July 1, 2005 at 4:52 PM

Happy Canada Day! *cues national anthem*

It's the beginning of a long weekend here and to kick it off is Canada's Birthday. If I was doing what I've done the last three years I wouldn't be sitting here writing this. For the last three years I've played with a Pops orchestra made up of students and professionals but this year decided to be at home and enjoy myself here before heading off to Quebec for camp. I might practice.....I might read....I might clean my room.....I might start to write a more comprehensive packing list..... What to do?

Whatever I end up doing today, it's going to be hot and sunny for most of it! It's lately been very rainy and much cooler but in the last few days things have heated up a lot.

I had a very good time on my holiday away to Loon Lake. I had a cold which made me a bit grouchy but I still had fun! I caught lots of fish this year, all decently sized. A photo opportunity for my Mom proved to me that fish have sharp teeth. It also proved that no matter how much you wash your hands with soap and water fish smell is not easily removed from ones skin. The weather was warm, but pleasent for most of my families stay there. We got hail and a wild thunder storm one day but that was just an excuse to read and listen to music, practice, work on a puzzle or play games. I did manage to practice up there, which is usually manditory as year end recitals always seem to happen within a day or two after getting home. There are always the same people at the lake every year at the same time my family goes, so I often go out on the deck and play stuff for them. This year after having played my Mom and Grandma went out for a walk and when they came back they said someone outside wanted to meet me. I said "hello!" and the lady I was to meet said "I really enjoyed the Lark Ascending you played there earlier." How many people at a remote fishing lake have heard of Vaughn-Williams and Lark Ascending? So that was kind of neat!

After getting back from my week at the lake I had a piano recital first off. My piano teacher's studio is very small now, just 5 students all advanced players. I played the Debussy Sarabande from "Pour le piano". I absolutely love that piece. It's very hard with some of the chords, but I really like the piece and have had fun learning it. I also reunited with some of my piano teachers students for a crash through attempt at a quartet we had played back in the Winter for a fundraiser. I'm not used to performing on piano much outside of an ensemble or accompanist copacity, so I was a bit nervous about doing the Debussy. It was at my piano teachers house, which was nice and a very small audience of the parents of one student, my sister and the boyfriend of one of the other pianists. Having my sister there made me a bit more nervous! She's a great pianist has been pursuing her piano at university for three years now. So it was great to have her home and able to come but at the same time a bit un-nerving! I felt overall really good with how I played though! That was a bonus to playing at my teachers house is that I was comfortable with her piano and the surroundings.

On Monday night it was my violin teacher's year end recital. I had one (originally two were going to play) of my students play in it as well. My student was second up. She was nervous, but I thought she did very well (and so did everyone else). After that I got a break for a bit and then was playing in a string quartet accompaniment for a concerto that one of the other students was playing. After that I got a much longer break and then got to play the first movement of the Saint-Saens B minor concerto. That was interesting. I haven't really worked on it for too long and my teacher and I had only put it together with the piano part that morning. It got better the further it went along, but there were definetly some rough spots. It's a great concerto though!

I am done teaching now for the whole summer and all my year end recitals have been played! I'm going to miss my students and home but can't wait to go away and learn more.

Happy Canada Day! *national anthem ends*

From Scott 68
Posted on July 1, 2005 at 6:59 PM

have fun with the saint seans, I wish i were studying that now

*putting on my best singing voice*
oh canada...

From Pauline Lerner
Posted on July 1, 2005 at 8:02 PM

Happy Canada Day. I hope you enjoy it.

From Danielle Gauthier
Posted on July 1, 2005 at 9:46 PM

I told my younger sister, Rebecca that it was Canada day and she asks me what that meant. My older sister, Pam told her it's when our Canadian relatives get drunk and attempt at singing the national anthem over the phone.

Rebecca says "oh, the one what goes 'blame canada'?"

I think they missed the point.
But that's just me.

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July 1, 2005 at 4:52 PM

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