When I first started using social media to document my journey from graduate school to professional soloist, I wrestled with how exactly I would represent myself online. I constantly went back and forth about whether I would show what was really happening, or whether I would doctor it up a bit in order to appear more “professional.” So I experimented with both:

I’m very excited to be touring Florida for the next two weeks. Here’s a full listing of where I’ll be, and what I’ll be doing:

• Feb. 5, 12:30pm — Master Class @ Douglas Anderson School of the Arts

• Feb. 6, 7pm — Solo Recital @ Douglas Anderson School of the Arts

• Feb. 7, 8pm — Solo Recital @ University of Central Florida

• Feb. 8, 11:30am — Master Class @ University of Central Florida

• Feb. 11, 7pm — Performance @ SubCentral at the Iberian Rooster (Classical Revolution)…

With any new trend or fad, there will surely be a wave of backlash from the general public (and particularly those entrenched in old ways) before acceptance begins to take hold. But whether you/we/I like it or not, social media is here to stay. Why?

Because it is no longer a trend or fad. It is now a part of our daily lives and culture, and it saves us from overusing the one resource that we can never get back: TIME.

You’ve prepared and detailed everything to the best of your ability. You’ve rehearsed and polished the piece with the ensemble. You’ve mentally compromised on in-rehearsal battles (a figure of speech, of course), some that you’ve fought and won, some that you’ve fought and lost, and some that you opted not to fight at all. The piece is finally as good as it is going to get. Whether or not you’re in love with how things sound and feel, your primary responsibility is to deliver an exciting and engaging musical product that will “wow” the audience. Hide any insecurities behind performance vibe and your poker face. Now, it’s time to perform.

Now that you've fully prepared the concerto by learning the notes, fine-tuning transitions, making intentional tempo/phrasing decisions, and communicating with the conductor, it is time to start the rehearsal process... 

So what is your responsibility in all of this, knowing that you have an exceptionally limited amount of time, and knowing that many people in the ensemble might not care about the piece?
 

• Be professional
• Play your butt off
• Don’t be needy
• Make it fun for the ensemble (make them care)
• Be prepared (see previous post)

Have you ever performed a concerto with a pianist? How about a full orchestra or wind ensemble? If you haven’t, then this might be a new topic, but if you have, then hopefully you can relate. The mental demands of learning, rehearsing, and performing a concerto with a supporting musician or ensemble are completely different than those of a recital, audition, or competition, and I’m going to discuss some of them in terms of:

1. Preparation
2. Rehearsal
3. Performance

I alluded to this blog entry on a Facebook post earlier this week, because I realized that there are several huge projects in the works that nobody knows about, and I wanted to provide a glimpse into what has been happening behind the scenes: PERCUSSION DUO, NEW CONCERTI, + MORE...

{17 days 'til PASIC 2017} - Update 9/17

Last Monday, I decided to embark on {17 days ’til PASIC 2017}, the process of documenting my preparation leading up to the PAS Solo Artist Competition. It is my first foray into consistently documenting something with different kinds of content, and I wanted to share my experiences here so far.

Embracing failure is:

1. Not a new concept,
2. Something that has been trending on social, particularly on entrepreneurial vlogs,
3. Restated over and over and over again,
4. Still important!

But, as musicians, it can feel different for us. 

Here’s my take on it…

This one is huge for me, and something that I struggled with for a very long time.

There is a distinct difference in being humble and being self-deprecating. 

Nobody in the professional world wants their first interaction with you to involve building you back up after you continually tear yourself down. It’s exhausting for them, and that person will likely never call you back. 

Why?

A quick video on a brand new topic for me – mallet wrapping.

After traveling with the World Percussion Group and performing at the Yamaha Young Performing Artist Concert this summer, I did not touch an instrument for TWO MONTHS. 

I was burnt out. 

Some people think this is crazy, but I couldn’t be happier.

Here are some of my thoughts on taking time off, in both the long and short term…