July 2015

Working to Live

Between getting a wisdom tooth pulled and finishing up a project that I've been managing for nearly two years now, it has been almost impossible to pick up my viola on a daily basis like I'm used to over the past few weeks. I won't go into how wrapping up this project was like pulling teeth as I still have recent memories of the pain of both. But today I can celebrate the completion of the project and being able get back to practicing in preparation for Interlochen!

Though multiple sequential 12+ hour days ate into my practice time severely, somehow I still managed to eek out a few minutes here and there and once a week several hours of practice. I've become a master at practicing while doing laundry: load washer, practice 30 minutes, move laundry to dryer and add new load to washer, practice 30 minutes. Repeat until done. What is wonderful about this weekend practice schedule is that it has built-in breaks every 30 minutes or so and kills two birds with one stone.

Now with the project signed off, I can get back to my normal routine and start preparing for Interlochen this summer. This year I will be part of a pre-formed group for coaching throughout the week. We will be working on Beethoven's String Trio Op 9 #3.

The piece is not incredibly difficult technically (with limited practice time, a huge bonus), but sufficiently challenging musically. A perfect piece for a week's worth of coaching in a month and a half. It has elements of whimsy and seriousness - a perfect balance for my state of mind.

And best of all, some very juicy viola parts!

So, for the remainder of this evening I will be kicking back and relaxing, and then tomorrow morning pick back up where I left off in my practice. Camp is only a month and a half away!

3 replies