A Beautiful End of the Year

Well my friends, my first semester here at the University of Miami has finally wound down, and although I am in my last week during reading days and finals, I am more relieved than anything else that I survived this long and learned so much in the process!!! :) I'll be going home on the fourteenth (Yay!!) , but my winter break will be full of piano practicing and compositional studies. I plan to raid the music library before I leave and take books home on orchestration and choral composition...it's going to be a good break :)
December first was an SCI (Society of Composers, Inc.) concert here at the University and I had the chance to write and perform a piece on the program. It was actually a revision of a piece I wrote last year, but rewritten for piano and two sopranos. I wrote them for my friends Marissa and Madelaine, two of my kindred spirits that I have found here at school. Both young ladies are opera performance majors, and Marissa is a composer as well. She had a piece of hers on the concert too. (It was excellent, by the way!) Anyhow, I'm posting a video of our performance. It was a really rewarding experience, especially since we were the only freshmen on the program. All of the other pieces were by seniors and grad students, and almost all of the faculty were there as well. I felt teary eyed after wards, because although the audience wasn't tremendously large, a good percentage were friends of mine who really care about me and support me in my studies and have been there through all the ups and downs of my first semester in school. How blessed I am! Enjoy the performance :)

Chapter One

Well, it's been some time since my last post. Needless to say, since moving to the Miami area and beginning school ,my world has been thrown into an uproar and has been slowly transforming into a lifestyle that I could never imagine possible for myself. My days are filled to the brim with music. Through theory, aural skills training, accompanying, and lessons (to name a few) I have begun developing a taste for what the life of a musician in the 21st century entails.

I have been working on revising a piano/voice duet that I wrote earlier last year for an upcoming concert at the U. (That's what we call the university of Miami!) I'll actually find out tomorrow whether or not my score was chosen by my professors for that particular performance. I am so excited!

One of the really neat opportunities I am having now is the chance to sing in one of the ladies'
choirs here at school: Cantilena. Our music selection is varied and fun and beautiful. I say all this because we just had our first conert to night and it was phenomenal.The pictures I am posting can give you an idea (!)

So far, my opportunities to share the gospel here on campus have been bountiful. There are so many ears that are willing to listen to the truth, and yet I find that often it is my own sin and selfishness that prevents (or slows me down) from being ready to share the word at any moment.

I realize that this message is a bit shorter that my previous entries, but I DO plan to post more often. Keep checking back for updates!!!

Love, Kate

Just Another Morning

Dear Friend,

I write again tonight with the joyful abandon of a child-eager to share the wonders of this world with all who have an imagination and a ready spirit. Care to join me over a cup of tea?
This morning dawned as mornings usually do, and I had the chance to watch the sun rise high above the tree line that stretches far and away from the borders of our farm. How magnificent, exquisite! Too often I take for granted the gift of light and day and all that is afforded to mankind through it. Can you imagine what a life of dusky skies and no sun would be like? Think of how dismal our lives would be...Thankfully, our Creator has provided us with a rather substantial ball of fire that has done its fair share of shedding light upon this earth for quite some time:) Aaah.... the bliss of summertime and the freedom to enjoy these simple pleasures!
Speaking of pleasures, a lovely surprise awaited me at the mail box this afternoon! For my birthday this year, my mother (see her blog here: http://www.woolytales.blogspot.com ) had a wonderful seamstress commissioned to sew some dresses for me to take to school in the fall. To complete my wardrobe, my mother requested several dresses and skirts that would supply me with a sufficient wardrobe and a happy heart...
Well, this afternoon, two of the dresses arrived and they both fit PERFECTLY! One was made from a solid, forest-green cotton material, and the other a civil-war brown with a very fine print in black. They truly are beautiful. I probably should mention that I dress in a very Victorian style, although comfort and simplicity are my main priorities when sewing or searching for dresses. Of course, staying true to the historical period is always an enjoyable experience, but since I probably won't be having a roommate at school with a willingness to button me up every morning before classes...Well, sometimes a zipper will have to do;)
I plan on (hopefully!) purchasing a camera before leaving in August. My mind still functions under "rolls of film" , so it's about time I catch up with technology, don't you think? If I can get a camera sooner than later, then I will work on uploading pictures of the things I talk about in my posts. Maybe then the words on these pages will become more real for you as a reader, and not just the verses of a writer in her corner of the world...

Until then,

I remain respectfully yours,

Kate

Getting Ready for College...At Last

Hi There! It's been awhile since my last post and I am hoping to fall back into the groove of writing again. It's been another year of growth and learning for me-in my faith, schooling, music, and essentially entire life. Over the past months, seemingly insurmountable obstacles have been conquered, broken hopes and dreams restored, and a resurgence in my faith in Christ as my only hope and redemption has blossomed within me. Soli Deo Gloria.
The chapter in my life entitled "HIGH SCHOOL" is finally finished- including years' worth of writing, re-writing, and editing. Now, as my university education looms ever nearer, I look back at all the many wonderful blessings and memories during the past four years and cherish each with a happiness that seems to grow every day. Truly, the days for me now are bittersweet. It is with joy that I enter college life with many wonderful plans for pursuing music composition, but I also long for the comfort and rest found within the arms of my family. My prayer is that my trust will be rooted firmly in the Lord, and that I will look to Him always.
In two months' time, I shall step on the campus grounds of the University of Miami and (hopefully!) enter an exciting time of my life. My roommate and I are communicating back and forth, eagerly sharing ideas for what to bring, how to prepare, and praying about how we can be shining lights for the Lord while at school!
I hope to post more regularly, and look forward to sharing this journey with you all!