The Violinist

 The Violinist 

{Artwork by Joseph Rodefer De Camp}

I love this painting. It's a perfect blend of music and Regency. 

Canvas!

Since my sister is moving away for nine months, that means something. It means I will really miss her. That also means that I get my own room for nine months. Nice. (There is a few benefits) That also means that I can decorate it however I want to. And so I am planning a theme, a mixture of music and vintage. So hopefully in August when she moves away,  I will be posting pictures of the finished product. Here is something that is already underway. I took this picture of my violin in the woods at our house, edited it using PicMonkey, and ordered a canvas from York Photo. They had a sale on canvases, and so both Jalisa and I ordered one. So I am hoping it will come today or tomorrow! 

By the way, the textures and daguerreotypes on PicMonkey are amazing. You should really try them.

I'll post a picture of canvas when it arrives. :)  

Hope in the Darkness

Violin Challenges-No. 3

Here is the song that I am currently laboring over. :) It feels like I've been on this one for such a long time, and I will be on it for years. Like my music teacher always says, compositions like these "take a lifetime." Smiles. Speaking of a challenge! The Gavotte en Rondeau, composed by Bach, is part of the Sonata VI. 

And, as usual, when I play this song it does not (unfortunately) sound like this clip, but I'll keep working at it.   Music is for a lifetime. Love it.    

Quiz Retreat & Chorus Tour 2012!

This year was the best year I ever had of quizzing and chorus. I learned lots of things during quizzing, and the chorus songs we had this year were awesome and the people were fun. So here are some final pictures of Quiz Retreat and Tour 2012!  

This is the whole chorus on tour. A couple people didn't come, but this is pretty much everybody. We have about seventy, it's fun having such a big chorus. We stayed at Penn York Retreat Center, so we had a gym!  (Awesome) We usually stay in one or two churches, but this year the retreat center was great. We played basketball and speed v-ball all the time and had lots of fun. We had four programs, two of them in New York and two in Pennsylvania. 

Oh, quiz retreat. :) I learned so much during the quiz season this year! With my totally cool teammates, Laura and Lexi, and my inspiring coach, Laura's mom Mary, they made my third year quizzing the best yet. I got to know lots of new people too, and that is always great.  

Here are some things I learned: 

1. Never judge by first impressions. :) 

2. Being a good sport is so much more important than winning! And also, being a good sport is so much more fulfilling, because when you lose, (you will sometimes) you can be happy for the other teams! We didn't get a trophy this year, but winning isn't everything. We had so much fun anyway. 

3. If a person tells you someone else is a jerk or cocky or whatever, don't believe them. Wait and see for yourself. They probably aren't. (Smiles)     

4. There are more nice people in the world that you think there is. :) 

Team huddles were one my favorite parts about my team. :) Having a team to support you makes everything so much more fun and stress-free. After all those hours of studying, it's easy to give in to the pressure and be competitive and really want to win. But that just isn't the most important thing! We talked about how God is in control of everything and that everything single thing that happens has been planned since creation. Why stress? God knows. :) 

Bottom line? 

God is Control,

Winning isn't Everything, 

But being a Good Sport is! 

Oh, yes. And how could I forget the crazy jokes? Smiles and laughter were a BIG part of our team. Laughing makes everything so fun. We had all these jokes that made us laugh. Laughing draws a team together. Especially a team consisting solely of GIRLS! We were a very girly team. That was really, really fun and special. 

Okay, I'll stop my ramblings...here are some pictures. We didn't win a trophy but we got a chocolate bunny! (Even though we got third in the bunny quiz hehe)  

I gotta explain the beaver cards. Laura had this thing about drawing beavers, kind of an unofficial team mascot, so she gave us beaver cards. Yeah, that little beaver is pretty cute, huh? :)  

And yes, we look silly, but we were having fun...(Smiles)

 

 So that is Tour and Quiz Retreat 2012! Looking forward to next year! :) 

 

All of Me

This song is really incredible. Written and performed by Jon Schmidt, it is one of those songs you can listen to 10 times and never get tired of it. :) For the sheet music, click here. I gave this sheet music to one of my very talented friends Katelyn, and I can't wait to hear her play it! Check out some of Jon Schmidt's other songs on YouTube, they are amazing.

P.S. The reason this song is called "All of Me" is because you use all of yourself to play it, including your forearms. :)

Musical Happiness

"A violinist should always be happy when he is playing. If he is playing well, he should be happy that he is playing well. If he is not playing well, then he should be happy because it will soon be over." 
-Jascha Heifetz-


Smiles. I like this quote. 

The Gift of Singing

As long as we live, there is never enough singing. -Martin Luther
 

If I cannot fly, let me sing.-Stephen Sondheim 

Some days there won't be a song in your heart. Sing anyway. -Emory Austin

Faith and joy are the ascensive forces of song.-Edmund Clarence Stedman

 

 Singing is awesome! Chorus practice tonight. Love it. :)  

Have a happy Tuesday!

 

Violin Challenges-No. 2

Here is a song I just got from my violin teacher. I had played two rather mournful songs that I really loved, Ashokan Farwell and Midnight on the Water. And so I wanted another because I hadn't had one for a while. So he gave me this beautiful song, Si Bhaeg, Si Mohr. Again, my rendition won't sound this great, but I'll try. :)

Violin Challenges-No. 1

This is the song I am currently practicing on my violin. I just started the book "Bach: Sonatas and Partitias" not long ago. It has some incredibly hard songs in it that I'm not even close to being able to play, so I'll be in the book for a loooong time. Years. :) This is the second song in the book that I am learning, those are probably the two easiest ones. Haha. And let it be known, dear readers, that I do not play this song at the speed of this video. I play it maybe a tenth that fast. lol That is the real speed that it should be at. I didn't master it like that yet. I still have some work to do. Smiles.
Some time I'll post one of the really hard songs from the book. They are amazing but I won't be able to play them for a long time! This book has also brought some new musical challenges, such as a totally new kind of fingering. This fingering is very common in Classical music, but it is really tricky for me. :) Hope you enjoy this video.