Wow! I can't believe how long I let myself go between posts! Finding time to write this year is going to be difficult, but I'm working on reevaluating my schedule and prioritizing a little better. I thought I'd take today's post to catch you all up on what's been happening since my last post.
Most importantly, as you saw in the picture above, my wife and I are expecting a baby on April 14! We've been to our 8 and 12 week appointments, and both Megan and the baby are as healthy as can be! This of course has already been life changing for us, and I look forward to learning how to balance this new part of life. We can't wait for Thanksgiving week to find out what the gender is!!!
As Vice President for Programs of the Pensacola Music Teachers Association, I've been busy making sure everything is set up for our monthly meetings. We had our first one earlier this month, and we had a great start to the year! We are looking forward to hosting the wonderful Erica Sipes in October for a workshop on practicing and a chamber music masterclass.
This semester at the University of South Alabama has been and will be my busiest semester in my collaborative keyboard studies. I've had reading assignments, papers, or tests every week. I had almost forgot what that feels like. It's a good thing I love school! I am also preparing for my first recital which will be on November 25. I will be playing the Brahms Viola Sonata, op. 120 no. 1; the Halsey Stevens Trumpet Sonata; and the Muczynski Flute Sonata (with my lovely wife!).
Speaking of my wife, Megan and I have finally got a move on with our desire to perform more together. We have found that we really enjoy performing piano duos together. We've performed a couple times in the past month or so at Dollarhide's Music Center here in Pensacola and have had a blast! We are mainly performing old love songs, broadway tunes, and popular classics like Carmen. We are looking forward to developing our repertoire/programs and having a lot more fun together by giving our listeners a little glimpse into our everyday lives.
On top of all this, I am still teaching a full studio of private students and performing with the Pensacola and Northwest Florida Symphony Orchestras. I am very happy with my current students. Many of them have been with me since I started teaching, and it has been great to see their journey and improvement. I also took on a few new students this year, and I have been very pleased with their level of dedication and progress. This symphony season has many exciting and challenging programs, but this first one in Pensacola already has me jumping out of my seat. Glenn Dicterow, former concertmaster of the New York Philharmonic for over 30 years, will be playing the Beethoven Violin Concerto with us. I can not wait to hear this truly great master perform this masterpiece.
Of course, there are always more little things going on, but those are the major highlights at this point. I look forward to getting back into writing more very soon!