The life of a Music Education student...oh man.

Photography business?! CRAZY.

2008-03-26T16:20:00.001-07:00

So, I did my first photo shoot last Friday for my friend, Eva. She is a Violin Performance Major and these shots were for her Senior Recital pictures.

So, that was that. THEN, after all 40-sumthing pictures were posted on Facebook, SIX people since have asked me to do pictures for them! Mostly for 1)Senior Recital, 2)ENGAGEMENT invitations, 3)Headshots

It's SO cool! And yesterday I did ANOTHER photo shoot for this Vocal Performance Major who needs pictures for her Senior Recital as well! Her name is Reina and she's basically going to join the Metropolitan Opera in a few years! AND she paid me for the shoot! I'm not used to getting paid...lol

NOW, I need to prepare for a DOUBLE photo shoot on Friday! Y'all, this is CRAZY! lol

Wearing the director cap sucks...

2008-03-01T05:51:00.000-08:00

At this exact moment, I am sitting in the Orlando Airport, awaiting to board my 10:35AM flight to New York City...yea, I always try to be early, JUST in case something goes wrong...well, I got to the gate at 8:00AM...thank God for free wireless internet *thumbs up*

ANYWAYS.

As Director of Stetson's Broadway Revue show, I'm about to kill myself...well, I'm about to allow myself to be killed...the stress and chaos recently is causing a slow, and quite natural, death.

Why don't people just do their job?
Why don't people respond to your emails, Facebook messages, mail, OR plea for help?
I. Don't. Get. It.

What I need to do is just lay out on the table what all I need to do and take care of...hmm...let's see...

1. Buy my costumes
2. Buy props
3. Finish choreography for "Hey Big Spender" and "You Could Drive A Person Crazy"
4. Figure out the stage setup
5. Contact tech people - microphones, lights, spotlights
6. Email Hollis Center people about ballet bar FOR "Hey Big Spender"
7. Write cello part for "Song of Purple Summer"
8. Email advertisers the layout for flyers
9. Don't kill one's self in process...

There. I actually feel kind of better now. It's much better to write a bunch of crap down on an online blog, than it is to keep it all cramped in your mind and lose sleep over it at night because you're so stressed out and depressed.

Oh, and by the way, I still have to do life besides that.
Don't we all, though?

Dove Icecream...m.m.m.

2008-02-21T20:07:00.000-08:00

As I type, I eat.
Dove ice cream.
Not just any Dove ice cream.
Caramel Pecan Perfection.
Perfection for my tongue and eating away my sorrows.
Not so much perfection on that 6-pack I am currently working on. HA!

A Whole New World...not exactly...

2008-02-11T15:30:00.000-08:00

RWANDA - 800,000 were slaughtered in just seven years.
CAMBODIA - 2,000,000 murders under the Pol Pot regime from 1975-1979
HOLOCAUST - 6,000,000 friends and family annihilated
STALIN'S DICTATORSHIP - 7,000,000 murdered people by forced famine for 2 years in 1932 and 1933.
INDONESIA - Tsunami in the fall of 2004, 250,000 people died
DIRTY WATER - In less than the time of the average church service, 1,300 people will die around the world
9/11 - Nearly 3,000 people died
- The same number of people were slaughtered every 8 hours every day for 100 days in
the Rwanda genocide in 1994

Think about it.
We're a little luckier than we think.
Aren't we?
This post wasn't meant to be depressing or a "boo hoo" for the World.
This post is just a wakeup call.
This is life.
I've experienced two people in the past 3 weeks threaten suicide, and one committed.
It happens every day. Thousands of people in the world. Every day. Suicide.
It's life.
Open your eyes and take a look.

God Bless :)

full throttle!

2008-02-09T08:45:00.000-08:00

Ok, Keelyn (talks in 3rd person), let's try this blogging thing full stream ahead! WOO!

I am going to New York City over Spring Break to work with Youth Service Opportunities Project mission organization. Myself and many other collegiate students will work with soup kitchens, the homeless, and in the nitty-gritty that is the inner-city hood. Yes, I said hood. lol

But, really, I am sooooo excited! The great part is, that this is not a Christian organization, this is simply a mission's trip and the group I'm going with are of Christians and I truly hope we can show Christ to these people who don't know of Him. YAY!

Also, I'll be catching up with some old friends and I really really REALLY hope God leads me to witness to them and just be vulnerable and open with them.

ANYWAYS.

So, every day, basically, I'm going to try to make a journal entry of my sociological view of the day. My Intro to Sociology teacher wants us to be more like sociologists and write down everything that interests our brains. It's pretty sweet and I'm interested to see what I spew out in this little online blog. I'm also going to post a new picture of the day. Sound like fun? We'll see...

Here it goes! God bless! hehe

Life in preview

2008-01-31T19:51:00.000-08:00

My precious oboe reeds hehe
Sarah - Violist and Voice Performance Major at Stetson. Her viola is named Tigger hahaha
Brian - one of our principal flautists at Stetson University. He wanted a photo of his hands hehe

Musicians sure do whine a lot...

2008-01-16T14:23:00.001-08:00

So, auditions.
They can make or break you as a musician, as a friend, peer, and person. They can physicially bring you to tears and heartache. They can mentally bring you down to the lowest of any low.
Auditions are deadly.

My auditions were awful, yet, I'm still sitting in the same seat in Band and Orchestra.

Auditions suck for everyone (period)

Risks = Success

2008-01-12T20:38:00.000-08:00

So, I just returned from four interesting days in Tampa, FL, at the FMEA music conference. This is where all the little students come and perform in the Florida All-State Bands, Orchestras, and Choirs.

Sounds like fun for them, right?

Well...it is. But for me, I go and work for Dr.Adams, my band director, boss, and President of NBA (National Band Association). It's hell. Tiresome. Annoying. And somewhat fun some times...meeting new people is fun. Sitting for hours at a booth is not.

ANYWAYS...aside from that description.
What I'm about to tell you goes down in history, well, my history haha

I attended ONE workshop, which was on Ensemble Conducting. I had just purchased my first conducting baton earlier that day (just yesterday, Friday) and of course had it in my hand for the rest of the day haha I couldn't put it down, it was awesome. Anyways. There were a few conductors (actually band teachers) who were going to be conducting guinea pigs for this workshop, and the man in charge saw I had my baton and asked me if I wanted to conduct the large ensemble (Southern Winds) during the workshop. I said "SURE!", why not? I need more experience in front of ensembles. Yea, I'm young and inexperienced, but, I need to get all the experience and critique that I can!

So, I sit next to the other conductors awaiting nervously to get up and conduct "Lincolnshire Posy" by Grainger, and all of a sudden, my good old band director/boss waves me over to see him. In front of everyone (the band, which I know many people in it) he gives me a lecture, starting off with "What are you doing?!", completely confused as to why I (little ol' me, who has never conducting really before lol) is going to get up in front of everyone and conduct! He had the scariest, most concerned face I've ever seen in my life! All I could say was "Well, I'm doing it for experience. I can go tell him [, the man in charge] that I'm not going to do it". And so Dr. Adams continues to talk to me, still wondering WHY I am going to do this and WHY am I going to embarrass myself in front of all these people (there were about 300 people in the room (mostly experienced band directors)). He then ended it with "Well, just go with your gut feeling" and gets up and walks away.

Did I chicken out?

Of course not!

I was the first person to volunteer to conduct and I did fine! Not great, whatsoever, but, pretty darn good for where I am with my experience thus far as a Music Education student. Then, the guy gave me the critique and I was fine, NOT EMBARRASSED, and I sat down and watched the rest of the workshop. It was fantastic.

Not to toot my horn whatsoever (because I am not a conducting Goddess or princess or apprentice) lol, but, the rest of the day random people came up to me and all they could say was "Good job in there! You've got some balls!". Yea. That was it.

The point is...at the end of the workshop, the speaker talked about how we should all take risks, which will lead to success, which leads to feeling happy happy about what you do as a job and as life hehe

God Bless ya'll! I just had to share this!

HEY! My first post!

2007-11-27T19:08:00.000-08:00

I've never really been the blogging "type". haha But, I'm always looking for new things to draw my attention away from the things I do daily - like music theory, conducting, singing, oboe playing, band, orchestra, aural training, field observations - yea. lol That's part of the life of a Music Education Major.

I am indeed one and at a WONDERFUL school! Stetson University in FLORIDA! Fun stuff.

Life is great, busy, ridiculous. But, I rather like life that way - in a busy state, with those few, precious moments of stillness and time alone, and then you get up the next day and do it all over again.

Career objective: conductor on Broadway. Yup. I just conducted the Stetson Orchestra yesterday ("Der Freischutz" by Weber) and OMG the most fun I have had in a while! haha It was amazing, powering, and messy...lol but, I learn from my "mistakes" and move on. Next time will be even better.

Take risks NOW to better yourself a little bit faster...hehe

God Bless!

~Keelyn H.