July 11, 2013

  • aspen 2013

    It's been three weeks since I came to Aspen. I still have another five more weeks to go here, but I know that's going to go by in a flash.

     

    If anything, my experience in Aspen so far reminds me of college, especially my junior year since I barely had any classes.

     

    Work. I worked a lot at Northwestern to fend for myself since my parents didn't help me at all financially this past year. And even here, I'm working a lot -- I'm ushering concerts four times a week, including an additional 1 or 2 opera sessions. I just got my first paycheck last Friday, and I'm due for another next Friday. I'm going to need this so I can pay off the rest of my summer sublet back in Chicago and for the expensive lessons that I get with Prof. Kang.

     

    Practicing. I probably practice harder here, but trying to figure out when to practice reminds me a lot of my schedule back at Northwestern. Every little free time I had was spent towards practicing. Also, finding practice rooms can also be a pain...

     

    Chamber music. I love that I can continue my chamber music studies here. I am currently working on the Mahler Quartet (the tune might be familiar if you've watched Shutter Island) and will be performing with my group next Thursday! We will only have had two coachings on the piece before our performance... talk about high level performers here! Also, I'm in a piano duet class and I am working on some duets with my 16-year-old friend, Antoine. We're playing a few Dvorak's Slavonic Dances from his Op. 72 collections. We will also be performing those some time this month. I was planning on taking the two-piano course at Northwestern, but seeing as how busy I am with chamber, four-hand, and solo work here, I don't think it would be a good idea to overload myself during my senior year. As much as I want to experience playing two-piano repertoire, I think taking chamber music will suffice. 

     

    Lessons and studio clases. All the same, just as Northwestern, but more intense. I get lessons with both Kaplinsky and Kang (privately paid). I've also had a master class with Kang last Friday so yay for free lesson! And I attended the first studio class this past Monday and the level of playing is so much more intense than NU... I don't even want to play in studio class anymore. T__T I might just be better off with signing up for a small recital that no one is going to LOL. 

     

    Aspen's campus is similar to that of Northwestern. The main campus is a 15-minute bus ride away from where I live in downtown Aspen. And the music tent is on the opposite of town, about a 10-minute bike ride. This spread of different places makes it feel like a college campus. Lots of buses, biking, walking... yeah. Also, because there are 600 some music students at this festival, it's very hard to bond with people here... just like college. 

     

     

    And I know I shouldn't be comparing, but I still miss Banff. It's been almost exactly a year since my visit there. And Banff was just everything magical. It felt like high school but even better because we were all pianists. We did everything together -- hiking, swimming, playing Smash, etc. I hiked almost everyday, and had lots of fun. I still did practice a lot... just not the last half of the session. :P And I know exactly why I decided to go to Aspen instead of Banff... I needed a place where I was going to work hard for a long period of time to get ready for my grad school auditions this coming year. I can't afford to lose time this summer. I just miss everything about Banff.... it's just funny that I'm "homesick" for that and not for my actual home in Vegas or even Chicago. 

     

    And I guess the biggest letdown of Aspen is that my boyfriend is not there. It was Banff where I met him and where we got to bond. He could've gone to Aspen, and it would've been so awesome if he did. We would've been in the same studio... which probably will never happen otherwise. We would actually go hiking together, and swimming, and everything we did but more since there's so much to do in Aspen. He would definitely get me to meet more people and hang out with them especially since I'm the type to just focus on my work and not play around so much. And for once, we would be in the same town, same place for a very long period of time. But I understand that he has his obligations and I have mine. I hope though, that there will be a summer where we can spend it together at a music festival. Summertime is very magical for me now ever since Banff happened, but I'm just not feeling it here in Aspen.

     

    I know Aspen will definitely be worth it for me as a student and pianist, but would it be just as memorable as IIYM, Saarburg, and Banff? Only time will tell.