"Music gives a soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagnination, and life to everything." ~ Plato


Wednesday, March 30, 2011

96 - Music History Angst

Hello Prussia!  :D

And then we died.

Thus ends the night of studying for the music history midterm.  It was a wild, wild party.

Love&Harmony,
Erin

Tuesday, March 29, 2011

95 - em & Jazz Theory

em means "E minor" on my jazz theory homework.

In this case, it also stands for Emily, my sister, who is 16 years old today. 
When did she get so grown up?  It's a little crazy to think about.  We had our battles as kids, but never anything big - the important things in our relationship survived all of that.  And now that we're both old enough to appreciate it, I'm enjoying being a sister more than I ever have before.  I'm proud to be the sister of such a smart, talented, expressive, gorgeous, and strong young woman. 
Love you, sea-star!  :)

Love&Harmony,
Erin

Monday, March 28, 2011

94 - Skills



First of all, I actually took these pictures before 11pm!  Also, I peeled a whole orange in one go.  Kind of proud of myself... haha.  INEEDSPRINGBREAKPLZ.


Love&Harmony,
Erin

Sunday, March 27, 2011

93 - Surprise!

Hannah's reaction to the cake we got her as a secondary birthday surprise... :)

and...


Steph's reaction... hahaha.

Happy birthday Hannah!  Glad we could make it extra special!  :P


Love&Harmony,
Erin

Saturday, March 26, 2011

92 - Longing for Summertime

Sparrow is my camp name.  I have been thinking about camp - daydreaming more like - as an escape from studying for midterms.  Everyone here is ready for spring break.  For some reason, the school calendar moved it to the first week of April instead of the last week of March.  I think it has something to do with the lateness of Easter this year?  Whatevs.  All I know is that the whole school is about to go crazy, if they haven't already... Yay for escapism!


Love&Harmony,
Erin

Friday, March 25, 2011

91 - Barefoot

HERmonic performs barefoot.  I stubbed my toe on a brick that holds doors open in the music building.  The blood spots on the band room floor?  That's mine.  Oh well! 


Love&Harmony,
Erin

Thursday, March 24, 2011

90 - Meh


It was a pile-everything-on-the-unmade-bed kind of day.  There were good parts.  There were weird parts.  Mostly just sleepy parts.


Love&Harmony,
Erin

Wednesday, March 23, 2011

89 - Hannah!


Today is Hannah's birthday - she lives next door to Steph and I and she is one of the best neighbors around!  :)  She says that this is the best birthday she has had in a very long time and that makes all of us super happy.  Because she makes us super happy! 
We celebrated with dinner - which I was not able to attend  :(  - and a movie, Rango!  'Twas a fun night indeed!
Love ya girlie!

Love&Harmony,
Erin

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

88 - Spring is Here!

These aren't daffodils from outside, but they're out there too!  :)  Yay!!!


Love&Harmony,
Erin

Monday, March 21, 2011

87 - Research

Me?  Doing a research project on Sondheim and therefore currently having all of the library books on him in my room?  Why - yes!



Love&Harmony,
Erin

Sunday, March 20, 2011

86 - Sleepytime Bach

... Almost time to retire the Bach score.  Our two full runs of it went well, but I am looking forward to turning it in after we sing selections from it this Wednesday.

Love&Harmony,
Erin

Saturday, March 19, 2011

85 - Responsibilities

Our first performance of Bach's Mass in B-minor was tonight!  It went well.
However, as a result, in the battle between responsibilities and relaxation, relaxation has definitely won out this evening.  About to watch "Return to Me" - one of my favorite movies!  Then sleeping in!  Woot!  It's been a long week, especially considering the fact that I actually had a mild episode of disorientation yesterday afternoon... it was weird.  I think I've earned a break!


Love&Harmony,
Erin

84 - It's Friday, Friday... Tomorrow's Saturday...

This is Sarah!  Knitting a sock!  In our room!  At 10 til midnight!  :)
We were planning on going bed early but that didn't happen, obviously.


Love&Harmony,
Erin

Thursday, March 17, 2011

83 - Erin go Braugh!

Ireland forever!
I'm not sure whether I'm actually Irish by heritage, but - at the very least - I'm connected by name.  And I'd say I've had a bit of the luck o' the Irish today...  :) 

Cool/interesting things that happened:
A humming bird outside our window this morning.
I said something about Bach "getting around" because of his 20 children in our music history presentation... luckily I don't think anyone really remembered it.
Talking to a really nice boy... :)
Watched the latest - and best! - episode of Glee so far.
And good cookies with my roommate to top it all off!

Happy St. Patty's!


Love&Harmony,
Erin

Wednesday, March 16, 2011

82 - ABacholypse

Choir is singing Bach's B-minor Mass.  We are also doing a group presentation on it in Music History 1.  This is our project title... we wish.  Tired of Bach?  Never!  haha.  At least we have a sense of humor about it.  :)


Love&Harmony,
Erin

Tuesday, March 15, 2011

81 - Monsooning

I made up a new word today... "monsooning".  That is the only appropriate way to describe the torrential downpours that occurred this afternoon.  See Steph's jeans for evidence... I was, luckily, inside at the desk.  :P


Love&Harmony,
Erin

Monday, March 14, 2011

80 - Monday

Ugh Music History reading.
Today has very much been a Monday.  I cannot wait for spring break.


Love&Harmony,
Erin

Sunday, March 13, 2011

79 - Double Rainbow


Today was stormy, long, and kind of tired (thank you, daylight savings time...) but it ended with an beautiful double rainbow - all the way across the sky!  haha.  It also ended with a fairly successful Bach B-minor mass choir rehearsal.  The most exciting part was that we are not having regular rehearsals for two days this week... not that I want to miss choir, but with half of everybody sick, we need sleep!


Love&Harmony,
Erin

Saturday, March 12, 2011

78 - Calm


My classes on Thursday and Friday were both cancelled.  It was super nice!  Today was full of homework, but now my friend Haley is visiting and we're having tons of fun catching up!  :)


Love&Harmony,
Erin

Friday, March 11, 2011

77 - A Night at the Opera

A fabulous evening out with Steph and our neighbor Hannah to see our friends in Tacoma Opera's Pagliacci!  And we looked cute to boot!  :)


Love&Harmony,
Erin

Thursday, March 10, 2011

76 - A Rare Occurrence

I've been bad about not taking my pictures until after 11pm for the past week or so, but this time I'm glad I waited!
Due to the tragically large earthquake in Japan earlier this evening (8.8), WA coastal communities have been placed on Tsunami watch... a first in my life and kind of scary.  We already had high winds today here at school and were apparently put on StormWatch in the afternoon.  On top of that, I had a dream involving a giant tornado... dangerous goings-on afoot!



Love&Harmony,
Erin

Wednesday, March 9, 2011

Tuesday, March 8, 2011

74 - In These Days of Lenten Journey



10 Questions to Ask Yourself:
1. When I wake up on Resurrection Sunday morning, how will I be different?
2. Is there a habit or sin in my life that repeatedly gets in the way of loving God with my whole heart or loving my neighbor as myself? How do I address that habit over the next 40 days?
3. Is there anyone in my life from whom I need to ask forgiveness or pursue reconciliation?
4. What practical steps can I take to carve out time for daily contemplation?
5. What spiritual discipline do I need to improve upon or want to try?
6. What are some things in my life that I tell myself I need but I don’t?
7. Why am I giving this particular thing up? How does giving it up draw me closer to God and prepare me for Easter?
8. What am I going to tell myself when self-denial gets hard?
9. Is it necessary/helpful for me to share the nature my fast with others or should I keep it private?
10. What do the ashes mean to me this year?

This year, for Lent, I plan to give up all beverages except for water.  I also plan to actually stick to my dietary restriction and avoid all forms of plain dairy (milk, cream, yogurt, and cheese - most especially cheese).  Both of these are to help with my bodily health - to keep my temple clean.  :)  I want my friends to keep me to this firmly!!!

I also plan to make a point to pray daily and, in prayer, to reflect particularly on what about the day I can praise the Lord for.

10 Mediations:
1. Psalm 51
2. Psalm 139
3. Isaiah 58
4. The Beatitudes (Matthew 5:3-12)
5. The Lord’s Prayer (Matthew 6:9-13)
6. Litany of Penitence
7. Litany of Humility
8. Prayer of St. Francis
9. Penitential Prayer of St. Augustine
10. Consider reading the Sermon on the Mount (alternating between Matthew’s account and Luke’s account) every day for the next 40 days.

Love&Harmony,
Erin

Monday, March 7, 2011

73 - Late Night Snack


Ways to get through late nights of homework #27: M&Ms and Strawberry C-Mega (or raspberry lemonade... I'm not picky.)

Love&Harmony,
Erin

Sunday, March 6, 2011

72 - Sunday Studying

Woot woot.  This is what I get for being completely unproductive yesterday.


Love&Harmony,
Erin

Saturday, March 5, 2011

71 - NATS


Sang in a NATS competiton at the collegiate level today - it went really well!  HM in musical theatre and 2nd in Classical.  :)
The best part of the day, besides seeing my parents, was eating a late lunch at the cutest cafe I've ever been to with other fabulous ladies from my voice studio.  It was a great hour and a half of discussion about music, singing, and life. 


Love&Harmony,
Erin

Friday, March 4, 2011

70 - Concerts!


Our brother a'cappella group PLUtonic warming up for our first concert of the evening at 7:30.  :)
We had a great pair of shows this evening!
Now it's quick to bed for me to get up bright and early for NATS tomorrow... more later!


Love&Harmony,
Erin

69 - Long Day of Music

Sorry it's a little late.
This was a day full of music.  Listened to great high school choirs at the PLU Choral Festival, voice lesson to rehearse for my singing competition this Saturday, sang in a cabaret recital, HERmonic rehearsal for our concert(s) tomorrow night, and practiced piano for my lesson tomorrow!
Woot the life of a music student!
*This is the Chiluly glass in the lobby of our music building.  I figured it was an appropriate location for today's picture.*


Love&Harmony,
Erin

Wednesday, March 2, 2011

Tuesday, March 1, 2011

67 - The Power of Music


As music majors, we often acknowledge the power and importance of music.  But in allowing ourselves to get so caught up in learning about and practicing and getting it perfect, how often do we end up taking our art for granted?  How often do we really feel what we are playing or singing?
Yesterday, I experienced feeling music in a way I haven't in quite a while.  The most amazing part was the fact that there were about 100 people all feeling the same thing - all expressing the same thing.  There are not many opportunities in our world for us to have a moment like that. 
I experienced the same sort of thing again this evening, although this time it was just by myself.  I just got to sing.  I practiced my vocal music in the choir room (one of the best for solo singing in the whole music building) and simply got to express myself with my voice and enjoy the sound of the room.  When I stopped worrying, I was able to feel

These are the moments musicians live for.


Love&Harmony,
Erin