February was almost entirely consumed by graduate school auditions. I had 3 auditions within 3 weeks, all in very far away places, so I spent some quality time in airports. On the plus side, I got a lot of plane reading done, and learned how to become a lighter packer (well, sort of).
To spare you the excruciating details of all the auditions, I'll just jump to the results. I was accepted to all four of the schools I applied to- University of Miami, Rutgers, University of Illinois, and University of Northern Colorado. I was thrilled and humbled to have so many options at so many great programs, but it didn't make the decision any easier. Plus waiting for scholarship and assistantship offers was nerve-wracking. More on that in a minute...
After all my graduate auditions were FINALLY done, I could actually focus on my recital! I really only had about 6 weeks between my last audition and my recital date, so it's been a bit of a crunch to get ready. I did get to take a nice breather from it all during spring break, when I headed out to Colorado to spend some time with Joel and to go skiing in Breckenridge!
We had a blast during spring break, and I got a chance to explore a good bit of Colorado. We went down to Denver for a day, did some hiking in Boulder, and then drove out to Breckenridge at the end of the week. I was actually pretty decent at skiing, despite having approximately 3 days of skiing experience about 8 years ago. Joel on the other hand...well, he put in a good effort and was a good sport about it :) Check out this sweet action shot:
You know you're jealous of how cool I look.
After spring break, it was back to reality and into total recital super-overdrive insanity mode. I've actually spent a good chunk of time transcribing, arranging, and composing tunes for the recital. I stayed away from anything that was an typical jazz standard because I wanted to push myself to explore new territory, and I wanted to make the program really interesting for the audience. I think I'm most excited about the original ballad I wrote, which I've arranged to include 5 additional woodwinds.
I'm beyond thankful that I have great musicians playing on my recital. It has made it easy to put this program together with minimal rehearsal time. I know I've probably stressed them out with my craziness over the past month, but seriously, they're awesome. It's going to be a blast to play with them on Sunday!
If you're interested in catching my recital, it will be THIS Sunday, April 15th, at 4:00 PM in the Moody Music Building Concert Hall. Come in person if you're in town, or you can watch the live stream at this link:
Now for the big news! The past week or two has been consumed by phone calls and emails to my four prospective graduate programs as I tried to figure out the best option for me. It took a lot of thought, a lot of talks with people I care about, some number crunching, prayer, tears, and possibly a fair amount chocolate, but...I have decided to attend the University of Northern Colorado next fall! They had already offered me a partial scholarship for next year, and they came through this week with an offer for a teaching assistantship. It's a high quality program with a great vibe, and I know I'm really going to learn a lot out there.
I'm especially thrilled that I will finally be able to be in the same place as Joel after spending about 90% of the part year apart. We've known from the beginning of our relationship that things are always going to be challenging since we're both musicians in the same unstable, uncertain career field. Despite the obstacles, we decided to make it work, and I have to say that any guy who has stuck around through two cruise ship contracts, my summer Disney gig, a year of graduate school, and various other long distance separations is worth holding onto :) I feel really blessed to be with someone that not only understands and appreciates me, but who also shares my passion for this crazy musical life.
This whole graduate school decision process has made me reflect on how God uses these major crossroads in our lives. People always say stuff like "God opens a door for a reason", but I'm starting to think that God isn't limited to one door or one choice. There isn't always THE ONE right path in a situation like this. Perhaps there are several good choices, and all of them can be used to fulfill your purpose and God's will (or fate, or whatever you choose to believe in). God is BIGGER than our petty human decisions about schools and jobs and where to move next. He has the power to use us wherever we are RIGHT NOW. In the end, I've always thought the importance of what you do pales in comparison to the importance of who you are. At least that's the small amount of wisdom I've picked up as a 22-year-old, almost-grad-student, jazz saxophonist. So you can take it or leave it :)
I hope you're now up to date on the exciting events of my life! Ha. In case you like countdowns, my recital is in two days, graduation is in 22 days, I'm headed on a European vacation with my Mom in 25 days, and I'm figuring out the rest of my life...well, maybe never. But the present is a terrific, rewarding place to be, and at least for now, this is as good as it gets :)
Peace, love, and jazz.
