Post-concert(s): After the studio recital and orchestra concert

On my week off from pre-college, I've been thinking about how my performances went. Two weeks ago, I had a studio recital, and last week I had an orchestra concert. Both went quite well, even better than I'd hoped. It's been nice to have a bit of time to reflect on my first performances of the year.

It's always been sort of a part of my nature to second-guess myself on most things, and performing on the harp is no exception. The doubt isn't always apparent to others, but I often find myself nervous on stage because I doubt my ability to just...play. The studio recital was especially rewarding, as it was a chance for me to prove to myself that I could play without this underlying doubt. Thankfully, with the encouragement of my teacher and my harp guys (see picture), I was able to play without self-doubt. This made for quite an exciting performance for both me and my teacher. I don't think I've ever smiled so wide after a performance.

The orchestra concert went well, too. As always, I had my harp partner-in-crime, Zach, to play this difficult part (Bruch's Scottish Fantasy) alongside me. Although, I must say that the highlight of the concert was the violin soloist featured in the Bruch. The harp has its own solo part, but the violin really shone through, making for a beautiful performance. And though it was exciting while it lasted, I'm a bit glad to move on from the Bruch and onto Ravel's Ma mère l'oye (Mother Goose) Suite.

It's almost surprising how much I've grown in the last year since entering pre-college at Juilliard. The rigor is often (i.e. always) overwhelming, and yet I've learned to adapt while maturing more than ever as a musician. A few years ago, I would have never though that my technique and musicianship could improve so much in a year. I would have never believed that I could play the harp parts for famous (and difficult) pieces like Bruch's Scottish Fantasy, Bartók's Music for Strings, Percussion and Celesta, or Stravinsky's Firebird. And yet, in pre-college I've had the chance to play these pieces and more. For this and more, I am continually grateful.

The best harp dudes ever. 

Studio Recital and Orchestra Concert

This weekend is the studio recital for the students of my teacher, Dr. June Han. I'm excited not only because it will be the first time I've played these two pieces (Au Matin and Scherzetto) in front of an audience, but also because it will be good practice for my senior recital at the end of the year. Coincidentally, both of these recitals will be in the same hall, which will hopefully help me to get acclimated to the space.
Besides the studio recital, there's a lot going on in pre-college. In music theory, I've begun learning how to write three voice counterpoint, which is surprisingly difficult because now I've got to keep track of the rules of Species counterpoint for three voices, not just two. In ear training, we're working on singing and identifying triads and completing melodic dictations.
In addition, the concert for the Pre-College Orchestra (PCO) is next week, so I'll have to drive down to the city early Friday afternoon for the dress rehearsal. In addition to the piece I play in, Bruch's Scottish Fantasy, the orchestra is also playing Mozart's Overture to The Impresario, Barber's Essay No.1, and Brahms' Symphony No. 3 in F Major. Needless to say, PCO is busy with all of the fantastic material it has prepared.
I hope to keep you all updated regarding both the studio recital and the orchestra concert!

Bruch's Scottish Fantasy

Since the end of the summer, I've been working on my part for Max Bruch's Scottish Fantasy. This orchestral piece is a four movement fantasy on Scottish folk melodies with a solo part for violin. Additionally, paying homage to the Scottish tradition, Bruch gives a prominent part to the harp as an accompaniment to the violin. 

While this is exciting (especially because I get to double the harp part with Zach, whose amazing playing makes me want to better myself), it's also quite terrifying. There are a lot of solo sections for harp, where I have to follow not only the conductor, but Zach, as well, since he's principal harp. Thus far, Zach and I have been sounding pretty great together, but being in orchestra does make me a bit nervous sometimes, especially since I've moved up to the Pre-College Orchestra this year from PCS. 

In the introduction, things are pretty straightforward. There are some lush chords and pretty straightforward rhythms.

The first movement is fairly straightforward, as well, although some sections are somewhat difficult to play with orchestra. The big chords and arpeggios are easy; however, the midsection involves both triplets and sixteenth notes together in the same measures. This is easy to play sans orchestra, but I find it more difficult once I get to rehearsal.

The second movement...well, the harp has about five chords at the end of a 196-measure rest, so there's not much to worry about there.

The third movement is difficult simply because it moves quickly at points, but it is fairly easy to follow in orchestra.

And here we are at the fourth movement. It's the most rhythmically easy, I think, but the difficulty comes from the HUGE chords in almost every measure (see below). Right now, I feel pretty good about this section, since I've had to practice especially hard with Zach gone this week. I'll be the lone harp in rehearsal this week!

That's all for this week, but in pre-college, you never know what will come next!

Inspiration (Xavier De Maistre)

As of late, I've been struggling a bit with a gorgeous but rhythmically difficult Debussy piece called Premiere Arabesque. There's a difficult triplet polyrhythm that occurs throughout the entire piece, and I just can't seem to get it exactly right. I've also been struggling with how to phrase certain passages. In pieces like Premiere Arabesque and Clair de Lune, phrasing can be everything. So, I turned to one of my favorite harpists, Xavier De Maistre, for inspiration. I took out my CD (yes, they still exist!) of Xavier De Maistre playing works of Debussy on the harp, and listened to his interpretation of two Debussy pieces, Premiere Arabesque and Clair de Lune. Listening to De Maistre's interpretation and phrasing was quite helpful, as he really seems to understand how to "sing" a phrase, not just play it. He plays the difficult rhythms so well that they don't sound cumbersome and tricky; rather, they sound light and playful. Going forward, I plan to think about De Maistre's phrasing while working on the piece as a whole. I wholeheartedly recommend listening to his version of Clair de Lune .
Secondly, though unrelated to harp itself, I've found musical inspiration in one of my favorite musical performances of all time, Marc-André Hamelin's performance of Un Sospiro. The piece itself is beautiful, but few carry it off to the separate realm of musical beauty that Hamelin does through phrasing. When he plays, he truly captures the meaning of the title--A Sigh...

Another year begins: 2013-2014 Project Overview

Just as I did last school year, this year I'll be attending the Juilliard pre-college program every Saturday to study harp. Typically, my day goes from nine to five, though I actually wake up at 4:30 in the morning to commute from Albany to the city.

During the day, I have Harp Class, Ear Training, Music Theory, a private lesson, and rehearsal with the Pre-College Orchestra. The day is long, but somehow the music around me makes waking up at the crack of dawn more than bearable--in fact, it makes it all worth it. Whether it's learning about counterpoint in Music Theory, or listening to my friend, Zach, play an achingly beautiful harp piece, there's always at least one thing a day that makes everything wonderful. 

This year, in addition to the standard classes, I'll be preparing for two recitals. The first recital is a studio recital for my private teacher's students. This means that Zach, Chai, and I will all prepare a few pieces to perform in one recital. I'm hoping to play Etude de Concert (Au Matin) by Marcel Tournier and Scherzetto by Jaques Ibert. The second recital is my senior recital, in which I will perform around forty-five minutes of music that I will have worked on throughout my senior year at Juilliard. Thus far, I only have about fifteen minutes worth of music, which means that I'll have to work harder than ever this year to learn more pieces than I have ever learned in a year. Thankfully, these pieces are all gorgeous, and I look forward to getting to know them.

I can't wait to update you all on how the year is going. Time alone will tell, but so far, things are looking bright.