July 2008

I'm an auntie!

July 20, 2008 21:22

The other day I couldn't get "Slumber My Darling" out of my head, and at the time, didn't know exactly why. Now it all makes sense. My sister was just about to have her first baby, and I must have been feeling sympathetic motherliness. :) Little Ashley Kramer arrived safe and sound on Thursday and she and her mom are both doing great. I'm just sad I haven't been able to see her in person yet! I had to leave for Aspen the day she was due. I can't wait to hold her when I get back home. :)

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Slumber My Darling

July 16, 2008 20:30

I'm not sure why, but for the past few days, I haven't been able to stop listening to Alison Krauss singing this beautiful lullaby by Stephen Foster. It's so simple, yet so sublime. Motherly love with all its loyalty and protection and tenderness. This arrangement is so sweet, with just a shadow of sadness. Maybe a hint of heartache and motherly concern. It's the kind of music that messes with your insides after a little while; that pushing and pulling so visceral you wonder if your ears have hidden levers to your heartstrings. Or something like that.

Slumber, my darling, thy mother is near,
Guarding thy dreams from all terror and fear,
Sunlight has pass'd and the twilight has gone,
Slumber, my darling, the night's coming on.
Sweet visions attend thy sleep,
Fondest, dearest to me,
While others their revels keep,
I will watch over thee.

Slumber, my darling, the birds are at rest,
The wandering dews by the flow'rs are caressed,
Slumber, my darling, I'll wrap thee up warm,
And pray that the angels will shield thee from harm.

Slumber, my darling, till morn's blushing ray
Brings to the world the glad tidings of day;
Fill the dark void with thy dreamy delight--
Slumber, thy mother will guard thee tonight,
Thy pillow shall sacred be
From all outward alarms;
Thou, thou are the world to me
In thine innocent charms.

Slumber, my darling, the birds are at rest,
The wandering dews by the flow'rs are caressed,
Slumber, my darling, I'll wrap thee up warm,
And pray that the angels will shield thee from harm

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Sisters in music

July 10, 2008 19:27

I always love it when my sister Elizabeth comes home to visit. She was here this past week for my brother's wedding, after which she left for a music festival in Germany. Now that she's in graduate school in NY, I miss her more than ever. I've learned and shared so much with her, and look up to her more than anyone, I think. Seven years older than I, she was my violin teacher for several years, and despite my occasional pre-teen grumbling, I loved it. She has always been a bit more adventurous than I, so I've learned a lot from her experiences in the academic and professional music world. She's the first person I go to for advice on just about anything. :)

Now and then I have fun musing on the oddly coincidental number of musical experiences we've both had. It's not surprising that I would go on to do a lot of the camps/competitions that she did before me. It's funny though, just how much we do have in common, down to little details:

~ We both studied with or had master classes with Carolyn Sandquist, Ben Sayevich, Brian Lewis, and Paul Kantor

~ We both went to the Sunflower Music Festival, where we ended up playing the same part (violin II) in the same work (Brahms piano quintet) coached by the same teacher (Mark Tanner)

~ Both of us played in the Topeka Youth Orchestra as associate concertmaster

~ My sister and I won the strings division of the same concerto competition playing the same concerto (Mendelssohn)

~ Both of us have studied at the University of Kansas

~ We both have taught violin lessons at the same music store (I even teach 3 of her former students)

~ Both of us played in the KS State Fiddling Competition

And the list could go on, haha. :) And yet, we have our differences too, of course. Being 7 years older, my sister Elizabeth has much more experience than I, and has performed everywhere from Taos to Tanglewood to Carnegie Hall. I look up to her a lot. After undergraduate, she switched to viola, and has almost completed her doctorate. It's funny how alike we still sound though. When we played violin duets for my brother's wedding this weekend, and it was so easy to match each other's style. I've even had people tell me they knew I was related to Elizabeth just from the way I played. I'm so grateful for all we share — as musicians, as friends, as sisters. I can't imagine my life without her. :)

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More entries: September 2008 • June 2008

July 2008

I'm an auntie!

Slumber My Darling

Sisters in music

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