Paul Crowley Guarneri model, finished summer 2009
http://crowleyviolins.com/

NYU Symphony Orchestra concert yesterday, when I wasn’t running up and down the stairs  calling musicians for pieces, when I was sitting backstage with a list of the concert order, I MADE THIS!

KITTIES

explanation: the NYU Symphony program was Edgar Varese’s Ionisation for percussion ensemble, Reinecke Flute Concerto, Julia Wolfe’s The Vermeer Room, and Beethoven 3. I like cats. Cats depict feelings. Cats are awesome. Cats cats cats. Isn’t that special?

I stumbled through the Jazz Improv class today and watched a documentary about a woman that attempted to find the origins of a folk song (link to info about “Whose is this song“). I have a rehearsal with Ms. Tanaka today for her recital, which is on Thursday! Tomorrow, I have a rehearsal for the NYU Repertory Concert, which is on FRIDAY!

Cliffs:
Thursday October 22, 8:00 PM, Loewe Theatre@35W4th – Naoko Tanaka’s (awesome) violin recital!
Friday October 23, 8:00 PM, Loewe Theatre@35W4th – NYU Repertory Orchestra concert with Eric Jacobsen!

I used my consortium library privileges for the first time today – the circulation desk workers at Scherman had walked away from their desk by the time I had found the scores to Kodály’s Peacock Variations and Brahms Violin Concerto, and there was a service bell sitting on top, with a sign that said ‘Ring for service.’

I pressed the button but held it down too long and a stifled clank noise came out, then I hit it again and the noise cut through the old paper-smelly silence of the 4th floor of Mannes.

I hate bells.

It was so obvious that I hadn’t ever been in the library (though I knew to open the elevator door myself this time, by the way, they replaced the elevator!!) that I turned the wrong way on the way out of the elevator on the 5th floor (apparently, there is no way to get to the 4th floor using the elevator, you have to go up to 5 and use the stairs) and had to ask someone where the stairs were, which was, of course, right next to the elevator but the other way.

The librarian at the circulation desk asked me if the bell made me feel powerful, and I was still so embarrassed at all the noise it made that I said ‘No, I just feel like a dick.’

Thanks for the scores, Mannes! It was a nice field trip, though, especially when I found out that the downtown 1 train was going express this weekend and had to walk 13 blocks to 72nd street. I bought some discounted cashews, beef jerky and a Red Bull from Duane Reade on the way downtown.

Ever felt like talking to a random person that wasn’t the person picking their nose across from you on the subway at 2AM?

Check out anonymous chat software: Omegle is the best looking one but there are others out there (google ‘anonymous chat’ and many appear.)

While the majority of people there are looking for internet sex, some of them are actually bored enough to just want to chat.

Aside from that, we had our first rehearsal for Naoko Tanaka’s recital on Wednesday, where she’s playing Franck Violin Sonata, a Mozart sonata (I forgot which one..) and BRAHMS PIANO QUINTET! Ahhhh!!!

Tomorrow, the New York Chamber Virtuosi are having a chamber music concert at The Gershwin Hotel in celebration of Oktoberfest – $15 gets you lots and lots of beer and good music! I’m playing in the Mendelssohn Octet.

I posted some events going on in the next few weeks, if you’re not busy, come out to them, and look for them on Facebook and myspace when I get around to updating..

I was waiting at the Broadway-Lafayette platform (again) on a Thursday night and had Csokolom blasting from my headphones. My headphones, by the way (Audio-technica ATH-ES7s) are so awesome that not only could I not hear anything on the platform, but nobody was forced to join in my folk music fun, either.

More for me.

I was reading more musicology text from my class, when a woman approaches the bench – I didn’t really hear what she said, and figured that she was either a)insane or b)a homeless person. I watched her lips move a little while longer, and decided that she was too well dressed and too persistent to be panhandling, so I removed my headphones and heard her say:

“I told the attendants to call 911 twice but nobody’s come yet and he’s rolling around on the floor, I don’t know, he could fall in the tracks or something.”

About a week ago, I was at Steinhardt really late for no justifiable reason as usual (past 10PM there are too many people hanging out in the practice rooms to succeed in getting anything done.) I got to the D train around 12:30 and arrived at around 1:15 in the morning. As wonderful as my train-time-for-reading-assignments strategy is, I failed miserably at it like every other late night and fell asleep – somehow, I woke up at 9th avenue and stumbled off the train.

(I once accidentally overshot my stop by about 4 stations, and taking the D train back added about an hour to my trip. That was terrible.)

I groggily walked home as usual with a couple things on my mind (also as usual:)…
1. Are my headphones covered by my hair?
2. Is the bodega selling corn on the cob with mayo and parmesan today?
3. how many cats are going to be hanging out on my block today?

…when I heard the buzzing of a small motor vehicle through my Missy Elliot discography – I whirled around, and saw a moped behind me. Fine, except that the fucker SWERVES OFF THE ROAD AND ONTO THE SIDEWALK, which puts me in a catatonic deer-in-the-headlights state. Three seconds later, the moped swerves around me and pulls up by a house. A little old Chinese man takes off his helmet, waves that it’s OK, and while I can’t even talk because I thought I was going to die three seconds before, I start jogging away from the guy.

Also, I saw a little old Chinese lady dressed up in a flowery blouse and wearing a Grand Theft Auto backpack.

The abbreviation ‘TBA’, when put on your schedule at NYU, does not simply mean “To Be Announced”, it means “To Be Announced The Day Of The Class So Your Entire Schedule Gets Fucked And Makes You CRAZY” (meaning, TBATDOTCSYESGFAMYC, or, taking away the unimporant words, TBADCYESGFMYC.)

I was registered for Jazz Theory, and Creating a Career for Musicians (again, HAHAHAHAHHA). Dave Schroeder kicked me out of Jazz Theory because I’m not a jazz major, whatever, fine. I registered, ironically, for “Jazz Improvisation for Instrumentalists”.

Creating a Career and Jazz Improv both had TBA for their times, so whatever. First day of classes comes, and I came back from Kokolo Ensemble rehearsal (see the show on the 17th at The Church of The Ascension, 221 West 107th Street!!!!) at 12:30 to find out that not only had my classes been scheduled that morning, they had both happened at the same time on Tuesday morning and I had missed them both! Argggggg, so I decided (swiftly) that Jazz Improv would probably be more worthwhile, and dropped Creating a Career.

I then dropped the Acting class, since I needed to be available for both orchestras on Friday, and all of a sudden I was four credits short, which caused me to embark on an epic quest for a remotely interesting, not so work-intensive (or at least interesting) four credit class.. here are the gems of NYU classdom..

Transgender Performance and Politics in Tisch – I meant to go to the class, then I didn’t.
Special Topics: Silk Road in CAS – Sounded cool, then I received an email about a reading, read that, looked at the syllabus, and realized this was more about artifacts than I cared for it to be.
Intermediate Conducting in Steinhardt – Would probably have been fun, but I should be practicing instead of studying scores. The Conducting Fundamentals course I’m in is pretty straightforward and will at least keep me interested.
Topics: Latin Music: From Rumba to Reggaeton – Sounded awesome but not as interesting as the course I am going to take. Also, fitting Intermediate Conducting into my schedule sounds like a mistake at this juncture.
E35.1025 – Beverages in the Steinhardt Nutrition department - Wine tasting? Enough said. Permission required and the class is waitlisted. Damn.

There was also a graduate CAS music course on Roma music (WHY WHY WHY CAN I NOT TAKE THIS OMG KILL) and about six billion other courses that looked like too much work.

I ended up taking the Middle Eastern music class. Should be interesting….

Also, Leat, Conrad, Natalie and I played a rockin’ show at Death by Audio today! They have a maze exhibit with lots of art – you can actually get lost in it, and we played in a little chamber in the center of the maze with samples and vocals and sing-alongs and lots of great stuff. Also, Leat, Conrad and I dressed in basketball jerseys, I was pants-less, and Natalie had on a fabulous white lacy bow-gown thing. Fabulous…

Wait, I keep forgetting that I’m in class.. weird.

Kokolo ad!

Spending virtually every day of my summer (and the past two before this year’s) at school luxuriating in the summer-borne stillness of the 9th floor practice room floor, it’s almost painful to see the influx of new students and the beginning of the fall season.

This particular year, however, feels different with the anticipation of graduate school auditions, a new violin, and a new teacher. I felt a little lost this summer, amid all the repertoire I should have (and didn’t really) learned, but I definitely learned about violins throughout my violin search and performed quite a bit..

Let’s talk about some things that are definitely awesome about being a senior at NYU, though:

I ONLY HAVE TO BUY ONE TEXTBOOK -

Course	Aisle	ISBN	Title	Author	Publisher	R/O	Price	Stock	On Order	Order Quantity
E85.0092005	******	No materials requested	******
E85.1045026	******	No materials requested	******
E85.1071001	******	No materials requested	******
E85.1075002	******	No materials requested	******
E85.1080001	******	No materials requested	******
E85.1087002	******	No materials requested	******
E85.1229001	******	No materials requested	******
E85.1465002	6,7	9780195099379	BASIC TECHNIQUES OF CONDUCTING	PHILLIPS	OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS	R	65.95	17	0
H95.1906002	******	No materials requested	******

My class schedule…..wait, I have classes?? I’m registered for violin lessons, Alexander Technique, Program Meeting, Conducting, Orchestra, Creating a Career as a Musician (hahahahahahahahahaha), Jazz Improv for Instrumentalists, and Acting (ha). Radically different from my normal schedule….

Otherwise, maybe there aren’t that many perks to being a senior at this school.. in fact, getting completely screwed over with my financial aid was definitely not a fun thing – NYU tries to drop your aid when you’re close to 128 credits (my degree requirements are more, but never mind that), and after much arguing with the bursar and sweet talk with the financial aid office and about 20402194714970 emails/forms later, it was all cleared up.

It would have been interesting to graduate with part of a degree. Jerks.

.. and it was awesome!!

I went through a period of college angst rivaling post-breakup levels when Chickpea a)switched to baked falafel b)closed down their location at 3rd avenue and St. Mark’s place and deprived me of their quality (though slightly overpriced) fried, high-fat falafel goodness.

It became a “NAME THIS FALAFEL RESTAURANT” restaurant for a while, then it became “Tahini,” and now it’s “Edna’s Falafel Shop”. Typically, I eat around St. Mark’s all the time because of the $5-6 dollar bento boxes from Sunrise Mart, but absent a craving for Japanese food, and absent my beloved Happy Taco Burrito dining partner Noam, I figured I would try something new. I went to Edna’s Falafel Shop and ordered the $5 meal, which is a falafel sandwich with any of the salad toppings you want and a canned soda.

The toppings were fresh, the falafel was fried (!!!), not too crunchy, not too soggy and not too abrasive – also, I think I fell in love with their spicy cabbage topping. Forever. I think I’ve overcome my aversion of 23 3rd Ave.

My friend Richard is in a band called Menya – their style of music varies from raunchy to sugary sweet, but it’s all awesome!

They just released a cover of a Vanessa Carlton song, but watch their other videos too from their youtube channel.
check it out!

Menya, of course, has a myspace too. Check out their (many!!![awesome!]) songs!