So, when my mother said she'd take me out for lunch today and to "dress up" I had no idea I was going to the newly-opened (that's a compound adjective, right?) Milestones in Cambridge, Ontario where my brother and his family were there waiting for me to celebrate the completion of my Master's degree (which officially took place on August 31st although I will actually convocate on October 22nd). The table was decorated with grad 2011 confetti and there were grad balloons and a little sparkly sign (I'm obsessed with sparkles!!) that read: "Congrats Grad." The food there was beyond delectable. To start, we had two appetizers: the "Baked Goat Cheese and Slow-Roasted Garlic Flatbread Plate" and also the "Bocconcini Garlic Bread." For our main meal, my mom and I shared both the "Grilled Mediterranean Chicken" and the "Butternut Squash Ravioli." You can see a complete description of these dishes here: http://www.milestonesrestaurants.com/lunch.php Five stars for everything!! And I also have enough leftovers for lunch and dinner tomorrow =)
While this doesn't have anything to do with music or composing, let's just say that this blog will be primarily devoted to music, but will have some leeway in terms of its content. Tangents are always good aren't they? Kind of like footnotes, I suppose . . . haha.
In terms of my music, I promised to speak more about it in this blog, and, of course, in blogs to come. Where to begin (a favorite statement of one of my former fellow M.A. students)? I've been writing for . . . gosh, I just realized I never kept track!! To give you an estimate, I think I've been composing music since I was in sixth or seventh grade. I actually wrote a graduation song for Jacob Hespeler Secondary School (where I completed high school) which was performed at Wonderland and a theme song for Wilfrid Laurier University (where I completed my undergraduate studies) for a second year composition course. More or less, I have not publicly performed a lot of my compositions other than at small venues like Starbucks, local senior's homes, the Cambridge Memorial Hospital, and a benefit concert for Haiti I spearheaded at Laurier in addition to slightly larger venues such as the Wine and Roses hosted by the Argus Resdience.
To date, I have dozens of new compositions that I would like to eventually record. I think it would also be neat to choreograph certain pieces for a ballet group or even other dance genres. As well, I would love to make more music videos as I have only one thus far: "Ecotistical." This song is a tribute to the naturalist Catherine Parr Traill and was also a major project for my Ecocriticism class.
As far as music that I like and listen to . . . I am very open-minded that way and enjoy practically all genres to some degree. I recently discovered Alessi's Ark on YouTube and have to say that I am a big fan!! She's definitely an original, but her music might also classify as "poppy folk" =) Demi Levato has also released a new CD entitled "Unbroken" just a few days back and I listened to some of her tracks on YouTube as well and found that "For the Love of a Daughter" and "Skyscraper" are two of my favorites. Gavin DeGraw's "Not Over You" is another song that really appeals to me. Some of the YouTube comments for this video (particularly about what the girl watering the plant is wearing and how uncommon or unrealistic her attire is) totally cracked me up!! Levato and DeGraw both fit more into the mainstream pop category.
And last but not least, I am a huge fan of a little girl I recently discovered named Jackie Evancho. She's an eleven years old opera singer with the voice of an angel. Two of the songs on her latest CD "Dream with Me" that I can't get enough of are "Angel" and "Lover's Lyrics." She didn't write any of the songs on this CD, but certainly gives them a charming spin!!
Alright, well I think I've rambled long enough for today. After hitting the mall, the movies, and Milestones this weekend, I already feel guilty about the time I've spent away from studies, so I am going to now work extra hard and extra late to make up for that "lost" time (although "lost" really isn't the right word because I had such great times)!!
ttyl
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