Musica, Musica, MUSICA!

In April I spent many days and nights locked away in practice rooms preparing for performances. On May 5, I had a concert in the Baxter Theatre. It was my first time being on stage in a real concert hall since my high school graduation, and this was a different feeling from then. I always get nervous, but that night the color of my face matched that of the curtains. The brass section opened the concert with a fanfare, which we received 4 days before the concert. With the bright lights beaming down on me, I managed to find 23 of my American friends in the, audience, smiling and taking photos, just like proud parents at a Christmas pageant. 

This put me at ease, and also made me giggle throughout the entire performance. When I get nervous, I giggle uncontrollably, and this made my already rosy cheeks even more rich with color. The performance lasted two hours; afterward I was greeted by my friends and I thanked them for coming: I haven’t had so many friends come to a performance since my jazz concerts in high school. It felt really great to share with them what I’ve been away doing all semester. After the performance, the college of music held a party with an open bar back at school. I shared conversation with my professors and peers over cocktails in the halls we walk each day. Though it was a great night, I had to concentrate on my solo performance, which will be judged, coming up in June. Back to work, I suppose. When I’m not in the practice rooms I can be found nerding it up in the music library, either obsessing over my most recent find in the CD collection or working on my senior thesis for my music degree. I have finished a first draft of my paper on the music of apartheid, which my African music professor is looking over. He is setting me up to interview several musicians who were exiled by the government during apartheid.

 I can’t wait to share my findings with everyone when I return to the states. I have been given so many opportunities and resources in South Africa to explore music in a number of ways I have never before been able to, and I’ve made sure to take advantage of all of them. I’ve been able to develop as a musician, scholar and young adult by studying, practicing, performing, and volunteering. I’ll be writing soon about my musical therapy work with children who have been severely burned, orphaned, and those who are suffering from HIV/AIDS. I also teach music to children in Langa, the township where my host family stays, and I have one private adult student, so I'm keeping quite busy! Though I’m quite certain a blog entry cannot begin to do these experiences the smallest degree of justice, I’ll attempt to put it to words in my next entry. 

P.S. I’ve gotten several emails from those of you who desire to comment on my posts: I think I fixed the problem now. So give it a go if you so choose…