The 21st Night of September...

There's something about this particular day that makes me want to stop and reflect... I don't know.

What a difference a day makes. A month ago was the first day of classes and the year started full speed. Looking back, we weren't even close. Times like these are either feast or famine, and plates keep getting sent to the table.

This week is concert week for the Oklahoma Chamber Symphony. Saturday is the Premiere of Odyssey and I'm very excited to see how things pan out. I did a radio spot with Kaleb Benda at KUCO yesterday and those interviews never disappoint. This time, Odyssey is being paired with the Haydn Creation Overture, Ralph Vaughan Williams Folk Song Suite (check another one off the bucket list,) and closing with the Mozart Symphony no. 41.

I'm also working with my colleagues Dr. David Herendeen and Dr. Jan McDaniel as an orchestrator on a Musical Theatre project called Taken for Granite, more details soon. In November I get to work with the Stringsmen OKC again, and I'm headed back to Trinidad in December.

Tonight is the year's first Project 21 concert and I'm excited to see at least one of my students get their first night. I have a strong nonmajor studio, but it sure doesn't feel like it. I have six super-talented and equally hungry. I attended the OCU Wind Philharmonic and Symphony Orchestra combined concert last week and saw that four out of my six are principal players, and I have two more principals who were students last year, Anything I throw at them, they're ready with open minds and competitive grit.

Even when I'm running at Mach 1 speed, there's always time to take a deep breath and get your bearings, even if it's for a second. It also allows me to remember last year, what I was going through, how nervous I was five weeks in, and how I felt about being the best teacher I could be. Now I teach around the clock and my heart is happy.

What else lies in wait? Stay tuned my friends.