Back to normal?

Wow, I can’t believe that I’m referring to my Piteå as “normal”, but the fact that I’m up in the north until June 21 does bring a little more constancy to every day life…how far I’ve come since last September!

This week has been really great. There are only 2 more weeks left of regular school, which for me means that I have a handful of concerts to play in, and a lot of personal projects to finish (not to mention I’m STILL waiting on an answer from school on whether or not I got into the Doctorate program. I’m really frustrated, but that is the last I will mention it in this entry because I’m doing my best to stay positive, live in the moment, and trust that everything will work out!)

After an emotional weekend (saying bye to Aunt B really got to me!), I woke up on Monday morning energized (I even went on a morning run!) and really eager to get into the practice room and partake in some rehearsals. The project of this week was a piece for student composer Lisa Stenberg. She contacted me, a clarinetist, and a cellist last fall asking us to be a part of a project for live trio, recorded sounds, and Butoh dance. We all agreed, and it’s been exciting to see the project take form as Lisa’s ideas materialized.

I really want to get the video from the concert because it was such a unique production. Although I’ve done a lot of contemporary music in the past, this was the first project I’ve been involved with in Piteå that I felt stretched the boundaries of music as an art beyond that of popular rock/jazz/classical music (which is very typical here). I don’t want to describe the piece any further (mainly because I can’t come up with the words for a verbal description!), and hope to get my hands on the video to share soon.

After a lot of preparation thoughout the day, the actual concert was on Tuesday night, and everyone was really happy with the event. Afterwards I went out for a drink with Christian (clarinet), Johan (bassoon), and Björn (composer). Although I’ve worked with all of them a lot this year, this was the first time that I felt we really talked and got to know each other. It was really lovely! We talked a lot about music (obviously), but the conversation diverted into cultural discussions as well. It was nice to connect with them, even if the year is almost over…I know it takes some people a little more time to warm up to me here!

Yesterday was also a music filled day (back to “normal”!) Along with a lot of practicing, I had a rehearsal with Venla’s band for her concert that is happening next weekend. Venla is a singer/songwriter, and a good friend. The songs she has written are really great, and it’s been fun to explore a new, more mainstream, side of percussion. On one tune I’m playing congas, glockenspiel on another, and I’m rocking some shakers on a really soulful tune. But, my favorite one is collaboration with a djembe player from Africa named Adam. He moved here around the same time I did because he is dating a Swedish girl. He is a TRUE djembe player (not a white girl like me, who thinks she can keep a beat!) It’s been amazing working with him, he’s really positive and easy going. We’re going to get together a lot in the coming weeks to play and jam. He wants me to show him what I’ve learned over the years (especially from African dance class at OSU), and he’s going to show me the traditional way (no music, all by ear). I’m really pumped to work with him, and am thankful to Venla for putting this together. I’ll share pictures of the concert next weekend.

This morning was lovely. I met Mira at 8:30am to go on a walk. I haven’t talked talked (you know, girl talk!) to her for about two weeks…before I went down to Uppsala. So, we had a lot of catching up to do! We ended up walking around the town for about an hour and a half just chatting away! I’m really happy for her because she has decided to move to Barcelona this summer for two months to learn Spanish (something that she has always wanted to do, and is finally doing it!) Her spirit and creativity always encourages me, and I’m so happy to have a strong willed friend like her to bounce ideas off of!

After our walk I went on a solo run for about a half an hour. I have a lot of training to do before I’ll be able to run as fast/far as I could last year, but I’ll get there. Plus, I really enjoyed the “me time”, it gave me a chance to clear my head. My goal is to go out once more this week, and then go 3-4 times a week until I leave for the orchestra gig at the end of June. I hope I stick to the goals!

I spent the rest of the day organizing and cleaning my apartment. Arvid is coming up here today, and he will stay up here for the rest of the summer. We have a lot of fun things planned, and I can’t wait to share them as they happen! I can’t wait to see him!

So…I guess life really isn’t “normal” to most people…there is still snow on the ground, I get to play music everyday, and I’m seeing someone who’s native tongue is one of the hardest languages to learn…but, it’s my normal…and that’s just how I roll.