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Hello Percussionists!

The big topic on my mind recently has been methods of preparing for solo performances.  More specifically, performances where one must play a large amount of solo repertoire, as opposed to just one piece.  I have participated in competitions before, like the PAS Marching Festival or a school concerto competition, where each musician only performs one piece.  This is easy in the sense that one just needs to drill his or her piece for however much time is needed to give a quality performance.  Things get more complicated when giving a recital, however, as the goal is to have each piece sound as if you had been perfecting it for months, but there is far more to keep track of. [more]

Spring has officially sprung in our little mountain town. With beautiful days and perfect temperatures the past few weeks, I’ve been lucky enough to sit in a small, windowless room in the library’s basement a couple hours a day.  I have been working to finish my last required math class and I have to admit, it hasn’t been nearly as painful as expected. The material has all been real world application and as of today we are exactly half way done. I have one next summer semester as well. Seven weeks left to knock out two gen eds: doable. [more]

With finals under my belt and the vast majority of my classmates on summer vacation, I feel like it’s as good a moment as any to reflect on the highlights of my first year as a music business major.

Going into this school year I was so overwhelmed with my previous commitments to even think about being anxious or nervous. As a full time massage therapy student with a part time job and an active coaching gig, the thought of adding 9 credit hours was daunting. Although I would graduate from massage school three weeks after the beginning of the semester, those first few weeks got me off to a rough start. With minimal breakdowns I was able to get through the toughest patch and find an escape through something that had originally been a requirement, rather than a choice. At Fort Lewis College, it is required that every music major play an instrument, be in a major ensemble and take applied music every semester. I had been taking lessons for around six months when school started so I was accustomed to daily practice in my routine. And although my career goals do not involve performing professionally, I jumped at every small ensemble opportunity that was presented. The first was the recruitment for a one night, roller derby half time show in which we would entertain with a Brazilian performance. This ended up being a fantastically positive experience that was a new start to my rough beginning. Soon after this, rehearsal began for the second year drum line and I was on board from the start. This also proved to be a great experience that I will expand on in the coming fall. These small ensembles automatically got me involved with percussion club, which in turn resulted in my first PASIC experience. To say that PASIC was the highlight of my year is likely an understatement. This experience opened my eyes to all the endless possibilities in the percussion world and inspired me to truly commit to the music business major. I also must credit my peers for all their enthusiasm and encouragement. Without a team effort, PASIC would not have been possible.  [more]

In the past few years of being a music student, I have learned and experienced many things. If there is one lesson that will stick with me forever, it is that time is our most valuable resource. That’s why it’s extremely important for us to make good choices about how to spend it. As a small example, I usually use my bi-weekly blog entry to write about School of Worship (which is going well), but this time I am choosing to spend my time writing about something that may be more effective for my fellow musicians. [more]