Section Dinner

First of all, I have a Public Service Announcement: my section (Section 1) is the best freshman section at TAC this year. It's objective.
Now that you know that, I'll recount a fun thing my section did this week...section dinner! Each freshman section goes to dinner at the house of one of their tutors, co-hosted by another tutor. We got two of our favorite tutors for section dinner, and it was such a fun night! It was really nice to be at a house again, eat homemade food, play with little kids, and just relax. We love hanging out together. On the way back to campus, we blasted Christmas music. And later that night, my choir sang for All-Night Adoration, which we have every First Friday.
Now we have a relaxing weekend, with our theology paper due in two weeks. We had no classes on All Saints Day (perks of Catholic school), so we're in a bit of an academic lull, which is nice. Every day it gets better. It's crazy how fast freshman year is going! What a blessing to be here.

General Life Update

Hello, yes, I'm still alive.

College is absolutely insane, but in a good way. I'm loving every minute of it. 

I love my section and my tutors. Here are my classes:
Math (four times week)
Language (three times a week)
Philosophy (twice a week)
Theology (twice a week)
Natural Science (twice a week)
Literature Seminar (once a week)
In addition, I have 13 hours a week of work-study in the kitchen and sing in two choirs. It's a lot of work, but I love it.
This upcoming week is Don Rags, which we have instead of midterms. It's when your tutors sit down together and evaluate how you're doing as a student. I'm excited because I think it will improve my section a lot, since we will know what we need to work on individually. Another nice thing is Don Rags means we get three days of no class!
We have four fabulous chaplains on campus, which makes it easy to get to Mass, Confession, etc. There is a Dominican, a Jesuit, a Norbertine, and a diocesan priest. They are all wonderful to talk to and such a beautiful presence on our campus.
When people ask me what I like best about college, its hard to answer, because there isn't really any aspect I don't like. It's surreal to be so at peace with a decision I've made.

Well, that's all I'll say for now. Gotta get back to studying.

Weddings, Concerts, and Future Plans

Here I am, sitting on my bed under a blanket and drinking decaf earl grey with whole milk. The floor of my room is littered with suitcases, one full, two half-full, and one empty. Also a drawer from my dresser is on the floor, don't ask about that. Packing is an ordeal when you're flying to college.

I'm on my computer, trying to put my last few days of wifi to good use. Because, you guessed it, there ain't no wifi at TAC. *collective gasp* So naturally, blogging won't happen as much during the school year.

I will definitely try to keep up on posts, especially since I'll have lots of grand new photos of California life to make you all jealous in the winter. But, as I'll be in an actual class schedule (first time for everything, kids), skipping off to the mailroom to hook up to ethernet will probably be seldom.

Anyway, my current plan is to post at least once a month. We'll see how that goes. For now, here are some recent photos!

We went to the wedding of a family friend on Saturday. It was a really fun day! 

Yes, I took off my shoes as soon as was socially acceptable

The Pepinos came up for the wedding and we did a little of the sculpture walk downtown between Mass and the reception. You probably remember 5-year-old Josie from Isabel's wedding!

Last weekend we drove up to Aberdeen for Tessie's honor choir concert. It's so great to pass the honor choir baton! She will have a great junior year!

And today was the last day of my summer job! It would have been a lot less fun working as a research assistant for Dad's center if Susannah hadn't been working alongside me all summer! We kept each other awake and shared snacks and commiserated over Google Scholar and Excel. What more could you ask for?

T-minus three days until I'm a California girl!!

Ordination Mass

Our church choir at St. Thomas More was asked by the bishop to sing for the Mass of priestly ordination, as the Cathedral choir is on tour in Europe. It was an epic, three-hour Mass, and so much fun to sing for! We had six men being ordained to the priesthood--what a blessing! Congratulations to Fr. Brian Eckrich, Fr. Tyler Mattson, Fr. Joseph Scholten, Fr. Andrew Thuringer, Fr. Timothy Smith, and Fr. Thomas Hartman!

Here's a recording of the entire thing: (PS the organist was amaaaazing)


Some pictures from the Diocese's FB page:

There were Knights of Columbus and some Knights and Ladies of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre.

The newly-ordained with Bishop Swain!

STM Youth Choir

     The school year is coming to a close, and that means the end of the religious ed program at St. Thomas More. The youth choir meets every week before religious ed, so they'll be done for the summer, too. I played piano for their rehearsals all year, and now that it's ending I'm realizing how great of an experience it was.
     First of all, the kids are wonderful. Being in a choir is kind of self-selective, and these kids' behavior is an indication of that. The choir includes first- through eighth-graders, and I've never met a bunch more enthusiastic about praising God in song. They sing their hearts out at every rehearsal. They beg to sing certain hymns over and over. They learn new songs faster than most adult choirs.
     It's interesting for me to watch them interact, since I never went to school and don't know what it's like being a kid in public school. There are sets of best friends, close cousins, and siblings who love each other. Someone always has a story to tell or a question to ask. They talk about what they're doing at school, what they're learning in RE, where they're going on vacation. They are a lively bunch of kids, and they have so much joy.
     Musically, too, this experience has helped me. My sight-reading skills have improved quite a bit over the past year, due to sitting down and having to play hymns and part-songs on the spot. The kids don't care how much I mess up, but sometimes they tell me I should practice. (They're always right.) It's nice to work on something, even something little, that isn't part of my actual piano repertoire. And it's nice knowing I'm accompanying a forgiving crowd. Sometimes they ask me to play a solo I'm working on while they aren't singing. When they sing in a circle, they like to watch the hammers strike the keys inside the piano. Spending time with people who are so fascinated by the instrument definitely breaks up the monotony of the practice-lesson-practice cycle.

At their Christmas Program in December--I'm behind the piano.

     I'll miss playing for youth choir. I'll miss the way the kids remember my name and talk to me, even if I don't remember which one they are. I'll miss their exuberance and their willingness to try new things. I hope that, in some small way, I've made a difference in their lives.

Easter

He is risen as He said! Alleluia!

The reason for the lack of Triduum posts is that we were so busy--Tessie and I sang for Holy Thursday Mass, Good Friday Stations, Good Friday Liturgy, Easter Vigil, and Easter Morning Mass. Now that it's all done, we can catch our breaths...and post pictures.
Tessie and I once again documented our church-singing via snapchat, but we were so busy that I forgot to save most of the pictures.
Holy Thursday Mass, as I've said before, is my favorite Mass of the year. As usual, I had to blink back tears as we began the Pange Lingua and processed with the Blessed Sacrament to the Altar of Repose. What a gift to mankind.
Good Friday liturgy was beautiful. It is so profound: the priests prostrating themselves before the altar after entering in silence, the solemn intercessions, the Passion reading, the veneration of the Cross. Every year I appreciate it more. Tessie and I sang a cappella the original Pange Lingua Gloriosi by Venantius Fortunatus. "Sing my tongue the glorious battle, sing the last, the dread afray..." ending with the Crux Fidelis verse.
The choir sings every Easter Vigil, and because of the scale of the Mass, we have several different cantors take turns. Tessie and I were one of those, so we were in and out all night, on our feet a lot. There were three baptisms and four first Communions and Confirmations. What a special celebration to be a part of--basically a 2.5-hour party. The part that always gives me chills is the Exsultet. The words get me every time. And the Litany of the Saints is wonderful, too.
Our church had three Masses on Easter morning, and Tessie and I were cantors for the last one. After Mass we ate brunch as a family and took it easy for the rest of the day.
It's a dream of mine to experience the Holy Triduum in a monastic setting. One day...

I'll gather up some more pictures and post them later in the week. Happy Easter!

Spring Concert Video

Here is the video from the concert on March 27!
Concert & Mixed choir - 39:10
Combined choirs - 1:02:50

https://thecube.com/event/bhs-spring-choir-concert-2017-725147?utm_source=amazon&utm_medium=email&utm_content=video_thumbnail&utm_campaign=video_processed

Beginning of Spring!

Flowers from the choir concert.

The year's first batch of kittens!

And freshman registration!! 

Last Choir Concert!

Ah, the end of high school. The end has begun with my last high school choir concert!
Our program:
Zigeunerleben (Gypsy Life) - Robert Schumann
Jamaican Market Place - Larry Farrow
How Can I Keep From Singing - Robert Lowery, arr. Taylor Davis
Bridge over Troubled Water - Paul Simon, arr. Kirby Shaw
Combined piece: Baba Yetu - Christopher Tin

Will post a video when it comes!

Seniors got flowers and gifts.

Solo & Ensemble Contest

Yesterday we were at Augustana most of the day for vocal and strings solo and ensemble contest. I sang sang a solo in the morning, then after lunch sang in a small group and accompanied Tessie for her solo.
My solo was "Weep No More" by George Frederic Handel, and I scored 29 out of 30.
Our small group sang "For the Beauty of the Earth" by John Rutter, and we got a perfect 35/35.
Tessie sang "Sento Nel Core" by Alessandro Scarlatti and scored 28 out of 30.
My favorite part was probably accompanying...I enjoyed being a part of a performance and helping the singer do well, but not being the center of attention.
Overall it was a good but exhausting day!

All in black...musician life!

2016 in Review

The new year is here, and it's time to reflect on the year that just closed. I'll look at the highlight of each month of 2016.

January
In January I got to go to the March For Life, spent 74 hours in a bus next to my best friend, attended Mass in a roadside ditch during a snowstorm, enjoyed sleeping on a gym floor with nothing but a blanket, and most importantly helped make history and gain media attention for the pro-life cause.

February

North Central ACDA Regional Honor Choir was by far my favorite of my honor choir experiences. Dr. Head was an amazing director and over that magical weekend I learned so much about myself as a musician.

March
Sang for four Masses and one Good Friday liturgy over the Easter Triduum. And early Easter meant that when I turned 17, it was no longer Lent!

April
In April BHS choirs went on a trip to Omaha to see Phantom of the Opera live at the Orpheum Theatre. The production was too fabulous for words.

MayMy best friends graduated from high school. Crazy how time goes by.

June
Got to live with Nicole for two weeks while my family traveled around the country going to weddings and getting proposed to. Also, Shakespeare Camp began in late June.

July
TAC Summer Program. I wish I could relive those two weeks exactly how they happened. So happy to be returning there for college next year!

August

South Dakota Honor Choir, though exhausting and a bit much right after TAC, was still an unforgettable musical experience. Good ol' Randy Stenson and the IlluminAltos.

September

After my last Broomtree, I started senior year. Which I wish were already done.

October
Mom and I went to Germany, stayed in a picturesque abbey, ate delicious food, spent time with my now-professed aunt, and witnesses the miracle at the tomb of St. Walburga. So much history. So much Catholic. So much joy.

NovemberNaNoWriMo 2016. Wrote a novel which I changed into a novella after meeting word count quota. Kind of a tragic story but beautiful in its own way. Also, official acceptance from TAC plus a free t-shirt.

December
The twins came home from college and we went on The Bestie Roadtrip. Great music, laughs, conversations, hugs, food, everything. The ultimate road trip.

So yeah, 2016 was pretty cool for my life. I can't wait to see what 2017 brings my way!

Christmas 2016 (part 1)

Christmas has been lovely so far, and we are looking forward to more fun when Isabel and Matthew arrive tomorrow! 

The church choir sang at 6pm Christmas Eve Mass, and our director asked Tessie and me to cantor. We had fun getting ready and singing great music for this special feast!

with Aine before Mass

annual family picture after Mass

Going home, Tessie and I had snapchat fun in the car. 

At home, we said Christmas vigil Vespers, then had a late dinner of soup and homemade bread. After singing carols and putting the Infant Jesus in the manger of Mom's old nativity set, we spent the rest of the night talking and playing games.

We opened two presents on Christmas Eve--they were games we played before going to bed.

Next morning, we had an extravagant breakfast supplied by gifts from relatives (special breads, cheeses, etc.), and headed to the music room to open gifts. 

having fun on with Tess

I don't have pictures of present time, but I promise it was lots of fun. We lazed around and played games most of the day. We kids have a tradition of playing MarioKart on Christmas, and we upheld it royally.

We had a huge and delicious dinner, ate cookies, and had more fun before retiring early. I'll make a future post about special gifts received and given.

Our dinner table.

Merry Christmas!

Concerts, and concerts, and more concerts.

I was asked to turn pages/help in general with the SDSU choir concert on Sunday. So I spent a good five hours at the PAC, turning pages for accompanists, helping herd choirs in and out of doors, informing musicians of where we were in the program, and playing filler music between songs. They were two really good concerts. I was exhausted at the end.

Then, on Monday was our high school choir concert. My choir sang O Filii et Filiae (Leisring), There Shall A Star (Mendelssohn), White Christmas (arr. Snyder), and He Is Born (arr. Forrest) with Mixed Choir. And then there was the traditional Hallelujah Chorus with combined choir at the end. I think I've finally memorized the alto part of the Hallelujah Chorus...

Tessie wasn't into the whole taking a picture thing...

And THEN, on Wednesday was the youth Christmas program at church. I've been helping with youth choir and I played piano for their songs during the Christmas pageant. They are one cute and enthusiastic bunch of kids, and they did a great job singing. But I am very glad I don't have to play that music anymore.

with Janine and Mikalyn, our buddies!

And with those four concerts in as many days, semester one of senior year is finished. Hallelujah.

(All photos from Mom)