B-town

Last week I found myself once again in Bloomington, this time for college orientation and to register for classes. In some ways, this visit to B-town was less stressful than others, because this time, I knew I was going to the university and the Jacobs School in the fall. The program was two days long, although I believe everything could have been squeezed into one day.

Thursday I retook the music theory placement test to see if I could get a better score and test out of one of the classes. Afterwords, a large group of incoming freshman Jacobs students were taken from program to program, telling us things from how to use our student id card to how to use our brain and not be attacked. There were more placement tests to be taken as well. Everyone took a math test, which was simple algebra that I couldn't do. Out of the 26 questions, I remembered how to do about 5 of them, and I don't think any of them were correct. The German test was much more doable, but a few minutes into it I felt like I was going to throw up. The base of my skull throbbed and my head was spinning, and I found myself looking at the same question for about three minutes at a time. I left about half-way through and sat in the bathroom, but nothing happened, and I returned and finished the test. Somehow I almost tested out of the first semester of German, so I'll be taking an accelerated German course, which is basically two semesters of German into one.

I spent some time both days with friends of mine that go to IU. Thursday night my parents and I met up with a friend from Youtheatre and walked around B-town. We passed John Mellencamp on Kirkwood smoking a cigarette; he's shorter than me. Friday in between my piano test and registering for classes, I got together with Laura and her friend Marla for a few hours. Speaking of piano, I tested out of all of the piano classes and the proficiency test, taking a huge chunk out of the courses I'm required to take. I've heard tales of horror about amazing musicians who are terrified they won't graduate because they can't pass the piano test. My academic advisor tried to recruit me to be an accompanist, but I'm nowhere near that level.

I also had the chance to see a room in the dorm I'm living in. The room is at least twice the size of the rooms in TJ, with nicer furniture and lights that actually illuminate the room, and the walls looked like they had been painted in the last ten years. In other words, it won't be like living in a jail cell.

So, I'm officially a college student. There are still some things that I need to take care of, but for the most part, I'm ready for IU!

There are some things only a baritone can do...

Leather pants falls into this category. Proves once again that Dmitri Hvorostovsky is, well, amazing.

Graduation!

I did it! High school is finished. I graduated from Interlochen last Saturday at the end of a very exciting and busy week. Classes finished up on the Wednesday before graduation, with finals and other tests. Thursday and Friday were what is known as Festival; in other words, as many performances as can be fit into a day, each drawing very good-sized crowds. Opera Workshop on Thursday was totally full, making my entrance and exit a little difficult; thank goodness I didn't trip over anyone running out of the house. But the performance went very well, especially by Festival standards. The choir concert on Friday also went well, giving a final farewell to my days at Interlochen.

But of course, Saturday was the big day; graduation. I was given the Senior Honors cords Friday night at Honors Convocation, which I proudly wore on Saturday. The ceremony was beautiful, with performances from three of our five valedictorians, the other two giving speeches. Yes, we had five valedictorians. Five. President Kimpton's speech to the class was more than thoughtful, encouraging us to remain true to our art, but to also live in the real world. After all, art is meant for the fulfillment of the masses, not exclusively the artists.

After graduation, I said good-bye to my friends and teachers, packed up the remainder of my luggage, and drove the long drive home. I was able to go to my friend Emma's grad party (she's a day student) and say good-bye to her, and Mrs. Gaede (aka God) was also there. I sort of freaked out.

Am I glad that its finally done with? Yes, because it burnt me out from the intensity. But also no, because there is the possibility that I may never see some of those people again, and I miss them. But even after going through the misfortunes of a crazy roommate, extreme homesickness, a pseudo-Siberian winter, letdowns, there ended up being more positive than negative. I am most definitely glad that I chose to spend my last year of high school at Interlochen, and I wouldn't trade it for anything.