My favourite things

Location can be everything and at the same time nothing. The elements of my life that are affected by where I'm living are completely different than I anticipated. I thought that it'd be a whole new me in a whole new country but then I started to notice my 'old' personality surfacing within the first few weeks. The things I thought would be so different feel so normal and those tiny little things I never thought I'd think about bubble to the surface at peculiar moments. The strangest thing however, is that everything here feels so familiar, that I sometimes I forget I'm even away at all. Isn't it funny how the Netherlands feels like it's just around the corner from Australia?

Here are a few highlights of the past month . . .

Going to the Grand Theatre in Amsterdam twice in one week!
Joeke, one of my percussion teachers, was kind enough to get me a ticket and take me down to Amsterdam to see 'L'Amour des Trois Oranges' by Prokofiev. I was lucky enough to poke about backstage beforehand and even meet some of the musicians from the orchestra and hang out with the cast of the opera - I was tempted to sneak into one of the dressing rooms, don a wig and sneak on stage, but decided I should resist - before taking my prime seat in the beautiful theatre.

Later in the week, I headed down to Amsterdam yet again, with my Australian friend Bella. We dressed up hopped on the train and enjoyed wonderful cocktails (made by yet another Australian in the Netherlands) before 'Romeo and Juliet' performed by the National Ballet.
Romeo and Juliet is one of my favourite ballets and Prokofiev's score is also one of my favourite pieces of music and takes me back to my childhood. It was on the CD of ballet music my mum always played in the car or that I listened to as I went to sleep, though I knew the tracks too well I would always wait for it to finish before I went to sleep.

"The boys" (3 of the percussionists at university) and I performed at the UMCG Hospital in Groningen. We had a small audience of music lovers and were broadcast across the entire hospital. It was such a fulfilling experience for me as I am always thinking about how to make live music accessible to everyone. Before I left I'd been discussing with some colleagues of 'Voyces' choir about doing something like this and I hope that when I return we can make this happen! If anyone has any other ideas or thoughts on this topic please let me know.

On Easter Sunday a big group of us from college decided to have an Easter feast, and boy did we feast! In the morning I made an Easter egg hunt for some of the girls and people cooked away in kitchens all day. It was so nice to have everyone showing such generosity and to share a beautiful meal together.

All my lessons are going well, my parents now have proof (via Skype) that I do actually have friends over here and the weather is warming up!

I love waking up on those days when you can just feel that spring is in the air. Everything seems to be buzzing and all of a sudden everyone is sitting out in the sun in t-shirts and shorts, smiling and waving at each other, just being thankful to be alive and have some long forgotten Vitamin D.

Off to enjoy the sun!
Lx

beautiful flowers from one of my performances
ragtimes at the hospital
outside the theatre in Amsterdam
the Easter feast (note my roast chook!)

No.2 Prins Claus, what a guy!

The Prins Claus Conservatorium, where I will be studying for the next 6 months, is a fantastic institution attached to Hanze university. The relationship is very similar to that between WAAPA and ECU as the campus and institution are somewhat separate form the main university.

The conservatory is a 5 minute (including unlocking and locking my bike!) cycle from my accommodation, which throws all plans for getting fit but makes for a nice lunch break, and gives me little excuse not to practice.

I will be studying percussion with three incredible teachers for the duration of my study, as well as attending regular theoretical classes.

Luuk takes me for timpani, Tatiana for mallets and Joeke for snare and excerpts.

So far I have only had lessons with Joeke and Tatiana, this week I will finally meet Luuk!

Joeke takes us for lessons once a week whilst Luuk and Tatiana come every alternate fortnight. It makes me feel so privileged to have so much tuition! Having three different people all expecting things from me is both daunting yet fantastic and I know that I am going to improve so much. They are so committed to my development and after each lesson I feel energised and inspired to work.

Last week, I had an 'inspiring' lesson with Joeke on Monday, however when Wednesday rolled around, it brought with it resignation. I could remember how inspired and excited I felt, however I couldn't summon up the excitement or concentration to work. That was when I had a lightbulb moment. I felt I was so taking for granted that these people were inspiring me, I didn't even think about how I could inspire them. So my new commitment is: Be inspired and inspire. I decided I wanted to arrive at my lessons full of possibility and excitement. I want to exceed their expectations and inspire them with my reaction to their teachings.

Boy did that send a surge of energy through my soul!

Last week I had my first performance in Holland which came as a bit of a shock to the system! It was so familiar but something I hadn't done in a while that by the end of the evening I was EXHAUSTED!

The performance by the 6 of us Percussionists was the warm-up for the band Rubatong, a TURA style heavy metal band that Tatiana plays with. They are the best performers you've never seen! Really unique performers with such amazing stage presence, I was blown away! 

It was such a nice experience for me to bump in and out, rehearse and perform with a new bunch of percussionists. For me it is this experience that really solidifies my new friendships and made me feel like 'one of the gang'.

The next day the said 'gang' - although they are the sweetest, funniest people, who in no way resemble a gang - headed to 'the' percussion shop near Amsterdam. After a long train trip, walk, few wrong turns, bus trip, few more wrong turns and four hours, we arrived at the shop. This was another experience that made me think of home - friendly percussionists. It seems no matter where you are in the world, percussionists take care of each other. As soon as we were in the door we were being fixed up with hot coffee and tea, as we then proceeded to spend the next few hours trying out every different mallet, stick, drum and shaker. By the time we departed we had also been stuffed with cake, soft drinks and left satisfied with our bellies and new purchases. Almost enough to forget the deathly cold! . .  Almost.

This week I begin my other classes at university. I am still sorting out some of my timetable and am apprehensive about how I will fit into my classes. It is so exciting however, to have a full schedule and once again and feel like I am being productive!

I feel that getting into the swing of my classes will be the last step in really settling in to life here.

Lx

first performance at the grand theatre

the drum shop

coen enjoying his cake at the shop

you can see why it took us a few hours