Master's Concert

So as promised, this is about my Master's Concert.

I played a lot. Nine pieces, actually. (Ten, if you include the video of my first performance for relatives when I was six or so...) I started out with four classical pieces. I had this genius idea that I could have a video of myself when I was much younger and much more terrible at the piano to break the ice right before my student speech, but mostly I wanted everyone to have quite clearly in their head that I was not a child prodigy before I started telling about my piano playing years, so they wouldn't think I was just being modest. I think I succeeded.

I have a bucket list of "Things That I Never Want to Do". Speaking was on it.  It is now on my  "Things I Never Want to do Again" bucket list.

After my speech I played a composition of mine. Its name is "Iris in the Rain". I cannot express enough gratitude to my good friend, Mrs. Lisa Cavnar, for coming up with this title. (I was just going to call it "Song Without a Name, Op. 3", but I thought my piano teacher would probably not be very enthusiastic about that.) 

Next I played a two piano duet of "To God be the Glory" with my friend Madison Hageman. I even remembered to put her name as "Madison Hageman" instead of "Madison Asa" in the program. I was quite impressed with myself. 

Then I played "Oh Love, That will not Let me Go" with Mom as my accompanist.

Then Chris talked. He talked longer than I did. I don't know why he made me sit in the front, it was rather awkward.

My diploma presentation. This is one of those moments when, as a left-hander, I am always afraid I will forget that I am supposed to shake hands with my right hand and take the diploma with my left.

Thankfully I remembered and survived the ordeal.

Then Dad talked, and I played "The Great Gate at Kiev", and it was over, and I was exhausted.

This is my piano teacher, Chris Rogers, and myself after the recital. We were trying to not look tired, and I was trying to look like I enjoyed getting my picture taken.

Excuses, Excuses

Forgive us for the lack of posting, I have had a lot of things to do these last three months.
When I need to organize a concert (design invitations, design programs, make fudge) and play nine pieces, seven of which are memorized, one of which is my own composition,  as well as write and give a speech, which has never been on my list of things that I want to do, I am afraid of wasting the few creative brain cells that I have on a blog post.
When I am accompanying a choir and not really having time to practice for it (except in rehearsals) I am afraid of wasting a few minutes on a blog post.
When I am trying to get my students ready for a recital, I am afraid of wasting any of my encouraging words or words of advice that aren't really encouraging on a blog post.

When all of those things happen at once, I am afraid to do anything that is not, or is not at least related to, music.

Hopefully that will change now that my recital is over and as the other things wrap up one by one, but the Bible Bee materials for this year come out in 16 days, so I make no promises. However, I will try to get up a post at least about my own master's concert (equivalent to a Senior Recital) that I gave on the 13th.

Until then, enjoy the sunshine!

Because afterwards you might not... (just kidding)

Psalm 50

After five years of participating in the Bible Bee, it is very strange to now be structuring my reading and memorization schedule without its motivating presence. 

Right now I’m reading through Proverbs in ESV, which has been interesting and sometimes frustrating, after a lifetime of using NKJV. In other ways it is nice to have a different version, since one can often see aspects of a verse that were previously unnoticed. I don’t know whether I’ll be able to make myself switch completely, but I’m going to try it for a year.

I also just memorized Psalm 50 in ESV. I wasn’t quite aware what I was getting myself into when I picked it, since it starts out nice:

The Mighty One, God the LORD,
speaks and summons the earth
from the rising of the sun to its setting. 
Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty,
God shines forth. 

When I’d gotten that far and turned the page, I saw that the Psalm took a bit of a different tone.

“Hear, O my people, and I will speak;
O Israel, I will testify against you.
...
I will not accept a bull from your house
or goats from your folds. 

The next verses are fun. Also famous, so not very hard to memorize.

For every beast of the forest is mine,
the cattle on a thousand hills. 
I know all the birds of the hills,
and all that moves in the field is mine. 

These next verses I was surprised to recognize. Jonah quotes them fairly closely in Jonah chapter two, from the fish’s belly. One of those unexpected connections that are fun to find:

Offer to God a sacrifice of thanksgiving,
and perform your vows to the Most High, 
and call upon me in the day of trouble;
I will deliver you, and you shall glorify me.”

At this point the tone switches again, contrasting the righteous to the wicked. 

But to the wicked God says:
“What right have you to recite my statutes
or take my covenant on your lips? 
For you hate discipline,
and you cast my words behind you
...
“You give your mouth free rein for evil,
and your tongue frames deceit. 

God also tells the wicked what is going to happen if they don’t change. Such statements are an important but sobering aspect of the Bible.

“Mark this, then, you who forget God,
lest I tear you apart, and there be none to deliver! 

The Psalm ends happily, though, with the results that follow correct behavior.

The one who offers thanksgiving as his sacrifice glorifies me;
to one who orders his way rightly
I will show the salvation of God!”

It was fun to just pick a chapter to memorize over a few days, and Psalms work well for that type of thing, since the context is pretty much contained in itself. The end is possibly my favorite part: glorifying God is an awesome goal, and seeing his salvation is a great motivation.