hate fighting with my family, especially my sister. She is my best friend and the person who knows me the best. But, having someone who is so close to you who knows you that well can be a double edged sword. She knows what can get me annoyed and how to push my buttons. As for me behaving to her, it is likewise. 

I just hate screaming at her and walking out of the room when she ate the last Fiber One bar, that's all. I wish we could just put things past us easily and laugh things off, but we can't. And I just wish it wouldn't have to be this way

Outings with Friends

Hello there, readers! I am so sorry that I have not made an update in a long time; I was on vacation, I had a lot of summer work, I just finished my show, the list literally goes on and on....BUT I am back and so happy to BE back!

So, where I live in my town is about twenty-five to thirty minutes away from what is considered the "downtown" area; there are lots of places to eat, nice parks and a river walk, and some shopping. For me, I use it as a general meeting place for me and my friends, but sometimes it can be a bit of a hike to get up there (and lots of gas is used, too). However, this week I made the trip four times, four days IN A ROW. Crazy! But, I got to eat a lot of good food and see some awesome people.

Thursday
That day, I went to the local pool called Centennial Beach with my friends, Ashley and Ashly. We only went for a little while, but it was still fun and a good break from the heat wave we have had!

Friday 
On Friday, my sister and I met up with our friends Julia, Jordan, and Maggy from our show we just ended at the local college, Jesus Christ Superstar. We had lunch at Noodles (and ran into our director and her family!), got ice cream, and went shopping. It was nice to see them and catch up because we all go to different schools and have different, hectic schedules. I love my friends from my show because they can see a different side of me that I'm not really around my friends. I can't wait to keep in touch with them and see them during the school year!

Saturday 
Yesterday evening, my sister and I met up for an early dinner at Chipotle with some other friends from JCS, Alexa, Katie, and Maggy. We laughed a lot and ate delicious Mexican food, so I would say it was a really great way to catch up!

Sunday
Today, I did something that I have not done since I was a little girl; I went on a picnic! I was with my friends Ashley, Ashly, Bethany, Vishnu, and Sam. We went to the river walk in our downtown and sat in a very cool, shady park with lots of trees, and just had a picnic! We played frisbee, rolled down hills, then went out for frozen yogurt. It was a lot of fun and something different to do! Ashley even said to me "This was such a good idea, why don't people do this anymore?" It was a lot of fun and we are planning to do it again!

So this was a very social week for me, as you can tell! I am so happy I got to see many people and catch up with great friends. I hope this summer you guys are catching up with the people you love and hang out with!

Music and Identity

For my online Music Theory course, I was asked a series of questions about my "personal soundtrack". One of the questions was something along the lines of, "please pick one song to identify with and explain why." 

For some, they love music a lot. But for me, music is, quite literally, my life. I play flute, piccolo, piano, and a little guitar. I sing in choir, I'm in marching band. I'm going to give private flute lessons this summer. I enjoy listening to my own choice of music. Honestly, I do nothing inside or outside of school that I enjoy more. 

Scratch that, I enjoy theatre probably a little more, but music ties for the top spot. 

Anyway, while I think that this is a great question, it was also very hard for me to answer. 

How can I pick one song out of, say, one hundred, that have shaped me to be who I am?  

If placed in the perfect situation, I would have answered with one hundred of my favorite and most meaningful songs to my life and explained why ALL of those identified me. These songs come from all different artists, genres, years. They feature different instrumentation and ideas. But, they have all influenced me to be the person who I am and want to be: more creative, fun, happy-go-lucky, loving. Less serious, not as worried for a sixteen year old. 

And, I really hope I made the right choice, out of one hundred, to pick the one. 

I hope if you were presented with this question, you would make the right choice, too. 

Because we are what we listen to. 

Finals 2013 & Looking Ahead

So, here at Neuqua Valley High School, finals week is coming to a close. My last two finals are tomorrow, Band and French 3. Woo hoo!

So, I already have my final grades in four classes. In Honors English II, I got a B+, in Chemistry, I got a B, in Gym, I got an A (but who doesn't? It's Gym, for crying out loud), and in Geometry, I got a C+

Yeah, that's right. This is my FIRST ever C in a class for the end of the year up to this point in my life. But you know what? I don't care.

While I understand and am fully aware that a Geometry course and at least three years of math classes are required to graduate at my school, the profession that I am going into (musical theatre performance) will never, ever, ever require me to find the slope of something. I hope.

But, odds are, it won't. Next year for junior year, I will try my hardest to do better in my math class, but I will give the most I can give. I won't worry about my math grade too much. I will just try to get it to a point where it contributes positively to my GPA. I will just focus on my two AP classes I will be taking next year in two subjects that I LOVE (English and History).

I will just look forward to next year and try my best, but also focus on what I love. That is it in a nutshell. I will also only focus what will move me towards my college/subject major & minor goals.

I hope you all can take something away from this, too.

More Auditions?!?

So this week, after a crazy and hectic two weeks of production of The Music Man at my high school, I traveled up to North Central College in downtown Naperville to do two auditions for their summer production of Jesus Christ Superstar. On Thursday night, there was a vocal audition and last night was the dance auditions. 

While the song I picked for my vocal audition is not totally suited to my vocal range and it was a little uncomfortable for me to sing ("Tell Me On A Sunday" from Song And Dance), I acted to the best of my abilities during it and I think that the directors' enjoyed it from the smiles on their faces! 

However, last night's dance audition was a little more difficult. I had to do the two auditions for the children's production of Peter Pan and Superstar. And, since I have to wear glasses most of the time, it was a little difficult to pick up on the steps and dance with my glasses slipping off my nose. But, I danced to the best of my abilities and tried my hardest at the audition. The directors even said not to get upset with yourself! 

The cast list will be posted either Wednesday or Thursday and rehearsals will commence from there. Wish me luck!