I Have No Water...

Well... there is nothing quite like waking up, and trying to flush the toilet, only to discover that the water in the building has been turned off without warning. I'm not exactly impressed, but I'm not going to freak out for another half an hour, when I become late for class.

I turned 26 the other day, and I'm not sure if it actually happened. Seems to me, it kind of feels like a speedometer rolling over in my head, but that didn't happen this time. Also, looking back, this year went way too fast. I'm getting close to being finished my first year out in Victoria already, as well, and then I'll be on the home stretch for this degree. Maybe my perception of time has been destroyed by the excessive length of my undergrad degree.

I've recently started reading sports psychology books. It's funny, because they really do apply to performance, and it seems like I play some serious head games when I perform. Gene seems to think that I lose focus when I play, which is why I have problems reading ahead in the music. Anywho, I am reading The Inner Game of Tennis, which I've read before, but I think I'll understand more now. It is the original sports psychology book, and it has spawned many sequels (such as The Inner Game of Music, which is next on the block). We'll see if it works, but so far, I can really see the benefits from actually understanding what the mind does in a performance setting.

Finally, my brass quintet, The Quintessential Brass, has finalized our program for our recital on March 19th. It's going to be one hell of a concert, and I'm starting to connect with the Kidney Foundation on it. The recital is going to be a benefit concert, with the proceeds going to the Kidney Foundation. They've sent out brochures for us, and put us up on their current events website (http://www.kidney.bc.ca/) and taken some posters out to the hospitals and dialysis units around town. I'm pretty excited out this, because we're playing some good, hard music. Eric Ewazen's Colchester Fantasy is on the program, as well as Victor Ewald's Quintet No. 2, standard fare for the brass quintet. Should be a great time!