Week 4: One month down!
Happy Monday Everyone! I can’t believe I’ve been at this little project for a month now. Since the beginning of the year, I’ve done 25 days of my full three hours of work, and five more partial days (these are usually 1.5-2 hours). That’s over 80 hours!
So what am I getting from all this work? So far, I've learned three new pieces that were completely new to me, and have re-worked three that I had learned, but hadn’t practiced in a while. I’ve also been rehabbing my voice post-COVID, and it’s going really well. I’ve got a voice lesson this coming weekend to give me a little boost. Sometimes you just need an extra set of ears, ya know?
Wanna know what else I’ve been doing? This week, I started practicing cello again for the first time in about five years. Yikes. Backstory: I’ve been playing cello since I was 10, but the past few years, I’ve been so busy singing that I haven’t had enough hours in the day (or a reason to make the hours in the day) to keep up with practicing. As a result, I haven’t played much since I finished grad school. BUT I’ve been asked to play a special piece at my church job for Good Friday…
Several years ago, a dear friend of mine (who also happens to be a composer) wrote me a cello piece titled “Nicodemus brings myrrh and oils for the burial of Christ.” It is a very moving piece, but I’ve only gotten to play it once. Well, Nicodemus is going to get a second showing, because I’ve been asked to play it on Good Friday this year! I began the arduous process of getting my cello chops back this week (my fingers are real sore!), and man am I getting my butt kicked! I used to play for hours in orchestra rehearsals, and now I’m doing well to play for 20 minutes at a stretch. This, too, will get better. It’s like riding a bike, right? A very stiff bike in need of WD-40…
In the voice arena, things are going really well, and I have to say, my commitment of three hours a day is paying off. I’ve got my competition repertoire almost decided (that’s waiting on my voice lesson on Saturday!), and those long phrases that have been eluding me since I got sick are ALMOST back to where I want them. This is the area where I’m seeing the biggest payoff, and I’m excited to see where I’m at in another month!
This coming week, I’m setting myself some to-do’s, and I’m telling you all so I have some accountability! Here’s what I’ve got:
Finish picking my rep for the Jensen Competition. I’ve got four of the five pieces picked, and I need to nail down the last one!
Finesse work on the five pieces I end up with. I’ll be checking languages, phrasing, intonation, acting….you know….all the things.
Set a recording date for (all of) said Jensen rep - recordings are due March 14, so I need to get on this!
Decide on fingerings for Nicodemus. I’ve already started this, but I need to finish!
Finish reading Audition Success. I’m about halfway through this, and it’s been a great read so far.