September 2008

Greetings from paradise.....

September 17, 2008 09:59

It's been a while since my last blog entry, and a lot has happened to me!

As you may know, I was going for my Master of Music at the University of MD last year, and had a year left to complete my degree. This summer, I spent lots of time teaching at music festivals and performing, and looking for jobs for the school year - not because I didn't want to finish my MM, but because I think that, as musicians, we have to do things a bit differently than professionals in other disciplines when seeking employment. So, instead of waiting to be done with my degree, I had applied to a few orchestras to line up some auditions, and I had also applied to one teaching job.

The teaching job I applied to basically was exactly what I thought I needed to be doing with my life. It's with the Menuhin Foundation of Bermuda, which is a charity that provides kids in both public and private schools free group lessons in violin, viola, or cello, and also has a private study program and 3 youth orchestras. I thought that, with all of my education and being young enough to pick up and move halfway across the Atlantic, that I'd apply for the position.

Well, I applied in early July, and had a phone interview, and got the job! I received my contract and work permit application in early August, and am currently sitting in my bedroom overlooking the harbor into Hamilton, the capital city.

It's a great opportunity - the past week we (the 6 teachers with the Foundation) have been playing concerts in the primary schools to get interest going for our school program, and have also been teaching our private students in the afternoons. This week we are getting the schools' instruments in working order, and next week we'll hopefully also start teaching the group program in addition to our private students.

So here I am, on a little island in the Atlantic working towards spreading music to kids - and it's great so far!

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