Laurel Black Music

As Spring Break week comes to a close I realize all of the things I've finally  completed and those that somehow slipped my mind. Of course, there's always too many things to practice. Even if there aren't deadlines, once I start wondering about what to play I suddenly realize that I have too many projects floating around in the corner cobwebs of my brain. The blessing and the curse of the creative mind, I suppose. I found out yesterday that I did not advance to the Semi-Final round of the Ima Hogg Competition, and to be honest - I'm relieved. I would have needed to memorize two new concerti and fly to Texas to play them. Eek! I'm also relieved because now I don't have to choose between a competition and attending the wedding of two of the most special people on the planet. Honestly, though, I was leaning towards the wedding even if I made it into the Semi-Finals. My spirit would have been too sad to have missed it.   And I don't even like weddings....th...

Note: This post is a series of reflections on a truly engaging conversation my husband and I had with two colleagues - one, a choir director; the other, an opera director.  Any of us who are music teachers now were, of course, students once before. We know what was easy and what was hard for us to understand. We know the things we wish we had been taught differently. And for those of us who have the time to change things by applying hindsight, we try teaching in the way we wish  our teachers taught us. One of the most difficult ideas to communicate to an aspiring young musician is finding the need  to play. I don't mean the motivation for practice, or the interest in repertoire. I mean once those things are in place - there has to be a need  to play. The piece, the song, or the role must have some type of catalyst, some need , that demands its performance. This is something that only the individual performing can know, and something that only the individual perf...

This is a retrograde post rather than a future planning post. That's kind of silly, I suppose, but it's my blog and I will chronicle as I please. February 12 was a unique day in Laurel's musical life. No, I didn't win anything or almost win anything -- "per se" --- but it was a day of accomplishments in different arenas. I pushed the magical Send  button on mine and Nati's application for The American Prize. Because the process was simple, we figured putting our names in the hat for this award was something we should do. All it took was filling out the app, sending a photo and links to videos. Boom, done. Easy peasy. February 12 was also a day of revival for my love of singing. I never stopped loving singing, but I did stop performing, as other areas took over. (I also miss acting. It's one of those things that I'm not sure I can do credibly but I find it a beautiful process.) The Director of Vocal Studies at the university put together a...

This morning I finally pushed submit  on an application that has taken months to prepare. The Ima Hogg Competition , held each year in Houston, TX, is one of the foremost instrumental competitions in the world.  I wrote a few months ago about the rep I had to prepare for this: 2 movements of  Bach partita and 15-20 minutes of solo rep. It doesn't sound like much, and I suppose in the scheme of what it could  be it really isn't, but what has been absurdly difficult is capturing recordings that are of a quality I would submit. Luckily, husband purchased some nice microphones which have made marimba recording SO MUCH MORE PLEASANT. So, that wasn't the problem. The problem was not making stupid errors. duh , says the Greek chorus. Maybe it's because I typically use recording as a practice tool more than something to share with the world, but it's really difficult to not make stupid mistakes. Welcome to the world, Laurel , says the Greek chorus.  It also does...

This year at PASIC there were many sessions about dealing with "musician's stress." I'm going to be honest: I didn't go to any of those sessions.  I know  what happens to me when I start to get stressed out. I know  what to do to help me get through it.  I know  that all I have to do is get started and I'll feel better.  So, I avoided those sessions because I think I know how to handle it.  Yet it sneaks up on me, as I'm sure it does all of us. I'm assuming the stress of which they speak is that feeling that never goes away, the feeling that says "hey, you're not practicing so you're being a terrible musician."  That's what I feel right now.  In my mind this stress is sometimes personified as a really snarky smurf-like character who just mocks all of my reasoning. Oh, it was Christmas?   Oh, you were spending time with family?   Oh, you had a migraine? Oh, you were enjoying making a gift for someone? Oh, you...

Well, it only took a few months, but I have FINALLY uploaded some videos. Something about having to watch them myself, then decide if I like them, then edit them is very daunting to me. And there's the whole thing of being judged by them. Anyway, I kinda got over it and put up a few new videos on my YouTube channel. Here's what you'll find: The Body of Your Dreams  - Jacob TV Over There  - Carla Bley Land  - Takatsugu Muramatsu an improvisation - me

I'm a planner. Husband makes fun of me for it -- my need to carry around my HUGE day planner everywhere I go.  I like making lists. Even more, I like checking off things to be done from said lists. In light of my overall positive experience from the Italy competition, I've decided to take on a few more projects. Are some of them out of my league? Maybe. But, I figure the practice I'll do getting ready for them will only serve me well in the future. So, to put my marimba-focused To Do list out there: 2015 Houston Symphony Ima Hogg Competition      My teacher, Nancy Zeltsman, told me about this competition a few years ago. I'm just now grown the cajones to try it. The top players receive a cash prize, but also get to perform with the Houston Symphony.           PRELIMINARY TAPE DUE January 28, 2015           REP: 2 movement from a Bach sonata or partita; 15-20 minutes solo rep         ...