Two years ago, on a cold Saturday morning, I prepared for my first ever track tryout. I took a shower, put on my clothes, and got into the car. On my way to practice, I felt strong physically, but I also had an undefined, jittery feeling about how the day was going to go.…
It’s not very often when you get to go somewhere really far away and have a ton of fun. But this was one of these times. But I never would've thought of the one thing I would have to do when we went to Disney World.…
Holding truth today and in the past, attending classical concerts is hailed as a sign of both sophistication and style. Very reminiscent of 18th Century attendances at places like the Music Center at Strathmore, my noteworthy experience broadened my musical horizon. As a newcomer to classical concert-going, I was enthralled by the aural masterpieces and the alluring atmosphere. In partaking in the National Philharmonic's opening concert of the year at the Music Center at Strathmore, one experiences the warm ambiance of classical music in modern times while retaining its renowned value.…
With sweat drenching their bodies and taking deep gulps for air, five young men sling their arms over each other’s shoulders and take their final bow. The crowd’s cheers erupt into shrieks and tears; for they have just witnessed the boy band One Direction perform live in concert. My screams too, can be heard throughout my house as I watch this video on YouTube vowing to myself that one day I will see One Direction in concert. I make this promise to myself, as my screams then morph into tears of joy and longing as the members of One Direction exit the stage.…
Grew up in the 70s, so never got the Beatles phenomenon, the invasion, the crazy teenagers, and all that. Still don’t. Strangely though I know most of their tunes and some lyrics, the beginning part anyway. Since I was living through all these events- Vietnam war, riots, protests, etc – in unintended development oblivion (I was too young), I could only take the film at face value, i.e., lack of emotional association. Having said that, for me, this is just a longer version of a pre-Glee musical.…
I dance classical ballet since I was 3 years old and ever since then I have been doing it. My favorite dancer is Sylvie Guillem as Manon, especially her Final Pas de Deux with Jonathan Cope.…
I was right there; This is the moment. One last time around and then I, Pari Singh, am about to win the Canadian Figure Skating Competition. If I just land this jump perfectly, then I will be in the lead. I did it, but I could feel my leg swoop out. Wait, I thought to myself, this isn’t right. My skate didn’t touch the ice yet. I felt as if I were falling a long, long way down . . . then plunk.…
I have always been interested in piano. However, it has never been terribly easy. I can play piano by memorizing the notes or playing by ear, but I always have had problems reading notes.…
Music was my refuge. I could crawl into the space between the notes and curl my back to loneliness. -Maya Angelou.…
The next stop on my musical journey is the Rolling Stones. My mom holds a very special place in her heart for the Rolling Stones and this trait has been passed down to me. I picked the song Beast of Burden to represent our mutual love for the Rolling Stones because not only does it remind me of pleasant memories, but it is also just a feel-good song. When I went to Kindergarten I had half days so every day I could help my mom make dinner and I can still remember sitting on the counter rolling meatballs while my mom and I jammed out to her Rolling Stones tape cassettes. Beast of Burden is the type of song that takes on a life of its own because the drums and the bass provide a solid foundation and a strong tempo, while the guitars and the vocals…
Walking into the band room for the first time, the sound of every instrument being poorly played by fourth graders suffocated the room. The squeal of saxophones and blaring bass of tubas made it impossible to hear the instructions being given by the band director. However, none of that mattered to me. All I could do was to stare at the only thing in the room that was able to grasp my attention: a shiny, red drum set. I migrated to the back corner of the room where it sat unoccupied, took my place on the stool, picked up some sticks, and immediately felt at home. At that moment, it was clear to me that playing music was what I was meant to do.…
Her eyes glistened with a repulsive gleam of a smile on her face. I walked slowly hearing the whispering of my socks against the floor. It was that time again, piano lesson. Mrs. Zhang looked at me and smirked eerily. I sighed and took my place on the on the bench, close enough to smell my teacher. I put my shaking hands on the keys and began.…
“Juana are you almost ready” I heard my mom call from outside the bathroom door. I fell asleep in the shower again. I only had 35 minutes to get ready for my recital. To make things worse I had just got moved up to a more experienced class with 2 people instead of 5. Over the last year me and those girls had become really close even though I only saw them 3 times a week sometimes 2 but in that short time period we learned to trust each other and were happy for others success. In my new class there were 2 girls who had felt that same feeling for 5 years so they were actually best friends. They weren’t very happy with me joining in so they were really mean to me so I didn’t want to be there as much as I did before. I got ready…
My love for music began in middle school. At that time, I was socially awkward with very few friends. To compensate, I buried myself in music. My dedication led to many honors and admiration from my peers. However, when I got to high school, my relationship with music fundamentally changed. The arrival of an overly demanding teacher coupled with a long episode of depression robbed me of my passion to play. As time progressed, the pain I felt became too much to bear, and I became desperate for an outlet in which I could express myself positively. My quest led me to music once more, but classical was no longer the genre of choice. It was in hip hop and rap music that I found the will to overcome mental illness.…
Ring Ring, we herd the phone and my mom answered, I could not hear what they were talking about but it just so happened to one of they most important phone calls of my life. It was December 10, 2014 that we got the phone call from a band asking me if I was interested in playing with there band at a live concert, first I though I was dreaming and then I realized I was'nt, I could not believe that I had the opportunity to play in a band at a concert at age 12. I had five days to make up my mind of weather or not to play on stage with this bad. I started practicing the songs I was going to perform and they were pretty easy for me but I just had this gut feeling like I was not going to do well. The next day I woke up it was coming so fast, and all I was focused on at the time was practice, practice, practice. This would be a once in a lifetime chance, a decision that would decide my future as a musician, it would decide respect, how people…