Dear Readers,
Hello again! I hope you have all been well 🙂
There have been some lovely days here in Philadelphia recently… and many not so lovely, rainy days… but it has honestly been making me feel as if I’m back home in Melbourne – which is a not-so-far-off dream given that on the 14th of May I will be beginning my journey back to Australia from Philadelphia Airport. I can’t believe I’m drawing close to the end of my first year here at Curtis, and I’m looking forward to all that next year has to offer when I return in late August after Summer Break.
I must say that for the last couple of weeks, I have had a lot more time on my hands than I had back in February and early March. Still, I’ve managed to find tons of things to fill that time with, including practice, walks and gym, concerts, and lots (and lots) of work. I’ve found myself doing various jobs: sewing suspender buttons into costumes for our upcoming opera Midsummer Night’s Dream, moving pianos and ushering for recitals, doing tours and helping with people’s Curtis auditions over Zoom… I even worked a St Patrick’s themed table encouraging responsible drinking! But believe me, none of the busyness has stopped me from performing a new song every week in Performance Seminar, and becoming far more versed in IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet).
Trees across Philadelphia this Spring
One of the fun solo adventures I went on just the other day was a trip to Fairmount Park. I took a 30-minute Septa (Philadelphia’s main transit provider) bus up to the entrance and after some serious navigational errors on my part, and a lot of uphill walking (In the 27°C heat…), I found my way to the Sakura Pavilion. It was insanely busy, as currently Philadelphia is in the prime of its Spring. I’ve never seen anything like it: huge magnolia trees, pear and cherry trees, all become complete masses of blooms with barely any greenery – these flowers aren’t even restricted to the huge parks, as just across from Curtis two beautiful magnolia trees went into full bloom last week!
Apart from taking in the beauty of Spring, I’ve also been to some wonderful concerts. CSO had its final concert, Yannick Leads Mahler & Dawson (Program can be found here), which I truly believe has been my favourite concert of theirs so far – It featured Dawson’s Negro Folk Symphony, an indisputedly powerful work that premiered right here in Philadelphia almost a hundred years ago back in 1934, but until recently was severely underplayed by orchestras after its initial success. Additionally, five singers from Curtis Opera Theatre performed song selections by both Gustav and Alma Mahler – their voices soaring over the orchestra beautifully, and inspiringly without electric amplification.
The Orchestra, vocalists and Yannick Nézet-Séguin bow after performing works by Alma and Gustav Mahler
Another incredibly fun experience was attending the University of Pennsylvania’s 137th Mask & Wig show, Vaude-villainy.
The student comedy group had its first show back in 1889 and has thrived ever since – performing yearly shows at its clubhouse in Center City. It features live, original music and choreography, and is completely written by the students. While I love the world of classical music, leaving it for the night and enjoying the comedy of student-led musical theatre was a genuinely refreshing and amazing experience – I’ll definitely be coming back every year from now on.
People take their seats for University of Pennsylvania’s Mask & Wig Show
Of course, as promised in my last blog, I should mention that I was lucky enough to perform a short series of pieces by Samuel Barber in our vocal department recital on the 4th of March. The video of my performance can be found here!
Three out of the four (Mother, I cannot mind my Wheel – Thy Love – Hey, nonny no!) were all works written before Barber was even 18; when he was attending the Curtis Institute of Music as a young artist. So, performing them in the same concert hall he played, debuted works, and sung in, was an experience like no other. I hope that, just as the many students who came before me, I can continue to learn and grow; reaching my full potential.
A moment from my performance in Field Concert Hall with my fellow classmate, Jessie Gong, on piano
Wishing you all an amazing week, and I look forward to writing again soon xx