Thursday, July 30, 2009

Tender

Today marked the end of my month of EAMA. Finishing summer music programs has always been bitter sweet for me, but this time seems particularly so, maybe because it was a much longer program. Perhaps it was because I'm older and didn't spend my evenings playing the skittles game like I did back in the day. But I think it is because we had so many chances to make good friends. Being a musician I often feel like I can't connect to other people. The further I get into music, the less connected I feel with non musicians. Not saying I don't have non musician friends, but there is a special bond that comes only through music. Coming to a program like this allowed me to be surrounded by people who are just like me and who each love music the way that I do. I love how intense these programs are, it's like drinking from a fire hose, but I love every moment and look forward to the programs I'll attend in future.
In my time here in France I've made friends with students I would have never come into contact with anywhere else. I've met amazing performers and composers. The amount of talent I've seen this month is incredible, particularly from so many of the composers. Some day when they are all world famous I'll be able to say I saw them fall asleep in a counterpoint lecture. Bahaha.
Parts of the program have been hard and exhausting but I've loved it. Every moment, even when I was having my soul sapped by third species. Fourth species would have really killed me, good thing I chickened out on that one... although, nerdy as it sounds, I plan on messing with more counterpoint on the airplane. I don't quite understand it, but the ideas that were presented fascinated me, and I'd love to figure it out more. It brings a whole new meaning to music and helps it all make so much more sense.
Tomorrow I get to go visit the last few sites I can cram in, who knows what they will be. I'm mostly excited to spend another day with a few other students and enjoy Paris. I don't plan on ever making it back to France, there are too many other places in the world to see and too many cultures to experience, but in my month here I've come to appreciate this country. Although I can't say I would ever want to live here, being here for a month has been great.
This month has been incredible. It has gone so fast. It feels like yesterday that I was worrying about my keyboard harmony entrance exam and wondering what in the world first species counterpoint is. Now I have performed in two concerts, finished three voice third species counterpoint assignments, and survived my keyboard class. I consider that quite the victory. I've visited museums and historical monuments, ranted about cool kings and queens, and been awestruck by beautiful houses of worship. I've sung hymns in french for three Sundays, run into missionaries in metro stations, and watched as seeds of the gospel have been planted in many hearts. I've vaulted metro exits (sometimes cards don't work), eaten copious amounts of gelato, and made Stella incredibly dubious on occasion. I've seen the truly beautiful sections of one of the oldest cities in Europe and visited sections I wish I'd never seen. If I were to try and tell half of all that I've done in this month or introduce a few of the wonderful people I've met I'd run out of room. So, I'll just tell you it's been amazing and so much fun. And as I leave I'll have a quote from one of my favorite movies running through my head "We'll always have Paris." Au revior.

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