I Want to Be Happy!

We're heading into our last three weeks of the fall semester here at Butler. In these last few stressful moments I  have developed code names for each week that all my close friends and family have come to learn mean: please don't bother me with anything else until Christmas Break!

Week 1 - Nutcracker (I am playing in the pit for this ballet every day this coming week)

Week 2 - Jury Week (This is the week when every performance major is required to play their semester's repertoire in front of a panel of professors in order to receive a grade)

Week 3 - FINALS (I'm guessing everyone knows what that means)

I have been up since 6 AM and have been working at my local coffee shop  since 8:30. 

In this stressful time in my life I am taking moments to breathe, meditate on the meaning of life and remember that completing this fifteen-page research paper will NOT be the end of me.

I took just a few minutes to watch the video below during one of my writing breaks and I am already feeling centered and refocused on what's more important - happiness.

Let's all try to hold on to some of that Thanksgiving joy as we head into the busiest time of the year!

Ellie

Brooklyn Rider at Clowe's Hall

This past month or so I have been doing "educational gigs" with a string quartet and a banjo player in the area. We've gone to several different locations around Indy advertising Bela Fleck and Brooklyn Rider's upcoming concert at Clowe's Hall and introducing people to the sound of a string quartet and banjo performing together. Pretty cool . . .

Well a few weeks ago my trio was offered the awesome opportunity to actually perform in a masterclass for Brooklyn Rider [for those of you who don't know: a masterclass is actually very similar to a music lesson. One person - or an ensemble in this case - listens to performers play their piece in front of an audience. Then, in front of the audience, they proceed to critique you and instruct you on how to play the piece properly. It sounds humiliating, but it's simply part of the classical music scene and you get used to it ;)]. So today, we did! Yikes. We performed the first two movements of the Dohnanyi trio for them and it was a blast.

Let me just say that they are some of the coolest, most laid back professional musicians I have ever met. All four of them attended the Ivy Leagues of Music Schools (Curtis Institute or Juilliard) and still are so humble and kind. The three of us definitely learned a lot and really enjoyed ourselves. Now to work even more diligently on it! ;)

Nade Te Turbe

I was given the amazing opportunity to perform with Butler's University Choir as the "cello accompaniment" on a piece called Nada te Turbe written by Joan Szymko. The recording quality is not amazing but you can at least hear the cello line ;)

Enjoy!

Videography credit goes to my lovely fiancé who was kind enough to come watch me perform and hold a camera the entire time! 

A Special Message

To my best friend since birth, 

The only other person to speak our secret lanugage,

My partner in all things mischeivous,

An Anne of Green Gables enthusiast,

An Autumnal picture-taking fiend,

My favorite fellow travel-lover 

. . .

. . .

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, 

DEAR SISTER!

Getting Close!

I cannot wait to marry him in just six months and 24 days! 

Just For Laughs

My best friend Sonja (who blogs here) sent me this link over FaceBook this past weekend. Needless to say, it had me in stitches. Could. Not. Stop. Laughing.

Enjoy!

Update as of 28 October 9:08 PM:
I messed up the links earlier! Click on them now and they should behave ;)

Science and Music - Music's Effect on the Brain

Hello all!

I'm here again and busy as ever! Tomorrow I get to perform again but this time in front of a large group of cellists at an event Butler has started called Cello Day! Every year my professor has hosted this event and invited both of his studios and many other cellists in the surrounding area to particpate in a cello-filled day. Usually there is a recital, a masterclass, a cello ensemble where we all get together and sight read cello choir repertoire, an informational documentary and a time to try out cellos from a local luthier. I am so excited! (If you are interested in participating next year just click here to register)!

And now to address my topic:

Recently in a class of mine we were discussing music's effect on the brain. My classmates (and the professor) began to name all of the different ways that music is impacting brain funciton - developmental growth, slowing down the impact of dementia and altering psychological moods to name just a few. I was amazed. Music is, yes, an artistic passion of mine, but I am realizing more and more each day that it is a necessity - science can prove it!

Journals and articles from around the world:

CNN: This is Your Brain on Music

Oxford Journals: The Power of Music

Live Science: Music's Effect on the Mind Remains Mysterious

New York Academy of Sciences: Effects of Music Training on the Child's Brain and Cognitive Development

Science Direct: Music and Emotion

Oxford Journals: Music listening enhances cognitive recovery and mood after middle cerebral artery stroke

These articles are simply the tip of the iceberg. It seems like each day scientists are discovering new ways that music is vital to a society's success. This gives me faith in the ability of classical music to thrive in this fast-paced world we live in.