Check it out! I know everyone in America will be so confused; not only because of the language, but also because of the crazy costumes, pop/corny music, and silly acting (it’s a newly written/arranged song competition where the craziest tune usually wins). It's all in good fun though, and it will definitely be entertaining! I know that they’ve been filming me lot (playing cowbell and fast xylophone licks, plus showing off some sweet choreographed dance skills…) so you may see me amongst the craziness.
I’ll share pictures soon. I’ve become a lot closer with the musicians involved in the show, which has been really awesome. I made an American breakfast for the percussionists this morning, and gave Jakob a haircut yesterday…nothing says friendship like trusting someone with your hair and your hunger! Haha! Time to shower and head up to school!
12.3.10
showtime
SMASK is tonight! This week has been a busy production week, but I have had such a great time. Can't say that I've been challenged musically, but it's been nice to just laugh, dance (don't ask), and be involved in a show that includes so many elements. I've never seen a student run show that is so advanced when it comes to technology and media. You can stream the show live at pitetv.se at 7pm our time (I think that is 1 o’clock in Ohio)
9.3.10
Asbra
My new favorite word to use on a daily basis is 'asbra'. It just means 'very good', and isn't that exciting to Swedes, but it is fun to say with an American accent!
Although silly, it has been useful lately because life has been pretty darn 'asbra'. My concert last week went really well…although there were plenty of mistakes, and I wasn’t 100% happy with my playing, I was pleased with the overall product. I set out to share my art in a creative way with those that are not very familiar with percussion music, and the response tells me that I was successful!
We started setting up the Black Box theatre at around 2pm. Rasmus and Lindie did the lighting, Sebastian took care of the sound (both live and recording), Johannes and a few other friends helped with he equipment, Anna and Lou took care of the little things (feeding me an orange, and finding me a black carpet so the drumset wouldn’t slide around!), and I was surprisingly calm and not stressed! It was truly a group effort, and I am eternally grateful to everyone. Of course, we had fun with everything, and I think that we will all be working together a lot in the future…the final product was too unique not to do something similar again soon!
The stage looked amazing thanks to Rasmus and Lindie’s idea to remove the back curtain and collect all the floor based lamps in the school and use them for backlighting. So, along with the colored lights from above, the lights behind me gave it a very ‘warehouse/basement’ feel. Then, instead of trying to organize all the instruments that weren’t being used, we scattered them around. It looked avant-garde, but intimate and trendie…what I had hoped for, but better than I could have imagined!
My program was:
A Minute of News (1990) by Eugene Novotney (1960)
Juxtaposed
Solfeggietto (1770) by CPE Bach (1714-1788)
Variation No. 1 (2010) by Maria Finkelmeier (1985)
Dance and Drive (2002) by Anders Åstrand (1961)
Dancing in the Parking Lot
Driving Down the Highway
-pause-
unknown expectations (2010) Maria Finkelmeier (1985)
Ten Years to Alma-q (2009) Ulf Blomqvist (1983)
Markus Sundquist: Piano
Mathias Lundkvist: Flute
The Ragtime Robin (1928) G.H.Green (1893-1970)
Markus Sundquist: Piano
Robin Jonsson: Bass
The first half was completely solo, while the second half included other musicians. For my piece, Denis and Daniel were set-up behind the audience and improvised to create an ambiance as they came back in after the pause. Then, Markus and Mathias joined me to play Ulf’s piece (we played it on a concert a few weeks ago. Ulf is great, and I really liked the piece and wanted to play it again. Plus it counted as the ‘contemporary’ and ‘chamber’ piece for the program). Everyone loved the ragtime tune at the end, and I think we are going to try and get in the studio sometime soon to record it.
The only negative aspect of organizing a concert on my own is that I have to take care of every detail. Luckily I have great, talented friends, but some minor details still get overlooked. Lou was awesome and took some photos during the sound check, but I didn’t have a chance to ask anyone to take pictures during the show. Plus, the video is ok, but the rag is cut off, which would have been a great representation of my playing. I still need to ask Sebastian to dub the good sound recording over it (I am going to use it for my Doctorate application), and sometimes I feel so bad always having to ask for so much help!
After the concert, a group of us went out to Challenge to hang out. We had a blast, and I wish that people hung out like that more often! During the week it’s hard to get into town, especially when the weather is bad…but now that Spring is on its way (kind of) and I’m becoming closer to some people, I think I’ll have to organize more relaxed outings like this one!
l.JPG)
k.JPG)
h.JPG)
j.JPG)
Although silly, it has been useful lately because life has been pretty darn 'asbra'. My concert last week went really well…although there were plenty of mistakes, and I wasn’t 100% happy with my playing, I was pleased with the overall product. I set out to share my art in a creative way with those that are not very familiar with percussion music, and the response tells me that I was successful!
We started setting up the Black Box theatre at around 2pm. Rasmus and Lindie did the lighting, Sebastian took care of the sound (both live and recording), Johannes and a few other friends helped with he equipment, Anna and Lou took care of the little things (feeding me an orange, and finding me a black carpet so the drumset wouldn’t slide around!), and I was surprisingly calm and not stressed! It was truly a group effort, and I am eternally grateful to everyone. Of course, we had fun with everything, and I think that we will all be working together a lot in the future…the final product was too unique not to do something similar again soon!
The stage looked amazing thanks to Rasmus and Lindie’s idea to remove the back curtain and collect all the floor based lamps in the school and use them for backlighting. So, along with the colored lights from above, the lights behind me gave it a very ‘warehouse/basement’ feel. Then, instead of trying to organize all the instruments that weren’t being used, we scattered them around. It looked avant-garde, but intimate and trendie…what I had hoped for, but better than I could have imagined!
My program was:
A Minute of News (1990) by Eugene Novotney (1960)
Juxtaposed
Solfeggietto (1770) by CPE Bach (1714-1788)
Variation No. 1 (2010) by Maria Finkelmeier (1985)
Dance and Drive (2002) by Anders Åstrand (1961)
Dancing in the Parking Lot
Driving Down the Highway
-pause-
unknown expectations (2010) Maria Finkelmeier (1985)
Ten Years to Alma-q (2009) Ulf Blomqvist (1983)
Markus Sundquist: Piano
Mathias Lundkvist: Flute
The Ragtime Robin (1928) G.H.Green (1893-1970)
Markus Sundquist: Piano
Robin Jonsson: Bass
The first half was completely solo, while the second half included other musicians. For my piece, Denis and Daniel were set-up behind the audience and improvised to create an ambiance as they came back in after the pause. Then, Markus and Mathias joined me to play Ulf’s piece (we played it on a concert a few weeks ago. Ulf is great, and I really liked the piece and wanted to play it again. Plus it counted as the ‘contemporary’ and ‘chamber’ piece for the program). Everyone loved the ragtime tune at the end, and I think we are going to try and get in the studio sometime soon to record it.
The only negative aspect of organizing a concert on my own is that I have to take care of every detail. Luckily I have great, talented friends, but some minor details still get overlooked. Lou was awesome and took some photos during the sound check, but I didn’t have a chance to ask anyone to take pictures during the show. Plus, the video is ok, but the rag is cut off, which would have been a great representation of my playing. I still need to ask Sebastian to dub the good sound recording over it (I am going to use it for my Doctorate application), and sometimes I feel so bad always having to ask for so much help!
After the concert, a group of us went out to Challenge to hang out. We had a blast, and I wish that people hung out like that more often! During the week it’s hard to get into town, especially when the weather is bad…but now that Spring is on its way (kind of) and I’m becoming closer to some people, I think I’ll have to organize more relaxed outings like this one!
A few photos from the day:
Starting to set-up!
Rasmus and Lindie taking a well-deserved break
Sebastian making me sound good
We suspended the Spiral Crash Cymbal!! it looked incredible!
Starting to sound check...talking and playing...so talented. haha!
l.JPG)
Intense!!
k.JPG)
Happy!
h.JPG)
Corny!
Thanks for taking some pictures, Lou!
I'll upload the video from the rest of the concert as soon as I can!
After concert fun...
I bribe/thank the people that help me with cookies!
With Lou and Venla at Challenge enjoyed some drinks and the wonderful company!
Ulf and I shared a burger. I ate it like an American. He ate it like a Swede. My way was MUCH better!
Sebastian is the very first student I met here! super nice and good sound guy!
j.JPG)
my favorite picture of Anna and I ever! Lucky to have a friend like her!
time to go home...Markus decided to take a nap in the snow. haha!
Beautiful flowers from Anna and Lou in my kitchen. Also displaying the beautiful weather that we had this weekend. The snow will be around until May, but the sun was shining, and Spring is in the air!
Now it's time to focus on what is next. This week is production week for SMASK, so it will be consuming most of my time. I have some ideas for the next solo/chamber concert I'd like to do, and I have to start planning it. I get quite lazy if I don't have a goal to work towards! Also, next week I'll be filling out and sending in the Doctorate application, playing with Anders and Rolf in Stockholm on Saturday, and then leaving for Germany/Austria with Anders for the Zildjian tour on Sunday. So, I guess I have a lot to look forward to, but it's hard to focus on practicing right now! Oh, well...I guess a little break never hurt anyone!
8.3.10
I bought a bike!
Last Friday I joined Elias, Johann, and Tim on a trip to Repris (the second hand store that is bigger than the Red Cross…has more furniture and such) and on a whim, decided to buy a bike. I wanted to get one when I first arrived here, but there were too many other things to take care of first. I usually don’t go shopping with the boys, so it was the perfect time to take advantage of their manliness…I know if I would go with the girls we would not have been able to get it back to Ankars!!!
The bike is yellow and awesome, and only cost 250Kr (which is about $35). This snow really needs to melt so I can use my new wheels!
The bike is yellow and awesome, and only cost 250Kr (which is about $35). This snow really needs to melt so I can use my new wheels!
Elias admitted that he felt manly after figuring out how to attach the bike to the car...so really I was helping him out just as much as he was helping me!
Johann and I didn't really help too much.
Bra jobbat Elias and Tim!
6.3.10
New student!
I have a new percussion student that I’m teaching through the University! His name is Tim, and he’s an exchange student from Germany. Micke told me that I’ll be teaching him until the end of the year, and I’m so excited! He’s been studying percussion for a long time, is quite good, and is actually older than me. He speaks English pretty well, but I still have to be creative and very clear with all of my instruction. I’m really excited to teach at a higher level, it’s going to be a great experience!
26.2.10
Update on ”the future”
DOoo DOoo DOooooooo!!! (that is my attempt at some dramatic music as you read the title of this entry!) I’ve decided that it is about time I write an entry dedicated to the plans I have for the next couple of years.
During the last few months Anders has been talking to the administration in Piteå about starting an official Masters Performance Program for international students I’ve been acting as a coordinator and taking care of some paperwork (because I like that kind of stuff)…and the program is going to be amazing! Here is the summary we created:
I told him that the only way I could live here for another few years is if I had a fulltime job. Financially it is impossible for me to continue living here just gigging and teaching here and there. He tried to get me a job at Framnus and we discussed teaching some percussion classes at the University. I will be able to teach the classes, but the salary will not be enough to cover the cost of living.
Then, I called a few organizations to ask about scholarships and grants for foreign Masters Students. When I talked to a representative from the Swedish Institution they said that they don’t fund the Masters level, only the PhD level.
Why didn’t I think of this before?! I already have a Masters degree…and the next logical step is a Doctorate. It would be silly to receive two of the same degrees, so why not go for the next level? I told Anders and Micke my idea, and had a meeting with the man in charge of graduate studies soon after. He told me that I was inquiring about Doctorial studies at the perfect time, because the government is funding 12 new arts positions for next year, and Piteå is getting two of them. They are fully funded, salary positions that cover all expenses. Plus, the program and thesis topic is individual to each person.
The application opens on March 15, and I told him that I could probably send mine in tomorrow if I needed to! I will be competing with a lot of other students, but I am trying to be optimistic. I think I’ve made a good impression on the administration thus far, and they know that I am a positive addition to the Musikhögskolan community.
The degree itself isn’t that important to me, but if I am able to stay I’ll be able to do so much performing and touring…and starting a percussion ensemble has always been a goal of mine. Plus, the professional contacts I’ve been making through Anders have been really great. If I don’t do everything I can to try and make this happen I feel like I would be letting this amazing life experience fly by…so I’m putting up a fight :)
Keep your fingers crossed, because this could take my life in a direction I never saw coming! Plus, in a few years you will have to call me Dr. Finkelmeier…hahahahahahaha
Please comment with any thoughts or ideas!! Who reads this thing anyway?!
During the last few months Anders has been talking to the administration in Piteå about starting an official Masters Performance Program for international students I’ve been acting as a coordinator and taking care of some paperwork (because I like that kind of stuff)…and the program is going to be amazing! Here is the summary we created:
Masters in Music: Percussion Performance
Two Year Quartet Residency
at the School of Music and Media in Piteå, Sweden
Experience a life as a performing musician while earning a Masters degree.
The Piteå School of Music and Media of the Luleå University of Technology announces the creation of a new program for percussionists. Under the guidance and tutelage of Anders Åstrand, four international students will be chosen to undergo a two year program in music performance. The program offers a unique and progressive experience; as a unit, the students will be responsible for establishing a functioning and active percussion quartet.
The education will revolve around the practical application of the skills needed to form and sustain an active percussion group. Students will have the time and tools available to immerse themselves in every detail in becoming a successful, active, and innovative ensemble.
At the university, students will have access to high quality instruments and a brand new, acoustically progressive recital hall. In addition to the state-of-the-art facilities, students will have the opportunity to collaborate with sound engineers, lighting designers, video producers, journalists, radio producers, dancers, composers, and other talented and diverse musicians. Åstrand will be involved by exposing the students to new musical ideas through group improvisation and coachings, by encouraging creativity through one-on-one guidance in composition and playing, and by acting as a mentor and liaison whilst organizing quartet projects and manifesting new ideas.
The ensemble will have the freedom to choose their artistic direction with the supervision of Åstrand. Along with establishing repertoire, designing performances, and recording new music, the ensemble will be responsible for conceptualizing various outreach events. The group will be expected to take part in at least one international percussion festival during the residency and organize a Scandinavian tour during the second year. During this tour, the ensemble will present seminars and master-classes along with a performing component.
After completing the two year program, each member of the quartet will have the practical education needed to sustain a performing career. The Masters degree will be awarded upon review and analysis of audio and video recordings, compositions, performances, and unique group projects.
When I first began helping Anders brainstorm ideas and organize this program, I had no intention of staying in Sweden. It’s already crazy enough that I decided to move here last September, and two more years just seemed insane. However, the more we’ve talked, the more attractive this program and my continued studies with Anders has become. Plus, Anders made it clear that he would really like me to stay as the coordinator for the program. The Piteå School of Music and Media of the Luleå University of Technology announces the creation of a new program for percussionists. Under the guidance and tutelage of Anders Åstrand, four international students will be chosen to undergo a two year program in music performance. The program offers a unique and progressive experience; as a unit, the students will be responsible for establishing a functioning and active percussion quartet.
The education will revolve around the practical application of the skills needed to form and sustain an active percussion group. Students will have the time and tools available to immerse themselves in every detail in becoming a successful, active, and innovative ensemble.
At the university, students will have access to high quality instruments and a brand new, acoustically progressive recital hall. In addition to the state-of-the-art facilities, students will have the opportunity to collaborate with sound engineers, lighting designers, video producers, journalists, radio producers, dancers, composers, and other talented and diverse musicians. Åstrand will be involved by exposing the students to new musical ideas through group improvisation and coachings, by encouraging creativity through one-on-one guidance in composition and playing, and by acting as a mentor and liaison whilst organizing quartet projects and manifesting new ideas.
The ensemble will have the freedom to choose their artistic direction with the supervision of Åstrand. Along with establishing repertoire, designing performances, and recording new music, the ensemble will be responsible for conceptualizing various outreach events. The group will be expected to take part in at least one international percussion festival during the residency and organize a Scandinavian tour during the second year. During this tour, the ensemble will present seminars and master-classes along with a performing component.
After completing the two year program, each member of the quartet will have the practical education needed to sustain a performing career. The Masters degree will be awarded upon review and analysis of audio and video recordings, compositions, performances, and unique group projects.
I told him that the only way I could live here for another few years is if I had a fulltime job. Financially it is impossible for me to continue living here just gigging and teaching here and there. He tried to get me a job at Framnus and we discussed teaching some percussion classes at the University. I will be able to teach the classes, but the salary will not be enough to cover the cost of living.
Then, I called a few organizations to ask about scholarships and grants for foreign Masters Students. When I talked to a representative from the Swedish Institution they said that they don’t fund the Masters level, only the PhD level.
- DING! -
Why didn’t I think of this before?! I already have a Masters degree…and the next logical step is a Doctorate. It would be silly to receive two of the same degrees, so why not go for the next level? I told Anders and Micke my idea, and had a meeting with the man in charge of graduate studies soon after. He told me that I was inquiring about Doctorial studies at the perfect time, because the government is funding 12 new arts positions for next year, and Piteå is getting two of them. They are fully funded, salary positions that cover all expenses. Plus, the program and thesis topic is individual to each person.
The application opens on March 15, and I told him that I could probably send mine in tomorrow if I needed to! I will be competing with a lot of other students, but I am trying to be optimistic. I think I’ve made a good impression on the administration thus far, and they know that I am a positive addition to the Musikhögskolan community.
The degree itself isn’t that important to me, but if I am able to stay I’ll be able to do so much performing and touring…and starting a percussion ensemble has always been a goal of mine. Plus, the professional contacts I’ve been making through Anders have been really great. If I don’t do everything I can to try and make this happen I feel like I would be letting this amazing life experience fly by…so I’m putting up a fight :)
Keep your fingers crossed, because this could take my life in a direction I never saw coming! Plus, in a few years you will have to call me Dr. Finkelmeier…hahahahahahaha
Please comment with any thoughts or ideas!! Who reads this thing anyway?!
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