Playing for dance classes was not enough to keep me going.
I am entering the realm of contemporary chamber musician.
I registered in UBC's contemporary ensemble for a few reasons:
1) I know I need to get back to playing before I am completely out-of-shape as a pianist and can't whip things back together. I never want to be one of those people who used to be a pianist.
2) I need to improve my knowledge of contemporary repertoire, and what better way than to play it and be around other people who are playing it.
So far, I've been assigned to two ensembles, each of which is playing an awesome piece.
I will be playing along side a string quartet to play:
Schnittke's Piano Quintet (listen to the first movement, the other movements are available there also).
It is a great piece in 4 movements. It's about 20 minutes in length, kinda piano vs. strings in a lot of it. I LOVE the final movement because it is so beautiful. The piano has an ostinato - repeated phrase throughout the movement - an eerie close to the piece.
I am very excited for my first piano duo - 2 piano, 4 hands.
I met the other pianist in passing at a welcome barbecue; his name is Miguel Brito. I know he is doing grad studies in piano performance; I can't remember if it is a masters or doctorate, but either way that sets high standards for me to meet.
The piece is John Adam's Hallelujah Junction. It is about 15 minutes long. This will be a nice challenge for me because it is a minimalist piece - many cross-rhythms and subtle shifts which will make it difficult to co-ordinate. Nevertheless, it is a great piece of music and I'm looking forward to starting work on it.
I'm not sure if there is going to be more or not. This should definitely be enough to keep me occupied in addition to my composition studies and academics.
A part of my wants to be swamped, to take on more than I should, but there is still that pragmatist inside me saying, 'slow down, don't go crazy!' I'm not sure with which I'm siding right now.
4'th Year Undergrad.......
I was still a piano major, preparing my final solo degree recital. Meanwhile, I had decided that I would pursue composition in graduate studies. I was essentially double-majoring and working a part time job as a ballet pianist - it came to be too much. I passed my recital and degree, but I know I could have and should have done much better.
I was not able to find that balance.
Masters in London(, Ontario).....
Realizing that I hadn't found that magical balance of piano and composing, I decided to focus solely on composition. While I wrote for piano and did a wee bit of accompanying, Michael the Pianist became subsidiary. I never really felt musically happy in London.
I was not able to find that balance.
While I was there, I blamed the city itself - something I didn't really have control over; now that I've moved, I'm taking everything into my own hands and addressing the possibility that I just missed playing piano by.... playing piano!
The amount of piano playing I'll be doing should be less than I was playing that year and I'm not working outside of school this year; I think that means I should be able to balance time and whatnot better.
In conclusion, I'm very excited about the opportunities this year - not just to play and make great music, but also to get my life in check and find a way to be the musician I want to be.
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