December 2006

Iam I too old to go back to school?

December 12, 2006 21:25

‘Tis the season to reflect and plan for the new years resolutions. The past few years have been a life-changing time in my life. Not only from a location standpoint (Malaysia to California then to Oregon), but also from a “what is important to me” point of view. As a technical professional in my industry for over 15 years, I have finally realized that there is more to life than work. To that end, I’ve been taking viola lessons, joined a community orchestra, and now considering going back to school for a BA in Music. It’s not that my day job cannot pay the bills, but more of a matter of what makes me happy.

I was accepted as a student the other day with Joel Belgique (principal violist at the Oregon Symphony) starting next year (major YIPEEE). I had the disappointment when my previous teacher told me that she could not teach me any more than what she has already taught me, and the joy of finding a teacher willing to take me on as an advanced student to teach me even more than I have learn in the past 27 years. It has always been a goal of mine to make music a major part of my life since I was about 12 or so, whether in an orchestra or some other aspect of my life. So, this step is a big one for me musically.

A few folks at work commented on my musical passion as having a higher goal in life than making circuit boards (my day job) such as teaching someone else something that affects their life in a positive way. So, today I e-mailed the admissions department of a local university to see about getting my BA in Music in over the next 10 to 20 years. The way I figure it, the worst-case scenario is that I learn something more about what I love to do. Best-case scenario, this could lead to a retirement job that will supplement my Social Security benefits. I will just have to wait to see what happens next.

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Back in Season

December 7, 2006 21:44

I am finally back to v.com after several months away. Boy what a summer! It seemed like my whole family descended upon my home during the 4th of July weekend. Then my 90 year old grandfather decided that he would stay for the summer (a planned and hoped for event) which was later termed by the rest of the family as “Grandpa Camp”. Good thing too, since this was the summer that I had my house remodeled and re-decorated. Having built 2 houses of his own by himself from the ground up, having him around for the summer was a godsend! And boy what a transformation the house has made! I now have a proper music room where the formal dining room was. The wood floors helped the acoustics dramatically! Yipee!!!

September brought in the new concert season. We had 13 weeks to practice 6 Russian pieces, including the 1812 Overture of course. Grandpa came with me for a few of the practices before heading back south for the winter. After the second practice when walking back to the car, he turned to me in a not-so-whisper and said “I really do not understand all this new fangled music you young kids play these days”. LOL! Well, we did the concert and all went well. The 1812 Overture was a hit of course.

My father bought me my x-mas present that I’ve already started using – a new set of Dominants. This is the first time I’ve played my new 16” viola (still un-named) with Dominants. WoW! That’s all I have to say about that.

Now for the next concert: Haydn 101st Symphony, Bach’s Fugue in G minor (yippee!), March Militaire Francaise, Into to Act II from the Opera Lohengrin, and a waltz Belle of the Ball. Practice, practice, practice…..

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More entries: January 2007 • June 2006

December 2006

Iam I too old to go back to school?

Back in Season

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