I got an e-mail today from the admissions coordinator at Eastman saying that the clarinet and flute professors would like to hear me audition. Could this be a good thing? I'm applying for a DMA in Saxophone at this school. Since they don't have a doctoral multiple woodwinds program, I can only assume that perhaps I might be in consideration for the woodwind skills class for undergraduate music education majors... That would be pretty sweet. I hope I can back it up with a decent saxophone audition.


Ibert - check
Feld - check

Tomasi - 8
McAllister - 9

Lauba - 15
Albright - 15

Ticks to go: 47
Days until the first audition: 10
Ticks needed per day: 4.7

I've been surfing the web a little more often than usual lately. Recently I started looking up some of my old friends from Indiana University. Many of them have professional websites outlining all of their professional accomplishments since leaving. Several of them never got their DMA, yet they're all pretty successful.

Maybe it's time to take the plunge and move to New York. It's definitely time to hire a professional web designer to put a site together for me.


Ibert - Full speed!
Feld - Full speed!

Tomasi - 11
McAllister - 11

Lauba - 20
Albright - 19

Ticks to go: 61
Days until the first audition: 12
Ticks needed per day: 5.08

I went to the emergency room about a month and a half ago because of severe stomach pain that was affecting my breathing. They ran a lot of tests on me, but eventually the pain went away and they weren't able to find anything wrong with me.

This afternoon I had pasta with alfredo sauce for lunch; the very same thing that I had for lunch the day I went to the emergency room. I haven't had the alfredo sauce since that day..

About 30 minutes after lunch I started getting HORRIBLE stomach pains. They're starting to subside, but I'm pretty positive now that this alfredo sauce has been tainted in some way. It's in the trash now.

Problem solved.

I found out this afternoon that some close friends from the past are applying to some of the same schools that I am. This is a very nice feeling. I might have a couple potential roommates lined up before the auditions even take place! Very cool.

Ibert - 1
Feld - 1

Tomasi - 13
McAllister - 13

Lauba - 20
Albright - 20

Ticks to go: 68
Days until the first audition: 13
Ticks needed per day: 5.23

I wasn't invited to a DMA audition at Indiana, so I won't ever move back to Bloomington. What a shame... I practice as much as I do because I feel as if I have something to prove to myself, and auditioning at Indiana was going to be a part of that process. At the very least, I wanted to show my old professors in Bloomington how hard I have worked since 2005.

I really wish Indiana had had someone in their doctoral multiple woodwinds program while I was there, because I'd like to know exactly what their expectations are. I thought I was ready...

Scratch that, I KNOW I was ready. I sent them a CD with graduate level repertoire on four instruments. If they don't want me back, that's their choice.

A fresh start in a new city might be the best thing for me... People that do doctorates in Bloomington tend to stay there for a long time after graduating, if they ever finish.

.....

I now have three schools that I would really like to end up at, and two more that I applied to but don't think I could ever afford to attend, even with an assistantship.

The first of the three is a dream school that I've always wanted to go to. I could only go there if I had an assistantship, which probably won't happen, so I'm not exactly getting my hopes up.

The other two schools both have outstanding programs; one is a conducting audition, and the other is a multiple woodwinds audition. I'm optimistic that I'll be accepted to both because of the preparation I've put in. The big question is whether I want to pursue conducting to round out my musicianship, or become a true multiple woodwind specialist. I'm pretty sure that I can continue my development as a woodwind specialist even if I go to the conducting school, but I'm also pretty confident that I can take conducting lessons at the woodwinds school..

It's also a difficult decision because one of the schools is close to home, and the other one is nearly two thousand miles from my family, which I haven't really seen in almost a decade.

Regardless of what happens with these auditions, I'm going to keep intensely preparing for them for the next month. Once they're over... who knows..

Ibert - 2
Feld - 2

Tomasi - 14
McAllister - 14

Lauba - 21
Albright - 21

Ticks to go: 74
Days until the first audition: 14
Ticks needed per day: 5.28

Ibert - 2
Feld - 2

Tomasi - 15
McAllister - 15

Lauba - 22
Albright - 22

Ticks needed: 78
Days until the first audition: 15
Ticks needed per day: 5.2

Ibert - 2
Feld - 2

Tomasi - 16
McAllister - 16

Lauba - 23
Albright - 23

Ticks to go: 82
Days until the first audition: 16
Ticks needed per day: 5.13