Audition for Carnegie Hall

Post by Grace

This is my first shot at auditioning for Carnegie Hall. It's not a perfect performance, but I know that whatever happens is God's will.

International Competitions

by Grace

At the beginning of August, I won my first international competition that I made to the finals. (The only other time I even entered was last year.)
The competition was LA Young Musicians International Competition. They generously gave me 1,000 dollars for winning in my category.
Also, I was shocked to see that I had won a special award for Best Contemporary Music Performance. This was not previously announced and thus, a surprise - and a delightful one at that.
I was so nervous before playing in this competition. I couldn't even eat before the final round (which, if you know me, is surprising). However, Jesus helped me get through it.
He helped me play amazingly for the semi-final round - better than I had ever done before. I was able to express the right feelings: the pain of Ravel hidden under the waves of his Une Barque Sur L'ocean, occasionally coming out in a pained G-sharp. And then I played my contemporary piece, and I was able to portray a lonely, solitary, silent feeling of being alone outside on a snowy day, reflecting on death. At the end was a warm light from heaven.
I bowed. Outside, my mother and I were giddy with delight.

I messed up on my pieces for the final round. Forget the tauntingly long row of judges. There is nothing worse than being surrounded by a room full of your competitors and their vicious mothers, and messing up in front of them. I was lucky to be able to finish my Bach. Angela Hewitt, a specialist in the interpretation and performance of Bach, said, "Playing Bach can be like playing a tongue twister." That was how it was to me.
But I did my best. I tried to show Bach's reverence for God in it. I then played my Debussy. I tried to show the fairies in the woods.

Afterwards, I cried on the way home. I was disappointed by my performance, but I wasn't that sad because I had done my best. Also, I was exhausted, and my body was sore in random places - as if I were seventy instead of fourteen!

We got the call. Before we received the results, my mother and I talked about it. Usually, people who mess up are immediately dropped, or given Honorable Mention. We were hoping that the judges would remember how well I did in the semi-finals and give me third place.
They told me I received first.

And then there was the Hong Kong international competition that I participated in a few weeks ago. It is officially called Alice and Eleanor Schoenfield Strings Competition. The awards were, in order of descent from best to worst: 1st, 2nd, 3rd, Outstanding, Excellent. Sophia and I both won the "Outstanding" awards. We thank God for this.

It was a very good experience. And that is the thing about all international competitions, and all competitions in general. You gain experience that will only benefit you in life. You grow. You learn what to do and what not to do in the future. You discover your mistakes, new things about yourself, and even realize things about your relationship with God and other people around you.

I learned in my competitions that if you really do your best, there will always be good fruit to your labor, even if the outcome wasn't what you wanted.
When I did my best in the LA competition, I wasn't even that sad that I had messed up. I was proud of myself, and that I had kept going forward.
I also learned other lessons (that I'm sure will have to be repeated in my life), like humility and patience. Most of all I am realizing more and more, that all the glory is truly to God.

Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam.

Grandma Paula's Tip for Getting Jars to Open

Ever had a jar lid that was so tough to twist you just wanted to throw the whole thing against a wall and let it smash? 

Cue the Sherlock reference: 

          Grace (Sherlock): *throws jar against the wall*

          Sophia (John [/Jawn]): *runs into the room* WHAT THE HECK ARE YOU DOING?!

          Grace: I couldn't get the jar to open.

          Sophia: *stares at mess, groans at damaged wall*

          Grace: *continues* I was going to look up a way to get it open, but I was too frustrated and lazy.

          Sophia: So you took it on the wall?

          Grace: Oh, the wall had it coming.

Anyway, that was a little extreme. A little.

So here is the scientific way to get your jar lid to come off. Run the lid under hot/warm water. This makes it expand, therefore loosing the lid's grip on the jar. 

Now here is my grandmother's more efficient way of getting the job done. *Flip the jar upside-down and bang it on the counter several times. 

**Always works.

~Grace

*Maybe put a towel on the counter before you do this. I doubt the jar will break. Not sure about the counter. Honestly, you don't need to bang it that hard.

** IT REALLY DOES.

CANADA - Arrival (Day 1)

GRACE: THIS COLOR

Sophia: this color

Grace: Well, thanking God we're here safe and sound. The plane ride was smooth - 

except for the turbulence - yes, and well, we're so glad to see our grandparents and their lovely new house. Vancouver is lovely. Their house is lovely. *dreaming* Sophia and I will live here someday. 

The Vancouver airport was lovely- way better than LAX. 

Yeah, I liked the sculptures and the natural colors to decorate the place. And there were waterfalls travelling down next to the staircases. Anyway, enough about the Vancouver airport. 

Now, my grandparents' talented African grey parrots. They are Baby and Coco. We're not sure how old Coco is, but we're sure he's just as old as Baby, if not several years older. Baby is 20. THAT PARROT IS OLDER THAN ME. 

Baby is a show-off. He's the social parrot out of the two. He likes to dance, especially when you're dancing with him, and he's the one that talks more, singing "lalala" and doing perfect impressions of my grandmother. It is comical the way he flips upside-down and bobs up and down. Just tell him to dance.

Now, to teach him the Mendelssohn Concerto...

Now Coco, has LAID THREE EGGS. Not at once. Unfertilized, yes (like a chicken), but still. EGGS. No, my grandparents did not eat the eggs. They are both very adorable and witty! They can imitate beeps, and even the sound of an electric brush! Beep beep, brrrrrrrrrrrrrr!!!!!!

Hopefully after the dinner my grandma and mother is making, we're play Mexican Train Dominoes. 

Bach Festival 2013 - Why Bach Was a Mastermind

The yearly Bach Festival has arrived, and I (Grace) will be competing this Sunday. My piece is the French Övuerture.

The piece makes me wonder what Bach was like. I wish I could've met him - he was so brilliant. It must have been dark times for him when he composed the French Overture, or at least the first part of it. The piece makes me able to visualize Bach, saying "God...look what's happened." But he isn't crying. It's just pretty dark. Actually, Bach did lose a lot of close people. He had twenty kids, most of whom died. His first wife died. His second wife died as well.

If you heard even the first chord, you'd understand what I'm rambling on about. It's direct and straight to the heart. It's the sensation that you kinda want to cry and you kind of don't but you're a bit too tired to anyway. 

My piano teacher said, and I agree, that it's like a man who has a lot of inner pain but still maintains a strong outward look.
She also said, that to play my piece, there must be:

• nobility
• gracefulness
• glory
• humility
• gentleness

And I think also, the image of Jesus on the cross. 

The piece is in a sharp, dramatic b minor. Not a warm F Major. Not a wet, sad b-flat minor. B minor.
Yet throughout the whole piece Bach wove hope. The piece is so sad, yet the last chord (which is also sad) is so full of glory. Glory to God.

Bach said it better - "Ad majorem Dei gloriam."

3 Bach Puns

Here's some Bach puns we've found online. 

The classic:

Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Bach. Actually, this leads to an interesting Doctor Who idea. What if the Doctor traveled bach in time and met him? 

And our personal favorite:

(We do not own any of these pictures. We simply laugh at them. Peace.)

Sometimes a musician just wants to go crazy.

Maurice Ravel Quote

"Music, I feel, must be emotional first and intellectual second." - Maurice Ravel

What do you think? Do you have a quote about music that you would like to share with us?