Bach and more...

So this Friday is finally the day we all have been waiting for the performance of the Bach B Minor Mass at the Immaculate Conception Church at 7:30. Despite all of the long and some trying rehearsals I am so excited to say that it is finally coming together. There is only one more dress rehearsal and that is today and then we all have to hope for the best. I truly believe that it will be something quite special so if you are free on Friday night you should definitely come! It will also be Dr. Sharp's last major concert at Rhodes which is quite a sad/ monumental event so it is definitely something that should not be missed.
I also have a few pretty exciting auditions coming up for myself. In less than two weeks I am auditioning for the regional NATS performance which I am very excited about and have hopes of doing well in the competition. Also coming up I am auditioning for the Cauthen Award to sing an aria with the Rhodes orchestra next year which is something I would be honored to do! I am working hard to perfect my performance. Another exciting audition I have coming up is for the chorus of Opera Memphis. I think it would be so amazing if I actually had the opportunity to sing for a professional company. I will keep you updated with hopefully some exciting news for at least one of these things! Until then I've got a lot of singing to do!

Kronos Quartet

This past Saturday, March 15th, the Germantown Performing Arts Center was privileged enough to have the world renowned Kronos Quartet performing on their stage. Because of incredible programs such CODA the tickets were only $5 for Rhodes College community members making it quite affordable to go to an otherwise expensive concert. The works that they performed fell under two different categories, either they were written for Kronos or they were arranged for Kronos this indicating the true uniqueness of the group. One of the pieces that was arranged for Kronos was “Death is the Road to Awe” from the movie The Fountain. I had previously heard this piece in the movie The Fountain which moved me quite a bit. It was quite special to hear the Kronos Quartet version of this piece as well especially to experience it live. The scoring for the work consisted of two violins, a viola, and a cello. The dynamics used throughout this piece call for areas of p followed by dramatic crescendos. The melody is also quite dramatic and powerful with the help of the variation of dynamics. This was my favorite piece they played and left for a great smash before intermission. It was also quite moving to watch and hear some of the pieces that were actually written for Kronos such as “The Order of Things” and the concluding piece “Particle 423.” It was quite a unique experience to actually hear works that were written for specific performers and listening to the virtuosity of the musicians and listening to the complex works put that into perspective. I hope to have the opportunity to hear them again sometime in the near future.

The PGA Tour Loves Art Too

Over my amazing Spring Break in Fort Lauderdale, Fl I had the amazing experience of being able to go and see a PGA Tour Event. The tournament was The Honda Classic at PGA National in Palm Beach Gardens, Fl. No Tiger Woods was not playing that week but tons of other incredible golfers including my favorite golfer of all time Davis Love III. You might be asking yourself right now why in the world is he writing about a professional golf tournament in what is supposed to be an arts blog well this is the reason. As I wandered down the lush green grass of PGA National the nature surrounding me was not the beauty bestowed onto me. There were these enormous 10 feet wide by 20 feet tall murals surrounding every hole. I had no idea that I would ad the amazing opportunity to see such incredible works of art while watching my favorite sport in the world and my favorite golfer. It was truly wonderful for me to see so many people stop to see the incredible art before their eyes and see the utter amazement in their eyes. I had absolutely no idea why these murals were here but they added such a great experience to the day. In all there were 128 paintings by artist Kiril Jeliazkov who chose to bring his work to this specific event after its tremendous success over in Europe. Jeliazkov said, "My goal is to create a body of work that visually translates the way “Life” relates and expresses itself through the vast variety of cultures, communities, countries and attitudes." It was such a great treat to see the arts which is one of my passions incoporated with another one of my passions, golf. I hope that in the future more artists choose to do more things like this.