PIANO TRIO with Troy & Juzza

This year has been the absolute bestest year ever. Words can't describe how glad and thankful and joyful and relieved I feel to be in such a fun and amazing Piano Trio at VCASS.

We laugh so much in rehearsals and we communicate really well. The highlight this year was working on the 15 minute Rachmaninov Piano Trio in G minor No. 1.

The amazing thing is we all have such a similar idea about the music we're playing and we click really well. It's so much fun and so rewarding to make music with people who are just as passionate about making the music. I thank God so much I was placed in such a good ensemble! I love playing in the piano trio setting and I love the interaction with the strings.

We just completed our Mozart and Bloch Nocturne III in assessment today. Surprisingly, despite the lack of rehearsals, we were really 'together' and it went really well! I think it helps we have so much fun and laughter and wackiness in the rehearsals. Even though we make mistakes, we're all able to laugh it off and laugh at each others. We just laugh it off and fix the problem. I think that should be the way! It releases all the unnecessary tension and makes making music so enjoyable and memorable.

I'm pretty sure being in an ensemble is all to do with the people you're with. If you're with the wrong people, the music won't shine through and the passion won't emanate from your playing. It's an amazing feeling to be playing with people who are just as excited to get the music going as it should sound! I think I prefer playing in an ensemble than doing solo performance. It's in some ways much more challenging and also much more fun. Well, if you're with the right sort of people.

I guess you have to be able to adapt and accept other people's opinions as well as be comfortable asserting your own. You have to love the music, and you all have to love the music together! It won't work if one of your members isn't passionate about it as much as you are.

Sigh, this year has simply been the best year ever for me doing solo performance and ensemble performance. It's been so memorable and fun and rewarding. I've learned so much and experienced much more the last year in VCASS than all my years combined before! =)

Music: The Voice of Heaven

Music isn't simply about me
It surpasses who I am!
Music expresses who we are
Often shaking us to the core

The peaceful tunes bring solace
Transforming me inside
An art forever embraced
In my heart and soul it stays

O what would I do
Without the gift of music?
O where will I hide
Without its wondrous magic?

Some will distort its purity
Pulling apart its seamless gown
What happened to the pure sound
The power inside that pounds?

As I sit at the piano
My fingers touch the keys
The silence lingers on
Till I hear a heavenly sound

Rumblings deep within
A simple rhythm underlying
Just listen more intently
And the song will surely come

Then I play
And then I sing
My voice floats up high
The golden bells ring

I pluck the instrument
A string with mighty resonance
Unleash the music in me
Inspire a long-lost creativity

Let my soul be still
And the noises fade
When my heart finally stops
I'll hear the voice of Heaven instead.

By Janielle :)

A New Year of Musical Endeavors

Wow oh wow, how did I make it THIS FAR???

Now I've crossed over into year 2011. But 2010 is still very much part of me and all the memories of my musical escapades throughout the year are still floating in my mind. =)

From the beginning, I had my first embarrasing big-time-epic-fail performance at VCASS, when I could barely go through one minute of Chopin's Impromptu in Ab major without a memory lapse!

Then it was uphill all the way. Sometimes I got so stressed out, my mum asked me if it was a mistake that I got into an arts school! But I am grateful to God for helping me through such a challenging year. At the same time, it has been immensely rewarding and fun. For the first time, I truly enjoyed school. And even when the holidays came around, I wished I could go back to school to practice on the beautiful grand pianos!

Now its time to set my sights on new repertoire in preparation for the 2011 year-end Music Solo Performance. I'm so pumped and thrilled to work on the new pieces! Finally, after successfully completing my AmusA, the Australian Examinations Music Board diploma certificate in piano, I am ever more ready to take on new challenges for 2011. :D 

I pray and hope that this year I would be more prepared since I have a better understanding of how VCASS works and how I should practice & manage time in a music school. It's also my final year of highschool! How I wish I could've spent more than just 2 short years at such an incredible place. 

Anyhow, I'm trusting God as I continue to aim high in my music endeavours. Let this not just be about performing for people and living my dreams. Its more than that. I have to choose very soon. What will I pursue after highschool? I'll have to check out different universities and submit audition applications. Honestly, I'm quite worried at the looming future ahead. What if things don't work out the way I want it to? 

Nevertheless, I realize that its not so much about me as it is about doing God's will for my life in this time and season. I believe time is short. We all have to do what we're called to do and be certain about it so no time and talent is wasted!

Every good gift comes from God, and without God's help, I wouldn't have gotten through 2010 doing as well as I did and accomplishing that much! All glory to God. Let me not forget that, "A man can receive nothing unless it is given to him from Heaven."

Carpe diem,
Janielle =)