A Word from the Front

Hello all! Greetings from the presitigious Jordan College of the Arts!

I am now in my third week of studying at Butler University and am loving it! I have delved headfirst into being a student which means staying up extremely late, continuing to get up early, reading until my eyes water and refuse to stay open and eating an exorbitant amount of unhealthy food e.g. Chips Ahoy cookies. Other than my unhealthy work habits, everything is going quite well here! I am starting to get into a routine (for instance, I am now attending a regular yoga class at the HRC. Woot!) and I think after this week finishes up I will feel partially sane.

One thing that I am absolutely LOVING is my major change. What?! You're probably asking. No, I didn't change out of music. Instead, I changed my major from a B.A. in Cello Performance to a B.M. What's the difference? The difference is that a Bachelor of Arts is more general - you take more liberal arts electives rather than music courses. A Bachelor of Music translates to taking a lot more music courses. Which is what I came for, right?! So far I'm loving it.

I ran into a friend from high school youth symphony the other day and couldn't stop gushing to her about my classes. Just this semester I am taking Fundamentals of Chamber Music, Introduction to Digital Arts, World Music and Pedagogy! And that's excluding my symphony, chamber ensemble and private instruction credits! It's fantastic! It feels completely unreal to me to be attending classes where I'm learning things like how to mark scores, transpose parts for different instruments, analyze performances and make my own professional website - which I will be sharing on the blog once I complete it.

Yet while it has been so much fun to be so connected and involved, it can also completely overtake my schedule. This week and next I am going to do my best to really focus my energy on my work so that I can relax away from the computer and textbooks.

Have a fantastic week!
Ellie

The Proposal

Wait what?! Yes, that's correct! I'm engaged! I've unfortunately been so busy every since that day preparing for school and moving in to my house that I haven't had a chance to give the details to everyone. So, here's the story. 

A few days ago, maybe a week, my best friend Sonja (you can find her blog here) sent a FaceBook message to me, Jordan and her fiancé, Stephen, asking if we wanted to go on a picnic in the gardens of the Indianapolis Museum of Art. Everyone responded positively and so we all began discussing what time worked for each of us and who would bring what food. Unbeknownst to me, the three of them had a separate FaceBook conversation from which I was excluded discussing how to pull off a suprise proposal.

So on Tuesday the 20th of August, Jordan and I set out for the IMA. We had met at about 4:30 that afternoon with the plan of meeting up with Stephen and Sonja at 6:30. Unfortunately (for Jordan) we sped through our grocery shopping and other errands and at 5:30 I suggested that we go the gardens early and walk around. I, ignorant of what the night held, didn't realize that I had messed up the plans by arriving early. Jordan, however, was obviously distracted and dishevelled. He kept checking his phone and furtively glancing around. Completely out of character, he became instantly decisive and authorative. 

"Let's go down these steps and around that group of trees and then up the road by the back of the museum. There's a really cool bridge there. You'll like it."

"But then we'll miss all the flowers."

"We'll walk through those later after Stephen and Sonja get here."

I conceded. And the bridge was sort of cool ;)

As Jordan and I meandered our way around the outside of the gardens back to the parking lot, I received a text from Sonja saying that "traffic was really bad" and that they would be late. "Typical". I muttered. Needless to say, that was part of the plan. Sonja and Stephen would send me a late text while actually setting themselves up in some bushes for secret photographing. 

Though they were "late", Jordan and I decided to set up anyway and wait for them so we grabbed the blanket and food out of the car and began to walk back toward the gardens. It was only after the whole affair that Stephen and Sonja told me that we all nearly ran in to each other. This picture was snapped right after they ducked behind a tree. Paparrazzi at it's best.

We got to the picnic area, just south of the Lily house, and J began spreading the blanket on the ground. I was still upset that Stephen and Sonja were late and was looking around fervently for them saying, "I bet traffic wasn't actually that bad!" 

In order to get me to stop looking around Jordan nonchalantly handed me a leather journal that had been wrapped in the picnic blanket. "This is something I put together this summer when I was bored." I opened the journal to the first page which read "Ellie and Jordan's Adventure Book" (I almost teared up when I saw the UP reference). I flipped through to find pictures of all of our "adventures" and cut outs of maps of the places we want to go. A letter was tucked into the last page of pictures.

I read the letter, savoring all the references to this past year apart and of our mutual hope for a future together. As I moved to the second page of the letter I went to give Jordan a hug and my hand felt his heart beating the fastest I had ever felt it. Before that moment I hadn't an inkling of a clue, but then I knew. I skimmed over the last paragraph of the letter and saw the final sentence "So Miss Elizabeth Glorioso, I have a question for you . . ." When I looked back, he was kneeling in front of me with a ring. "So I do have a question for you" he continued. "Will you marry me?" I burst into a puddle of tears and forgot to answer. Finally, after being prompted . . .

 I said "yes".

The End

In just about three hours I will be leaving Freelander Theater for the last time of the summer and Ohio Light Opera's last show of the season will be closed. Mind blown.

It is crazy to see how quickly the time has passed and how far removed I feel from my first post about my time here. This summer has been an amazing experience and I am eternally grateful for all of the lessons I've learned, friendships I've made and experiences I've gained.

Good Bye Wooster Ohio!

What I've Learned: A Summary of My Time at Ohio Light Opera

With just 7 days left at Ohio Light Opera I am spending more and more of my time focusing on what I've learned from this experience. As I prepare for my auditions I can't help but wonder if my teacher will notice a difference in my playing. And will the difference be for the better or the worse? 

For the past two and a half months I have been living in a tiny town in the heart of Ohio. Every day during my time here I've picked up my cello and practiced or performed an opera. I now have the music and lines of seven different operas/operettas constantly rolling around in my head. There might be a diagnosis for that. I have played an average of 5 hours a day - and that's counting only rehearsal and performance times, not the time that I spend warming up and rehearsing my solo repertoire.

As a natural pessimist I strive to mentally take note of encouraging moments, rewarding experiences, etc. Here's my mental list from this past week.

Ohio Light Opera has helped me

musically:

- To better follow different conductors

- To learn music quickly and accurately

- To listen to the rest of the orchestra 

- To appreciate a long-standing art form

- To exude confidence in playing

- Realize the importance of starting from the string

socially:

- To look for friends in unlikely places

- To push myself to try new things

- To be willing to admit my quirks 

- To practice diligence

And because pictures often speak more than words can. Here's a summary of my time at Ohio Light Opera in photos. :)

The first friend outing!

We found an Ohio Light Opera poster from 1992

My first dress rehearsal

I'm going to miss this amazing store.

Tulipan's will be sorely missed

OLOween party with the crowd!

I've made so many good memories this summer and learned so much but, let's be honest, I'm ready to get back home, see my siblings, move into my new house and go on a date with my boy.

Let the school year commence!

Audition Preparation

With audition season coming up I feel like every time I look on my FaceBook newsfeed I see something about orchestral excerpt preparation. In lue of that, I was looking for a bit of wisdom myself as I prepare the Suk Fantasticke Scherzo and the 3rd and 4th movements of Dvorak's 8th symphony for my own orchestral audition. This video that I stumbled upon is top-notch and gives some helpful hints for performance practice and excerpt preparation from one of the best orchestral cellists in the world.

Here are a few other tips:

1. Slow It Down - Take out the rhythm and play each not for two beats at 60bpm. This practice method will rock your world! Your shifts will be absolutely solid!
2. Use Your Metronome - It's amazing to see how the rhythms come into place as soon as you identify where the down beat is.
3.  Play for Peers - Practicing/performing in front of people always helps me identify which passages I don't feel comfortable with and which passages unravel when nerves are present
4. Listen - Find the music on Spotify or buy it off of iTunes and listen to the passages over and over again. This will aid you immensely when it comes to comfortability and ear recall. 

Good luck, all!

Yoga and the Cello

Until recently I was a skeptic. I've had many friends, cello teachers and acquantainces fervently tell me that yoga was the solution! I would nod and smile all the while thinking "the crazies!"Perhaps I've joined the ranks of the crazies or perhaps I've simply come to realize the truth in what they were saying. Needless to say, I am now a yoga fanatic.

My recent discovery regarding yoga came about when I was faced with a difficult dilemma.

Dilemma:

In May I was diagnosed with Scoliosis and Thoracic Outlet Syndrome. This is bad news for a cellist and for someone whose former choice of exercise was running. I had been in a lot of pain, had to stop running, and eventually had to take a break from the cello. 

Solution:

Which leads me to the present: Yoga Addict

My first step toward "recovery" was establishing regular chiropractic appointments which would ensure that my back stayed aligned and healthy. But in between those appointments it is still my job to make sure that I'm being a good steward of my body and using it in a way that will help my career be a long one. Yoga does this.

When I was running regularly I would often wake up with neck and back tension. I also would frequently experience pain in my knees and shins (I've had people tell me that the pain I was experiencing was probably shin splints). Now I know that running doesn't affect every person this way, but it did me and I had to make a choice - keep running and hurt my body or switch exercise methods and continue on my career path.

I chose yoga.

For the past two months I've been doing yoga first thing when I wake up in the morning, in between rehearsals and also before I go to sleep. This has immensely helped my performance level and my ability to keep up with the demanding life of a classical musician.

I roll out of bed in the morning (sometimes I start the first few poses while I'm still in bed!) and begin my routine. Most of my morning poses are simply focusing on breathing life into my body, waking up my mind and waking up my sleepy joints and muscles. It used to be that I was stiff and inflexible in the morning. But now after a good twenty minutes of stretching and breathing I feel awake, limber and am able to start my cello practicing. 

This summer while I've been at Ohio Light Opera I've been taking advantage of our ten minute intermission during shows and using it for a time to open my shoulders up and stretch my neck and lower back. This aids in my durability (since the shows range from an hour and a half to three hours and 15 minutes!).

Lastly, before bed I like to do some light stretching and deep breathing that focuses on calming down my body and mind and preparing myself for bed. Shows can often go late and when you get back to your room at 11 PM and are wired after being physically and mentally active for the last three hours it can be quite difficult to calm down and fall sleep. This is where gentle movement, breathing and meditation can really help get you sleep-ready.

I'm still a newby at this but am completely loving my experience so far! Feel free to ask questions or share suggestions below!

Life in the Pit

As of 4 hours ago, six out of the seven shows we're putting on at The Ohio Light Opera this summer are up and running. It's exciting and exhausting to think that while we only have one show left to open we still have four weeks of summer left. Wow. 

After finishing the season I will have played a total of 47 performances over the course of eight weeks. I would call that an intense schedule. Wouldn't you? Yet despite the insanity of performing so often I am really enjoying myself. 

Every day I wake up, dress in black, lug my cello across the campus, unpack and proceed to crawl into the tiny space in the orchestra pit that's provided for me and my cello. And every day, just as regularly, my heart starts to beat a little faster as the pit is raised, the lights on the stands turn on, and my bow grabs the string for the first time. Performing is one the most exhilirating experiences and it never ceases to remind me why I chose this career path.