Not Much Going On

It's been a few days since I wrote anything so I thought I would fill you in on what's been happening. The answer is: not much. Oh, the joys of summer when a person can while away lazy afternoons reading a book on a sun drenched deck. Or, in my case, obsessing over things like Brahms scores and registration for graduate classes. I wouldn't necessarily call it whiling away.

Thursday and Friday were not necessarily memorable days. They kind of blended, one right into the other. Friday night our neighbors came over and we grilled chicken legs and kabobs. We had a delightful supper and then I presented them with a lecture on Brahms 1st Symphony. Now, to be fair, they asked me if I could talk about some of the music that I was studying because they were interested in knowing what I was doing in preparation for the workshop in the Czech Republic this summer. So I organized some thoughts, we had dinner, and we discussed Brahms. Afterward we listened to the entire symphony around the bonfire pit in the backyard. It was actually a pretty nice night.

Yesterday Kaia and I attended some graduation parties in the afternoon and I registered for some classes. I managed to get myself registered for conducting lessons and a course called "problems and methods". Other than that I still need to see what else I should take. There is a seminar that I need to take and there are some music history courses and some other electives from which to choose. I just need to figure out a sequence for the courses. Ultimately I need to be fully registered by the end of the first week of classes so there is still time.

Last night Kaia and I went out for dinner with Nobu. After dinner he came over and we watched the Berlin Philharmonic on their Digital Concert Hall. It was incredible. For 5 euro (roughly $6.15) I ordered a concert of Brahms Symphony No. 1 and Dvorak Slavonic Dances. It all came streaming to my laptop, which we then plugged in to our stereo. The picture clarity is outstanding and sound is unbelievable. We thoroughly enjoyed the concert. I have plans to order more in the next few weeks, but first I need to get the cable to hook my laptop up to our TV. Then we can really enjoy!

Kaia and I are headed off for a camping trip today. We are going to visit my parents in La Crosse for father's day and then we are going camping at Perrot State Park. It's our first "vacation" of the summer and I'm looking forward to a change of scenery.