After 2 Months . . . .

I finally did it.  After two and a half months of avoiding the dating scene I went one not one, but TWO DATES this weekend.  It was so good for me.  I've had issues with dating in the last years, and I keep having times where I avoid going on dates, but I decided to change that this weekend.

On Friday night, I took a girl to a Utah Symphony concert where they performed a Haydn Symphony, Handel's Royal Fireworks Music, and Mendelssohn's "A Midsummer Night's Dream" with actors acting out dialogue from Shakespeare's play between movements.

On Saturday night, I took a girl to a concert with a variety of classical music that my Stake put on.  I actually performed in it myself playing in a string quartet of Eine Kleine Nacht Musik by Mozart and playing violin on Pie Jesu by Andrew Lloyd Webber.

So . . . it was a good weekend.  I'll try to keep up the dating.  It keeps me happy!

Car Problems Temporarily Fixed Free of Charge :)

You know . . . they say that your car problems will be solved if you have a reliable car like a Toyota Camry.  Well, I'm very blessed to drive a Toyota Camry, but . . . no car is perfect. . . . or should I say purr...fect.

Well, throughout the last few months the windshield wipers on my car have been having issues and haven't been functioning right.  Because of that, I've had some awkward moments where I have been stuck in a rain storm and the windshield wipers wouldn't do the job.

Also, recently, I rolled down my driver side window and well, it wouldn't roll up.  Well, I was annoyed about these two things, because I didn't want to go into a mechanic.  

Well, I forgot something . . . . I have a roommate that knows how to work with cars.  So . . . on Thursday night, he took time out of his schedule to fix my windshield wipers and managed to get my window up until I feel like fixing it for good.  It made my life so much easier.  

Service is the bomb!

Valentine's Day with my Nephew, Neal

Many times when Valentine's Day comes it's easy for my to be sad and be reminded of how SINGLE I am.  In my whole life, I've only had one Valentine's Day where I had a girlfriend.

Well . . . this Valentine's Day was made special, because I got to babysit my nephew, Neal!!!!

Alena and Mike came down to Provo and went to a Dinner/Concert performance of my friend, Amy Norton's choir.  Well, this is one of the only times that they have come down and I have been free to babysit. So, I got the awesome opportunity.  

Well . .. . I'll tell ya.  Neal had a blast!  All my roommates got involved in the babysitting process along with my Family Home Evening group along with other friends.

Neal seemed to really bond with one of my roommates named Boomer (his real name is Braden, but he has had the nickname Boomer since he was a child).  Boomer said that it was a great opportunity to play with someone more at his maturity level :).

Here they are.  Neal kept falling off the couch so that Boomer could catch him.  It was hilarious.  I just hope that Neal gives his daddy warning if he ever wants to do that at home.

Also, Boomer and Neal just went crazy at some moments.  Watch this video and you'll see.

Not too much later after this experience . . . Boomer's girlfriend and other friends came over and they had fund with him also.  My roommate, Collin in the second video got involved too.  These videos give a little glimpse of what they did.

By the time the evening was over, Neal was as giddy as ever.  My roommates still talk about the experience and keep saying how we should have Neal over more often.  They were really impressed with how well-behaved he was and how easily he warmed up to people.  That is definitely a reflection of his wonderful parents.  Alena and Mike, I hope you know how well you are doing as parents.  Parenting is the hardest job in the world and I can see that it is really paying off.  

Bring over Neal anytime you want!!  We will love to have him.

Be Still My Soul

One of my favorite things about going to church is feeling the spirit strongly after a musical number in Sacrament Meeting.  It really sets the stage for spiritual revelation.  Well . . . this last Sunday (February 13th), I had the opportunity to play a cello solo in church.  I had never played a cello solo in church before, and I admit that I was a little nervous considering I have not practiced cello regularly since my senior year in high school, which was about 6 years ago.  But . .  my wonderful parents were loving enough to buy me a cello after my mission, and I've been wanting to use it more.  So . . . I transcribed the arrangement I did of "Be Still My Soul" for solo cello and piano.

I asked a good friend of mine named Cynthia Lew to accompany me on the rather difficult piano part, and she played it so well.  

On Sunday morning, I prayed to Heavenly Father that I would play with the spirit and really portray the message of this magnificent hymn.  When the administration of the sacrament came, to make sure I remembered the message of the hymn myself, I read the words as I pondered the Savior and covenants I have made to follow him.  I don't know if you have read the words to this hymn recently, but I thought I would include them.

Be still, my soul; the Lord is on thy side;
Bear patiently the cross of grief or pain;
Leave to thy God to order and provide;
In every change He faithful will remain.
Be still, my soul; thy best, thy heavenly, Friend
Through thorny ways leads to a joyful end.

Be still, my soul; thy God doth undertake
To guide the future as He has the past.
Thy hope, thy confidence, let nothing shake;
All now mysterious shall be bright at last.
Be still, my soul; the waves and winds still know
His voice who ruled them while He dwelt below.

Be still, my soul, though dearest friends depart
And all is darkened in the vale of tears;
Then shalt thou better know His love, His heart,
Who comes to soothe thy sorrows and thy fears.
Be still, my soul; thy Jesus can repay
From His own fulness all He takes away.

Be still, my soul; the hour is hastening on
When we shall be forever with the Lord,
When disappointment, grief, and fear are gone,
Sorrow forgot, love's purest joys restored.
Be still, my soul; when change and tears are past,
All safe and blessed we shall meet at last.

I love this hymn, because it's so easy to relate to.  We all have trials and sometimes we don't know when the end will come, but this hymn reminds us of how the Savior can comfort us and how through him we can find joy and in the end we can live with him and our Heavenly Father in the eternities.

When I performed this solo and church I felt like I played about the best I possible could and the spirit was very strong.  I really think the message of the hymn came across quite strongly.

I love the power of music.  It's one of the best ways I can think of that you can invite the spirit.

Prokofiev's Cinderella Ballet

This last weekend, I had the opportunity to play in the pit orchestra for Prokofiev's Cinderella Ballet.  And . . .man . . . it was hard music , but it was worth it.

What made it even better was that my sister Alena and my brother-in-law Mike came and saw me last Friday night!!

I appreciated them finding a babysitter for their adorable son, Neal (seen above) and coming to the production.  It really made the experience even better, but what I enjoyed most was surprising them with my debut on stage.  Yes . .. I was on stage during one part of the performance.  There's a part in the ballet where the evil step-sisters are given a dance lesson by a dance master.  Well, the dance master was accompanied by a violinist that provided the music.  I was asked by Kory to play this role and I came out in my tux and tails.  

Unfortunately, I had to pretend to play my violin while two solo violinist played in the pit, but I made it look convincing.  I put plastic wrap around the strings and was able to make it look like my bow was touching the strings, and nobody even knew.  It was awesome!

On the evening that Alena and Mike came the evil step-sisters were all over me during my part on stage.  They went as far as to start petting my violin as I was playing it.  It was hilarious.

Here are the evil step-sisters.

Overall, I loved it all.  Prokofiev's the man!!

Apparently . . . the Concerto Competition payed off after all

On the same day of my pre-recital hearing when I didn't think things could get any better . .. they did.

A few weeks ago when I was checking my e-mail in a computer lab, I ran into a Master's student in Music Composition named Joseph Sowa.  Joseph and I have gotten to know each other throughout the last year and a half, and I have come to respect him as a composer.  As we started talking about what's going on in our individual lives, I mentioned that I was one of the finalists for the BYU concerto competition.  When he heard this, he presented an idea to me.

He offered to write a violin concerto for me that would be modeled around my musical tastes and my greatest strengths as a violinist.  I couldn't help it . . . .I accepted! 

 So . . . right now I am in the process of listening to violin concertos and figuring out what I like in a violin concerto.  Then, Joseph wants me to write down my ideas and then as he writes the concerto, I will collaborate with him to make sure I'm in agreement with what he's writing.  

But . . . . it doesn't end there.

Last Tuesday after my pre-recital hearing, I got an e-mail from Joseph saying that he had approached Kory Katseanes (the orchestra conductor of the BYU Philharmonic and BYU Chamber Orchestra and the director of the BYU School  of Music) about the idea of this concerto and . . . 

Kory loved idea and said he was on board with my premiering the concerto in December of this year with the BYU Chamber Orchestra!!!!!

It hit me when I found out about this that the reason I wasn't meant to be a winner in the BYU Concerto Competition was because of this opportunity.  After all, Kory was one of the judges at the Concerto Competition and had heard me play better than I had ever played before.  I think that had a huge impact in me getting this opportunity.

The blessings just keep coming, man!!!

I Passed!

On Tuesday, February 8th, I had my pre-recital hearing for my Senior Recital.  Let me explain what that means.  In the BYU violin program, three weeks before you perform a recital it is required that you play portions of all your recital pieces for the violin professors.  If they don't think you're ready, then you have to delay your recital. 

 There are a few intimidating things about this.

  #1 - I had to be ready to play any part of the 8 movements of music that I have been preparing, which is about 55 minutes of music.

#2 - The hearing takes place in a small office with three violin professors staring at you.

#3 - I knew if I didn't pass the hearing, my family that had already planned to come would have to cancel their plane tickets.

#4 - The week before the hearing, one of my pieces (the Fugue from Bach's Solo Violin Sonata in G minor) was sounding very bad and I could not for the life of me memorize it.

No pressure . .. . . right?

Well, in the few days before the hearing, I practiced as much as I could, and then something that my teacher said clicked that completely changed my playing.  When I was struggling with  playing the Bach Fugue, my teacher, Alex Woods, said, "Jared, listen with the bow."  What he meant was that I needed to stare at my bow and move it in a way that would create the best sound possible.  So . . . .I tried it and then, suddenly I was able to memorize the Bach Fugue and even play it relatively in tune.  This all happened in the weekend before my recital.

When the morning of my hearing came, I took the same approach that I did to the concerto competition and read more scriptures between brakes in my warming up practice session.  In doing this I was able to be calm and have the spirit with me.  When I went to play the hearing at 10:00 A.M. on Tuesday morning, I felt confident and calm.

As I started playing I was a little nervous and made mistakes, but I overall played very well.  My performance of the Bach Fugue was overall quite solid.  Afterwards, when I left I felt at peace and knew that I had nothing to worry about.  

Later, I found out that I passed! . . . .But, what's even better, the violin professors said it was the best they had ever heard me play.  You don't know how much that meant to me, and it gave me the confidence that my Senior Recital will be a success.

Therefore . . . I'm proud to say that I will be having my Senior Recital on Saturday, March 5th at 7:30 P.M. in the Madsen Recital Hall on BYU Campus!

What did I learn from this experience?

If you do your best, with the Lord's help, you don't have to worry.  Everything will work out in the end.