All about me project

Presenting: my self portrait. So, not quite the piece of crap it was a few days ago because I went into the studio over the weekend, blasted some Kanye, and thought "self, would Kanye turn in a crappy self portrait?". The answer is obviously no. He would give you a piece of crap that he believes is pure genius and convince you that you should be honored just to be in his presence. He also dropped out of college when he was 20 to be a musician and here I am basically trying to get tenure as a student to become a professional musician. So.....

The project:
Old Eolus (harp journals) from the 1920's and 30's. The one open on the desk is when the Salzedo harp (my current harp) was first debuted. The books and all of the pages that were marked were a gift from Ms. Page. I feel that this represents the importance of tradition in classical music, and how we are always trying to live up to past masters.

I think that yellow is most representative of my personality, so there are bits of yellow blocks and tissue paper sticking out throughout. However, I don't think that my personality or who I am is as important in my life right now as practicing and laying a strong foundation for my career. Hence it being covered by music.

The music is all current pieces that have been crumpled. Ex. Tzigane, Debussy Trio, Ginastera Concerto, Alborada etc. Hours and hours of work that are layered together in an endless heap.

Underneath all of that I had my iPod that was playing Tournier's Sonatina (a current solo I am working on) being performed by Judy Loman. (Ms. Loman, if you ever happen to come across this, that recording is absolutely sensational and has served as a huge inspiration while I've been learning the piece. So thank you.) One kid in the class asked if it was me playing, and when I said no, they all got this look on their faces of this type of music being well beyond my grasp, which absolutely pissed me off and showed me that although it wasn't me playing, they had no comprehension that these hours of work would amount to me being able to play that same piece from memory at that tempo. A different interpretation, yes. But that's where the bits of yellow come in.

I think Kanye would approve.