Beginnings

Hello,

Here goes! My first blog post on this website. I decided to create this blog as a place where I can share my thoughts and experiences on particular projects I am working on, musical ideas and occasionally, musings on the particular aspects on a musician’s life. 

I hope that the lockdown period has been a fruitful period for all of you reading this. Not fruitful in the sense of having necessarily learned a foreign language or mariekondod your life, but that you have perhaps had a bit more peace, or perhaps have had none and discovered new limits of your endurance (hello, homeschooling parents!)… Either way – fruitful!

For me, thanks to very fortunate circumstance, lockdown was a very peaceful period of growing as a musician in ways I might not have had the time to develop in the midst of the pace of normal life. I have reexamined the physical aspects of my playing, enjoyed reading some musical (and non-musical) books, done online concerts for Chamber Music Scotland and Live Music Now Scotland (thank you to both!) and finally watched all the 9 Star Wars films (most fruitful activity of all of course!!!!!......).

I am writing this post from my new home in London where I will be studying at the Guildhall School of Music & Drama for the next year. I am delighted, even at this crazy time, to be here and to know that so much I have been wanting to learn is now right here at my fingertips -  what a feeling of luxury! I have moved down a little ahead of the term starting, so I am enjoying a period of calm before what I expect will be an educational-professional-personal hurricane (a positive one!) –  I shall call it Hurricane Monteverdi perhaps. Living in the moment, it has been lovely to have some time to enjoy London, yesterday I walked all through Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens and couldn’t quite believe the size of the park! In time I believe locations like these will provide a valuable refuge from the pace of one of the metropolis’ of the world, for now however, I enjoy the noise and vibrancy of the city.

In the next few months, alongside my studies and the current situation permitting, I am looking forward to starting my time as a soprano at the vocal ensemble at All Hallows, Gospel Oak and am looking forward to several concerts with ensemble Cordes en Ciel and Duo Primavera. I am also finally united with my new theorbo (made by Bruce Brook) and am looking forward to preparing some video clips to share with you very soon!

For now, see you later and hopefully, by the next post, in a more normal world.

K