... and it all came tumbling down.

Have you ever gotten that feeling that impending doom is upon you? Ok, maybe that's a bit dramatic. To say the least, it's a misrepresentation. Maybe it's more of a sense that change is upon me and the people around me. It's funny how I relate change to impending doom. I think this simply comes from the fact that I'm growing up. Three years of college have gone by so fast and the comfort of "I know exactly what I want to do with my life" seems to get weaker everyday. I guess I'm still learning things about myself, and that's what's really scary. It's like I'm going to be thrust into the real world when I'm not yet ready to stand on my own two feet. I guess I'll just have to hit the ground running.

Now for the less depressing and frightening part of this post. Although the first part of this may suggest otherwise I'm actually extremely happy right now. This time in my life is definitely one of the hardest things I've had to deal with, but for the first time I'm trying to put trust in the idea that if I try my best to make smart choices and surround myself with good people I'll come out alright. This has worked pretty well so far.

The HU Chamber Singers performances! What an awesome time I had learning and performing Bach's fourth Cantata. Despite the one casualty, the opossum I ran over in Smithtown, this weekend of performances was great. Even the weather couldn't hold us back. The Bach was definitely the hardest piece of music I've had to learn and it was the first time I've gotten on stage to perform something that I wasn't sure I had all of the skills to execute, but I did it. We did it. I really love singing with this group.

I've had the pleasure of seeing two operas in two weeks. Well, it was actually the same opera twice. L'etoile was an opera I knew nothing about going into the performance. However, I left that theater completely in love. A friend of mine told me that operas that are obscure are usually that way for a reason. This one was so good though! Seeing it twice was a great idea, not only because the NYC Opera did a great job, but because it will probably be a long time before I get to see it again. Also the events of the second night still make me laugh. I unknowingly attended "Boy's Night" at the opera accompanied by a friend of mine. She, realizing this event and knowingly not clueing me in, decide to adorn male attire to add to the inevitable moment of my realization. Let's just say I wish I had a picture of my face when it all hit me.

What I've learned from these past few weeks is that one must cherish the positive relationships in their life. If you do, and you keep good people close, difficult tasks will be made much easier. Goodnight everyone.

I'm bad at continuous posts.

This always happens to me. I start some type of blog or journal and can never keep a steady supply of posts going. However, this time it doesn't stem from lack of motivation. It simply comes from my lack of time and interesting events in my life. However, hear are a few things I have come to realize recently.

Working on music late into the night makes you forget about what time you have to get up in the morning. Actually, I'm not sure if I forget or if I just don't care. Doesn't matter really, all I really know is that score studying or practicing, anything music related really, is a fun activity at any time of day. It makes me feel like Schumann or something. Now if I could only have candle light in my dorm room. Alas.

It feels really good to be the go to guy. This specifically relates to my opera scenes work. I think I've kind of made a name for myself as a trustworthy figure here. I'm working on THREE different scenes this semester and I love them all. Two of them are from Don Giovanni where I get to play the Don himself and work with two awesome sopranos and a bass whose notes I envy every time I hear them. The other scene is from L'italiana in Algeri where I'm playing Ali. Yes, that's right, I'm playing a pirate! Here I get to work with an awesome soprano and baritone that I just met, a brilliant mezzo, and a mens chorus! The best part is I started out with one scene. I thought Josh was going to hit me when I brought him all this work, but I think I've finally shown him that I can handle a large work load. Scenes is going to be a blast this year.

Another amusing tidbit. Josh, my voice teacher, TEXTS! That made my morning yesterday. Ok, enough procrastination, back to score study. Two performances coming up, one with Chamber and one with The Hofbeats. Goodnight!