I feel really happy to be at home, a very familiar and comfortable place. To my surprise, I don't have much homework to do. Spring break is the time for me to take a good sleep since I have been struggling with assignments and papers for the past few days.
Going to enjoy my holiday in HK.
16.3.08
6.3.08
Scholarship audition
(3) Last saturday morning, I went to Missouri to attend a scholarship audition. It was an open competition for performance majors under the age of 25; organized by an international music fraternity.
Contestants had to play two contrasting pieces and my reportoire included J.S.Bach Prelude & Fugue in D major, WTC I and Liszt Hungarian Rhapsody No.6. Since there were many students joining the audition, the organization required each of us to play for 8 minutes only. It was not tough but challenging. The duration was really short. In other words, you had to make good use of that 8 minutes to show your ability to the judges. There was no time to warm-up. I was satisfied with my own performance and this had never happened before. At last, I didn't get the scholarship. However, I am looking forward to receiving the comment sheets.
The audition was held in a college. The campus was quite beautiful.
Contestants had to play two contrasting pieces and my reportoire included J.S.Bach Prelude & Fugue in D major, WTC I and Liszt Hungarian Rhapsody No.6. Since there were many students joining the audition, the organization required each of us to play for 8 minutes only. It was not tough but challenging. The duration was really short. In other words, you had to make good use of that 8 minutes to show your ability to the judges. There was no time to warm-up. I was satisfied with my own performance and this had never happened before. At last, I didn't get the scholarship. However, I am looking forward to receiving the comment sheets.
The audition was held in a college. The campus was quite beautiful.
4.3.08
A war
(2) Finally a war started between me and my roomate. This war broke out on thursday night. Her boyfriend came to visit her. Same as usual, they made lots of noises and it was so annoying. Later, that guy took a nap and soon he began to snore. It was after 11pm already and he didn't have the intention to leave at all. I kept on waiting for the guy to leave and my limit was 12am. This caused me lots of inconvenience because I couldn't take a shower until he had left.
Then at 11:30pm, I asked my roomate, "When will your friend leave? He isn't going to stay overnight, is he?" She answered me coldly, "I don't know. Probably not so soon." It was actually a very dumb question because I was sure that he wouldn't leave. My purpose was to hint to her that I didn't want that guy to stay overnight as I had talked to her about that before. 15 minutes later, I asked my roomate again, "Is that possible to ask you friend to leave by 12am? I would feel uncomfortable if he stays overnight again." This time, her attitude was even worse. She replied, "Well, there's no point that I need to ask him to leave. Non-residents are allowed to stay overnight. If you feel uncomfortable, you shouldn't have signed the lease and moved into here." I frowned and then smiled secretly because she confronted me with the lease. Yet, she didn't read the lease carefully enough. I took a breath and said, "You are right. But there is another rule saying that this is not allowed if it causes me inconvenience and disturbance. I don't have the lease right now. We can go downstairs to the frontdesk to seek for advice." My roomate chose to turn a deaf ear to what I said and she didn't even turn around to look at me. She switched off the television and went to sleep with the guy. Going downstairs to the frontdesk was my last resort. Her irrespectfulness really got on my last nerve. I went to the frontdesk at once.
The RAs followed me back to my room. One of them woke my roomate up and talked to her. At first, my roomate was very conceited and laughed coldly when the RA told her that her boyfriend had to leave. She re-used the rule of "Non-residents are allowed to stay overnight." The RA then further explained the rule that I followed to her. Within a few seconds, her triumphant smile faded and she was speechless except for waking her boyfriend up. After the group of people had left, she stared at me furiously. Undoubtedly, I must move out as soon as possible. I had no idea whether this girl would do something to take revenge on me.
Next morning, I requested for moving to another room. Luckily, there was an empty room available. This rarely happened but the two girls living in this room had moved out. With no hesitancy, I packed all my things and moved out. Now, I have a very spacious double room with two beds, two desks and two wardrobes. There is no roomate. No more TV noises, kissing sounds or loud music inside my room. I can play all kinds of music at any time I want.
Then at 11:30pm, I asked my roomate, "When will your friend leave? He isn't going to stay overnight, is he?" She answered me coldly, "I don't know. Probably not so soon." It was actually a very dumb question because I was sure that he wouldn't leave. My purpose was to hint to her that I didn't want that guy to stay overnight as I had talked to her about that before. 15 minutes later, I asked my roomate again, "Is that possible to ask you friend to leave by 12am? I would feel uncomfortable if he stays overnight again." This time, her attitude was even worse. She replied, "Well, there's no point that I need to ask him to leave. Non-residents are allowed to stay overnight. If you feel uncomfortable, you shouldn't have signed the lease and moved into here." I frowned and then smiled secretly because she confronted me with the lease. Yet, she didn't read the lease carefully enough. I took a breath and said, "You are right. But there is another rule saying that this is not allowed if it causes me inconvenience and disturbance. I don't have the lease right now. We can go downstairs to the frontdesk to seek for advice." My roomate chose to turn a deaf ear to what I said and she didn't even turn around to look at me. She switched off the television and went to sleep with the guy. Going downstairs to the frontdesk was my last resort. Her irrespectfulness really got on my last nerve. I went to the frontdesk at once.
The RAs followed me back to my room. One of them woke my roomate up and talked to her. At first, my roomate was very conceited and laughed coldly when the RA told her that her boyfriend had to leave. She re-used the rule of "Non-residents are allowed to stay overnight." The RA then further explained the rule that I followed to her. Within a few seconds, her triumphant smile faded and she was speechless except for waking her boyfriend up. After the group of people had left, she stared at me furiously. Undoubtedly, I must move out as soon as possible. I had no idea whether this girl would do something to take revenge on me.
Next morning, I requested for moving to another room. Luckily, there was an empty room available. This rarely happened but the two girls living in this room had moved out. With no hesitancy, I packed all my things and moved out. Now, I have a very spacious double room with two beds, two desks and two wardrobes. There is no roomate. No more TV noises, kissing sounds or loud music inside my room. I can play all kinds of music at any time I want.
3.3.08
First concert in college
A few memorable and unforgettable things happened last week. Unfortunately, I had no time to write about them as I had to work on a paper.
(1) My first concert in this college. Being a music student, I have to join an ensemble (choir or orchestra) for credits and I play violin in the orchestra. There was a concert last Tuesday and the programme included Wagner Prelude to Die Meistersinger von Nurnberg , Weber Bassoon Concerto and Mussorgsky/Ravel Pictures at an Exhibition.
The concert was quite successful because everyone worked really hard. The soloist for the Weber was a graduate student and she played really well. I rarely listen to bassoon music and after this concert, I find that the sound of bassoon is very lovely. It is quite mild and the pitch is neither too high nor too low.
My favourite work is definitely Pictures. Originally, it was a piano solo work composed by Mussorgsky and then Ravel arranged it for orchestra. The orchestration was impressive but quite tough for woodwind and brass players. There are a few spots featuring solos of brass instruments such as the trumpet solo in the promenade I, tuba solo in the Oxen etc. There is also an important spot for saxophone solo in. Pictures is a really difficult piece. Not only each part is not easy at all, it is so hard to make every part sound together. For strings, there are two fast movements that require shifting between pizzicato and arco consecutively. The ending was breathtaking. It was full of power and passion. I can still clearly remember how the very last chord echoed in the hall and then the applause joined it.
The orchestra will have concert again in late April. The reportoire will include Berlioz Roman Carnaval Overture, Mendelssohn Violin Concerto and Tchaikovsky Symphony No.5. Such an exciting programme and I am looking forward to it.
(1) My first concert in this college. Being a music student, I have to join an ensemble (choir or orchestra) for credits and I play violin in the orchestra. There was a concert last Tuesday and the programme included Wagner Prelude to Die Meistersinger von Nurnberg , Weber Bassoon Concerto and Mussorgsky/Ravel Pictures at an Exhibition.
The concert was quite successful because everyone worked really hard. The soloist for the Weber was a graduate student and she played really well. I rarely listen to bassoon music and after this concert, I find that the sound of bassoon is very lovely. It is quite mild and the pitch is neither too high nor too low.
My favourite work is definitely Pictures. Originally, it was a piano solo work composed by Mussorgsky and then Ravel arranged it for orchestra. The orchestration was impressive but quite tough for woodwind and brass players. There are a few spots featuring solos of brass instruments such as the trumpet solo in the promenade I, tuba solo in the Oxen etc. There is also an important spot for saxophone solo in. Pictures is a really difficult piece. Not only each part is not easy at all, it is so hard to make every part sound together. For strings, there are two fast movements that require shifting between pizzicato and arco consecutively. The ending was breathtaking. It was full of power and passion. I can still clearly remember how the very last chord echoed in the hall and then the applause joined it.
The orchestra will have concert again in late April. The reportoire will include Berlioz Roman Carnaval Overture, Mendelssohn Violin Concerto and Tchaikovsky Symphony No.5. Such an exciting programme and I am looking forward to it.
25.2.08
An evening in the music department
The school of music and dance consists of 5 floors and 5th floor is the place where all practice rooms are located. It has a L-shaped design with about 100 practice rooms in total.
Last night, I went to practise violin and piano after a concert. There were only a few students practising since most people went out to have fun on weekends. Everything was fine except for bumping into a stranger along the corridor. He seemed to be quite high and he sang while walking. I first found an empty room and went to the locker to get my violin. And I saw him again but I didn't really pay much attention to him. After practising the violin, I put back my violin. There was a strong smell of alcohol in the corridor. I saw the stranger walking along the corridor. To be more precise, he was wandering, not walking. At that moment, I started to feel skeptical of this person as I had never met him before. There are lots of students in music department. Of course, it is impossible to know them all but I can recognise most of them but not this stranger. Perhaps this person was drunk and he just entered the building randomly?
I felt a bit afraid but I still went to practise piano. I stayed alert to the sound coming from other rooms because I felt more secure if there were some other students. Usually, I leave the department at around 11pm and some students are still practising. But yesterday was saturday and people left earlier than usual. The floor was totally silent by 10:30pm. This dead silence made me shiver and I immediately grabbed my bag and left the department. It was mainly because I subconsciously believed that the stranger was drunk and I had no idea whether he was still on the floor. No one else was inside the music department and in case the stranger misbehaved, nobody would come if I needed help. Thinking of this possible consequence of practising for a bit longer, I decided to leave as soon as I could.
It was my first time to walk so fast in the music department despite for nearly being late for classes on weekdays.
Last night, I went to practise violin and piano after a concert. There were only a few students practising since most people went out to have fun on weekends. Everything was fine except for bumping into a stranger along the corridor. He seemed to be quite high and he sang while walking. I first found an empty room and went to the locker to get my violin. And I saw him again but I didn't really pay much attention to him. After practising the violin, I put back my violin. There was a strong smell of alcohol in the corridor. I saw the stranger walking along the corridor. To be more precise, he was wandering, not walking. At that moment, I started to feel skeptical of this person as I had never met him before. There are lots of students in music department. Of course, it is impossible to know them all but I can recognise most of them but not this stranger. Perhaps this person was drunk and he just entered the building randomly?
I felt a bit afraid but I still went to practise piano. I stayed alert to the sound coming from other rooms because I felt more secure if there were some other students. Usually, I leave the department at around 11pm and some students are still practising. But yesterday was saturday and people left earlier than usual. The floor was totally silent by 10:30pm. This dead silence made me shiver and I immediately grabbed my bag and left the department. It was mainly because I subconsciously believed that the stranger was drunk and I had no idea whether he was still on the floor. No one else was inside the music department and in case the stranger misbehaved, nobody would come if I needed help. Thinking of this possible consequence of practising for a bit longer, I decided to leave as soon as I could.
It was my first time to walk so fast in the music department despite for nearly being late for classes on weekdays.
21.2.08
Food & Music
I played Bach and Liszt for my teacher yesterday. He used a very interesting simile to compare the music of different stylistic periods.
"You need to have lots of characters when playing Liszt. It is not right if you just follow the score. Just like, um..... in Hong Kong, you have goose, right? And there are other food such as carrots, chicken etc and you have to choose what to eat. Unlike Bach or Mozart, you have to look carefully what the composer has written on the score. It is just like you eat what you are served. You have no choice."
"You need to have lots of characters when playing Liszt. It is not right if you just follow the score. Just like, um..... in Hong Kong, you have goose, right? And there are other food such as carrots, chicken etc and you have to choose what to eat. Unlike Bach or Mozart, you have to look carefully what the composer has written on the score. It is just like you eat what you are served. You have no choice."
16.2.08
An impression on college
Time takes the bullet train noiselessly. It is going to be week 5 of this semester next Monday. Looking back my first month in college, it has been filled with ups and downs.
I didn't study A-Level. My academic level is around form 5. Usually, form 5 graduates attend community colleges and then transfer to universities. Yet, I go to a university directly. Most universities in the US require freshman and sophomore students to take English class. Among all the subjects that I take, freshman English is definitely one of the toughest subjects. Overall, it is English course for local students and the standard is much higher than that of HK. We have to read very often and write papers. It takes me ages to do reading because I need to look up words in the dictionary from time to time. The topics of the papers are usually about social issues. My first paper is about global warming and the one that I am working on currently is about the conflicts of education in the USA. I can still vividly remember how frustrated I felt when reading the syllabus. The requirement for the paper is 3 to 4 pages. Later, when I wrote the first paper, it was not as much as I expected. It is because of the format of college paper which is double-spacing everything with a header on the first page. I wrote around 1000 words at last but I only wrote 300 words when I was in form 5.
Another subject is music theory. I have theory class every day and we are given lots of homework and tests. Frankly, this subject is pretty challenging. I skipped theory I and I went to theory II after coming to this school. I must perform well in this subject. If not, I won't be able to take musicology class next semester.
Going to audition for a scholarship two weeks later. I really need to spend more time on piano practice.
I didn't study A-Level. My academic level is around form 5. Usually, form 5 graduates attend community colleges and then transfer to universities. Yet, I go to a university directly. Most universities in the US require freshman and sophomore students to take English class. Among all the subjects that I take, freshman English is definitely one of the toughest subjects. Overall, it is English course for local students and the standard is much higher than that of HK. We have to read very often and write papers. It takes me ages to do reading because I need to look up words in the dictionary from time to time. The topics of the papers are usually about social issues. My first paper is about global warming and the one that I am working on currently is about the conflicts of education in the USA. I can still vividly remember how frustrated I felt when reading the syllabus. The requirement for the paper is 3 to 4 pages. Later, when I wrote the first paper, it was not as much as I expected. It is because of the format of college paper which is double-spacing everything with a header on the first page. I wrote around 1000 words at last but I only wrote 300 words when I was in form 5.
Another subject is music theory. I have theory class every day and we are given lots of homework and tests. Frankly, this subject is pretty challenging. I skipped theory I and I went to theory II after coming to this school. I must perform well in this subject. If not, I won't be able to take musicology class next semester.
Going to audition for a scholarship two weeks later. I really need to spend more time on piano practice.
12.2.08
Masterclass
A very famous pianist and teacher, Professor Zitta Zohar holds masterclasses at my school these two days. I was very lucky that I had a chance to play Liszt Hungarian Rhapsody No.6 for her.
Usually, masterclasses are held in a hall. Yet, Professor Zohar's masterclass is held in a small room. There are a few good things to hold a masterclass in a small room. One reason is that most students tend to feel nervous when playing on stage and besides, the teacher help you polish the piece in front of lots of people. This is tough because all the audience put their attention on you. Sometimes, you may want to work on the things taught by the masterclass teacher but you are not able to do it because of the nervouness. You will probably feel awful and this will be even worse if the masterclass teacher is mean. Besides, if a masterclass is held in a hall, the audience rarely ask questions because they are not supposed to do that. It happens that it is like spoon-feeding in which the student works on the piece with the teacher while the others just sit and listen.
Professor Zohar prefers teaching in a small room because she likes to work on details. Namely, to have a lesson with the student. This afternoon, my professor, another professor and his wife came to the class. During the one hour class, the two professors raised questions occasionally. They were not trying to challenge Professor Zohar but to share their different ideas. The learning atmosphere was very good because everyone was so devoted into the class. For me, I couldn't feel that the masterclass teacher was "teaching" at all. Instead, it was like a discussion. On piano playing, there are many possible hand movements to play the same notes. Every pianists have different hand size, flexibility and shape and we don't play with the exact hand motions. We discussed different hand movements and then tried to figure out which one was better.
It was such a wonderful experience. Participating in a masterclass is quite boring for the audiences (if it is held in a hall). However, today's masterclass was definitely exhilarating. Though I was not satisfied with my playing, I still enjoyed the lesson very much. I was not nervous but I did feel insecure because I only practised the piece for about one week and then I had to play it in a masterclass. Professor Zohar worked on the piece with me in a very fine way and her suggestions were very helpful. She explained everything clearly whenever I asked her questions. No wonder she is so popular among students.
Usually, masterclasses are held in a hall. Yet, Professor Zohar's masterclass is held in a small room. There are a few good things to hold a masterclass in a small room. One reason is that most students tend to feel nervous when playing on stage and besides, the teacher help you polish the piece in front of lots of people. This is tough because all the audience put their attention on you. Sometimes, you may want to work on the things taught by the masterclass teacher but you are not able to do it because of the nervouness. You will probably feel awful and this will be even worse if the masterclass teacher is mean. Besides, if a masterclass is held in a hall, the audience rarely ask questions because they are not supposed to do that. It happens that it is like spoon-feeding in which the student works on the piece with the teacher while the others just sit and listen.
Professor Zohar prefers teaching in a small room because she likes to work on details. Namely, to have a lesson with the student. This afternoon, my professor, another professor and his wife came to the class. During the one hour class, the two professors raised questions occasionally. They were not trying to challenge Professor Zohar but to share their different ideas. The learning atmosphere was very good because everyone was so devoted into the class. For me, I couldn't feel that the masterclass teacher was "teaching" at all. Instead, it was like a discussion. On piano playing, there are many possible hand movements to play the same notes. Every pianists have different hand size, flexibility and shape and we don't play with the exact hand motions. We discussed different hand movements and then tried to figure out which one was better.
It was such a wonderful experience. Participating in a masterclass is quite boring for the audiences (if it is held in a hall). However, today's masterclass was definitely exhilarating. Though I was not satisfied with my playing, I still enjoyed the lesson very much. I was not nervous but I did feel insecure because I only practised the piece for about one week and then I had to play it in a masterclass. Professor Zohar worked on the piece with me in a very fine way and her suggestions were very helpful. She explained everything clearly whenever I asked her questions. No wonder she is so popular among students.
5.2.08
A parcel
I feel happy every time I receive a parcel from my family. This morning, I got a parcel again. There were lots of food, two red packets and a cute teddy bear in Chinese costumes.
I am thinking how much time it will take for me to eat all the food. This photo only shows the categories of food. For some of the snacks, my mom has sent me a few packets.
Mrs Fields cookies and the fluffy teddy bear. Sadly, the box can only fit in two pieces of cookies. I have to remind myself not to eat all of them in one time.
I love the biscuits and the box. The box looks so ellegant.
Red packets!
I am thinking how much time it will take for me to eat all the food. This photo only shows the categories of food. For some of the snacks, my mom has sent me a few packets.
Mrs Fields cookies and the fluffy teddy bear. Sadly, the box can only fit in two pieces of cookies. I have to remind myself not to eat all of them in one time.
I love the biscuits and the box. The box looks so ellegant.
Red packets!
3.2.08
Roomate
The first two days of school were not bad. However, these two weeks were completely a nightmare to me. There were lots of assignments and quizzes. Homework seemed to be endless. Besides, my first piano lesson with the professor was not very good. I got very frustrated and stressed and my parents were so concerned about me.
I didn't feel happier until yesterday. I had my second piano lesson and it was great. The professor told me lots of things to interpret the 3rd mvt of Beethoven Sonata Op.109. My professor performed Beethoven Sonata Op.109 many years ago and I was so impressed by his thorough understanding of the work. Yet, at the end I had to give up playing this piece because the professor thought that it is too difficult for me. I got to understand why my first piano lesson was a bit disappointing. The reason is that I was the last student on that day. Teaching students for hours is definitely not en easy job for my 6X years old professor. He didn't speak much during the lesson. Meanwhile, I was the first student yesterday and he taught me many things. I discussed with him about an audition for a scholarship and he was so enthusiastic about it. The audition required two contrasting works, one Baroque or Classical composition and one Romantic, Impressionistic or Modern composition. I decided to play Bach Prelude and Fugue and Liszt Hungarian Rhapsody. I opted for doing an old piece because I was not confident in refining and memorising the Liszt Paganini Etude within one month. Besides, I performed the Liszt Hungarian Rhapsody before and I knew what I needed to improve.
My roomate doesn't know how to respect the others at all. She keeps on doing something that bothers me a lot. Everytime, I just turn a deaf ear or a blind eye to it. It is because I don't want to have any quarrels with her. However, this morning, beyond doubts, I couldn't just remain silent anymore. Her boyfriend stayed overnight in our room but she didn't tell me before that. She went out quite late last night and I didn't expect her to come back. After I had fallen asleep, I barely heard the sound of opening a door. I was too tired to take a glance at her at that time. Nevertheless, I never expected that she would bring her boyfriend to sleep in our room because he didn't make any noise. At the middle of the night, I was waken up by loud snores. It was so strange because my roomate didn't snore. I couldn't see anything since it was too dark. Then I went back to sleep. This morning, I heard a male voice when I got up. I immediately looked round and I saw my roomate and her boyfriend lying on the bed. That was getting on my very last nerve. I couldn't stand a stranger of opposite sex staying in my room overnight, especially I was not told about it. In no doubt, it was my roomate's problem and she didn't respect me at all. Indeed, every time her boyfriend came to our room, they made so much noise which disturbed me a lot. They kissed loudly and turned up the volume of the TV even when I was doing assignments. And I couldn't take a shower as the door of the bathroom can't be locked from inside. Every time I told myself to bear them. But having a male sleeping in my room is beyond my tolerance. I talked to my roomate after the guy had left. She just said, "Ok." I had no idea if she would listen to me. Just hope that this will not happen again.
I didn't feel happier until yesterday. I had my second piano lesson and it was great. The professor told me lots of things to interpret the 3rd mvt of Beethoven Sonata Op.109. My professor performed Beethoven Sonata Op.109 many years ago and I was so impressed by his thorough understanding of the work. Yet, at the end I had to give up playing this piece because the professor thought that it is too difficult for me. I got to understand why my first piano lesson was a bit disappointing. The reason is that I was the last student on that day. Teaching students for hours is definitely not en easy job for my 6X years old professor. He didn't speak much during the lesson. Meanwhile, I was the first student yesterday and he taught me many things. I discussed with him about an audition for a scholarship and he was so enthusiastic about it. The audition required two contrasting works, one Baroque or Classical composition and one Romantic, Impressionistic or Modern composition. I decided to play Bach Prelude and Fugue and Liszt Hungarian Rhapsody. I opted for doing an old piece because I was not confident in refining and memorising the Liszt Paganini Etude within one month. Besides, I performed the Liszt Hungarian Rhapsody before and I knew what I needed to improve.
My roomate doesn't know how to respect the others at all. She keeps on doing something that bothers me a lot. Everytime, I just turn a deaf ear or a blind eye to it. It is because I don't want to have any quarrels with her. However, this morning, beyond doubts, I couldn't just remain silent anymore. Her boyfriend stayed overnight in our room but she didn't tell me before that. She went out quite late last night and I didn't expect her to come back. After I had fallen asleep, I barely heard the sound of opening a door. I was too tired to take a glance at her at that time. Nevertheless, I never expected that she would bring her boyfriend to sleep in our room because he didn't make any noise. At the middle of the night, I was waken up by loud snores. It was so strange because my roomate didn't snore. I couldn't see anything since it was too dark. Then I went back to sleep. This morning, I heard a male voice when I got up. I immediately looked round and I saw my roomate and her boyfriend lying on the bed. That was getting on my very last nerve. I couldn't stand a stranger of opposite sex staying in my room overnight, especially I was not told about it. In no doubt, it was my roomate's problem and she didn't respect me at all. Indeed, every time her boyfriend came to our room, they made so much noise which disturbed me a lot. They kissed loudly and turned up the volume of the TV even when I was doing assignments. And I couldn't take a shower as the door of the bathroom can't be locked from inside. Every time I told myself to bear them. But having a male sleeping in my room is beyond my tolerance. I talked to my roomate after the guy had left. She just said, "Ok." I had no idea if she would listen to me. Just hope that this will not happen again.
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