Summer 2017

I am the worst at blogging. I always say I'm going to do it and then never do. Right now I'm currently flying back from Las Vegas on an airplane with no internet, so I can't think of a better time than this to update the world on my summer of music.

If you didn't know, I was accepted by UC Santa Barbara and USC Doctoral Programs in Collaborative Piano. USC was one of my top choices but their financial aid offer was drastically lower than UCSB. I have a significant amount of student loan debt from my Master's at NYU and I can't justify doubling it. So, I am excited to be heading to UCSB on a full scholarship, a TA, and have made the University's most prestigious chamber ensemble. The collaborative piano professor Robert Koenig is amazing and has recently finished the most epic concert tour all over the world. I am looking forward to working with him and have already started learning Beethoven's "Kreutzer" Violin Sonata. He has also assigned me to a Graduate Voice recital. It is already looking like it will be a busy year.

I am all finished at CSU Stanislaus. I played for several student's senior recitals, performed in my last Faculty Chamber Concert, and ended with a bang performing Mozart's 12th Piano Concerto with the University Orchestra. I am still waiting for the University to get me recordings of all of the concerts. As soon as I do I will be posting several videos to YouTube!

I thought the Mozart went pretty well. I was really nervous and aside from a bit of frantic playing before I calmed down and some dumb mistakes that have never happened, I really can't complain. It is an honor to play with a real orchestra and I hope I can do it again soon.

Playing the Mozart was a great way to cap off my 4 years as the Music Department Accompanist and Class Piano Adjunct Faculty Position. There were some definite ups and downs but I learned a lot and was fortunate to perform and collaborate with some great musicians. It is the right time to move on from Stanislaus and I am ready for the next chapter of my musical journey. I will miss several of my colleagues and students!

I have been teaching several students private lessons and it has been a lot of fun watching them progress on the piano. I have 8 students of varying age and ability. Some are learning pretty advanced repertoire. I have enjoyed teaching this summer and we will be having our studio recital very soon.

Last week I had the pleasure of playing with Brad Garner. He is one of the best flute players in the world. He is a professor of flute at NYU, Julliard, and Cincinnati Conservatory and plays in the NY Phil. He taught my Stanislaus colleague Jeannine Dennis while she studied at CCM and she setup a terrific day for her Flute students. It was a long day of playing. There were 5 hours of Masterclasses and then the recital afterwards with Brad. We rehearsed each piece once and then did the gig. It went well and everybody enjoyed it. I'd like to play with him again sometime.

I was supposed to have a concert tonight with my former piano teacher Kevin Memley. It was cancelled due to power issues at the venue. Fresno is hotter than blazes during the summer and no AC would have been miserable. He wants to reschedule it in October but I don't know if I will be available due to my commitments at UCSB.

Well that's it for the latest music updates. Since the concert was cancelled I tagged along with my friends to Vegas for the week. Head over to the poker blog to find out how that went. I might go to Morro bay for the weekend... I'm out of taffy and wine tasting sounds awesome! So to recap... A bunch of music, 2 trips to Vegas, a trip to Magic Mountain, and of course a lot of good food! Until next time and hopefully not this far spread apart Jared out......