March Goals 2017

Around here, March is the beginning of all things Piano-related.  Between Festivals, Auditions, Recitals, Judging and Accompanying, March comes in like a Lion and, well... stays pretty loud.  Because of the musical nature of my March, you'll notice most of my 2017 March Goals are music related.  Through my many teaching years, I have found that when many events are lined up that require much energy and planning, regular weekly lessons can start to feel very taxing.  In an effort to keep energies high and remain an effective and inspiring teacher, it becomes even more important to make sure I take care to stay inspired.

1. Learn the Following Pieces:

Learning new pieces does so much for me as a musician and teacher.  I believe that creating and sharing music should be the core of every musician.  It keeps me inspired and keeps me more able to relate to my students as they learn new concepts and experience challenges in learning new music. My March list of pieces to learn consists of the following:

Le Jardin Féerique (The Enchanted Garden) 
from Ma mère l'oye (Mother Goose Suite) by Ravel

This is a duet written by Ravel and was a gift to his friend's children and based on some of his favorite French fairy tales.  I will be peforming this piece with my dear friend and duet partner, Renée, at a Musicale Concert on Saturday, April 1 (no joke).  

Ständchen (Serenade) by Schubert, transcribed for piano by Liszt

I first heard this piece on Pandora and immediately fell in love with it's heart-wrenching melodies.  I had a difficult time finding the music for it and discovered it was originally a song and only later transcribed (multiple times) for piano.  I first found Heller's transcription and quickly devoured it.  However, as I went back and listened to the recording of the piece, I realized Heller's rendition was lacking some of complexities of the version I was hearing.  I then found Liszt's rendition of the piece, which contained the more difficult passages.  I am excited to learn Liszt's more challenging (and very beautiful) interpretation of Schubert's song.

Rondo from Sonata Op. 13 by Beethoven

This one is a bit of a cheat, as I played it as part of my Senior Piano Recital.  I now have a student learning this piece and decided it would be fun to bring back to life.  I've been working on it over the past week and it still brings much joy!

2. Improve My Run Times for Both 5K Races

We have two 5K races coming up this month: the Shamrock 'n Roll at Atlantic Station and Fiona's school's first race, Run the World with ICSA.  I'm not a fast runner, but I'm excited to see if I can beat my time from October's Big Pumpkin Run.  Be sure to keep an eye on my Instagram Account for pictures of the race days: Sunday, March 12 and Sunday, March 26.

3. Immerse Myself in Music

Many of us have heard of the importance of caring for ourselves first in order to be able to adequately care for others.  I believe this principle also applies in my arena of a Piano-Filled Spring.  There are so many events coming this month where I will have the privilege of pouring into others that I need to make sure I keep my musical soul filled!  I was fortunate to attend Atlanta Symphony Orchestra's concert (featuring Benjamin Beilman playing Sibelius' violin concerto in d minor), and will get to attend my dear teacher's retirement piano recital at the end of the month.  Hopefully I'll be able to squeeze another concert in there somewhere :)

4. Everyday: Read, Write, Speak, Move. (and Play!)

While scrolling Instagram this pas week, I came across a friend's post where she had visually laid out her goals for the month of March.  I love a good visual, and she graciously agreed to allow me to share it (Thanks, Beth!)!  I decided to make one of my own for my New Year's goals, as a way to stay inspired to keep them up, and even added one on for March's practice goal.

5. Decorate for St. Patrick's Day

When things get busy, one of the first things to go out the window is seasonal decorating.  I love watching the change of seasons and know celebrating holidays marks the passage of time (especially for children), and Fiona especially loves seeing the different decorations throughout the year.  I've already explained how busy this month is (and it is so tempting to just keep the decorations put away), but I am going to make it a point to get out ALL the green to celebrate this special holiday.