ILLINOIS SCHOOL OF MUSIC
  • Home
  • Blog
  • About
  • Writers
    • Alumni

Welcome

Personal Ponderings on the Illinois Music Experience

The Incredible Opportunities at the School of Music

2/19/2023

 
During my undergraduate years, I was often too stressed or dealing with mental health issues to take full advantage of the events going on around me. I tried joining clubs, but they weren’t that welcoming. I always felt like an outsider. It wasn’t until my senior year that I started going to concerts that I wanted to go to. I went to faculty recitals, I saw Gil Shaham perform the works of Bach, and I got to hear Kelly Hall-Tompkins perform Wynton Marsalis’ Violin Concerto which was really special for me. I even saw some of my peers' recitals and that was really fun, too.

​
Picture

This semester, it’s almost difficult to pick and choose what to attend because there’s so much going on every week! I really appreciate the weekly music events email that goes out because I am quite forgetful. So far I’ve gone to the David Rosenboom Residency concert in October, an electric strings DMA recital, one Illini Strings concert, two electric strings masterclasses, the electric strings studio recital and an artist diploma student recital. I also got to see the Chicago Symphony perform in Krannert Center for Performing Arts which was incredible!

I’m constantly amazed at how many opportunities there are not only to see others perform but to participate in things as a musician. For example, I’m currently in Dr. Koo’s studio and I’m working on a composer collaboration where we get to learn a piece written by a composer and record it. This is just a great learning experience because I’ve never done anything like this before. I wish my previous school had stuff like this to do with their students!

And, in February, I’m performing in a faculty-student side by side performance of ALL of Bach’s Brandenburg Concertos. That is literally a dream of mine to play the Brandenburg Concertos at such a high level! All in all, I’m learning so much from attending these performances, seeing performers of all levels play vastly different kinds of music. It’s so inspiring for me and I can’t wait to see what next semester has to offer!

Na’ilah Ali
​

What To Do After a Recital

1/7/2022

Comments

 
I just finished my work with my senior recital on Saturday, and it was a fun performance! I am trying to take some time to evaluate how it went, listen to a recording, and enjoy a few days off from practicing before I make any judgments about the quality of the performance. I’ll also ask my teacher for his feedback in my next lesson. ​
Picture

Read More
Comments

A Recital Preparation Guide

11/24/2021

Comments

 
Let’s talk recitals. They’re really hard and also really fun. In my time here, I’ve gone through the process four times. And I’m lucky enough to say I’ve experienced a miracle of sorts with recital prep: Each recital has gotten progressively less scary for me!
Picture

Read More
Comments

Quick Tips for a Recital Dress Rehearsal

7/3/2021

Comments

 
Picture
My dress rehearsal for my undergraduate junior recital is coming up, and I’ve been preparing myself to make the best use of the time that I will have onstage before the night of the performance. Here are some quick tips and helpful things I’ve been thinking about regarding this part of the recital process:

Read More
Comments

Preparing My Recital

5/1/2021

Comments

 
Picture
One of the great milestones of any undergraduate music student’s career is their senior recital, which truly serves as a culmination of the previous four years. I am just over a month from giving my senior recital and finishing off my musical requirements here at the University of Illinois. ​

Read More
Comments

Recital Preparation: Mindfulness, Mental Practice and Coping with Stress

4/14/2021

Comments

 
Picture
Hey! I just wanted to give a brief anecdote and share a couple of reminders having to do with my recent experiences of practicing mentally, without my instrument, and coping with recital preparation stress through mindful awareness. 
​

    At the end of my last rehearsal on Friday, I noticed an ache in my elbow, where the forearm meets the joint, specifically when I moved my pinky finger. I knew I had been playing with some tension, as I was nervous about giving my recital in a few weeks, and I was playing the Sibelius Violin Concerto, which is filled with sixths, octaves, and tenths, so a little ache in my hand wasn’t surprising. The pinky is most likely a player’s weakest finger, and I was giving it a hard workout with this repertoire. So, I did some cool-down stretches and didn’t play for the rest of the day. ​

Read More
Comments

    Categories

    All
    Admissions
    Advice
    Allerton Park
    Anxiety
    Arias
    Art-song
    Audition
    Bookstore
    Brass
    Campus Life
    Career Prep
    Cello
    Chambana
    Chamber Music
    Chamber Singers
    Champaign-Urbana
    Choir
    Choral Conducting
    Collaborative Piano
    College
    Community
    Competition
    Composer
    Concert
    Conducting
    Confidence
    Covid-19
    Dining
    Dissertation
    Dorm Life
    Education
    Encore
    Entrepreneurship
    Euphonium
    Exercise
    Family
    First Impressions
    First Year
    Flute
    Food
    Freshman
    Friends
    Gender Identity
    Grad School
    Graduate
    Graduate Assistant
    Graduation
    Grateful
    Growth
    Gym
    Health
    Horn
    Housing
    Imposter Syndrome
    Innovation
    In-person
    Inspiration
    Instrument Repair
    International Student
    Internship
    Junior
    Krannert Center
    LGBT
    Live Performance
    Lyric Theatre
    Marching Illini
    Masterclass
    Memorization
    Mental Health
    Mentor
    Mindfulness
    Music +
    Musical Theater
    Music Building
    Music Education
    Music Festival
    Music Technology
    Music Theater
    New Student
    Opera
    Opportunities
    Orchestra
    Out Of State
    Parenting
    Performance
    Performance Anxiety
    Performance Major
    Performance Preparation
    Pizza FM
    Practice
    Process
    Production
    Prospective Students
    Quiet Spaces
    Recital
    Recording
    Reflection
    Rehearsal
    Rehearsals
    Relationships
    Relaxation
    Reset
    Rest
    Restaurants
    RSO
    Scholar
    Self Care
    Self-Care
    Self-Discovery
    Senior
    Show
    Social Justice
    Soloist
    Stress
    Student Life
    Student Teaching
    Studio Class
    Study
    Summer
    Support
    Technique
    Time Management
    Tips And Tricks
    Tools For Success
    Trombone
    Trumpet
    Tuba
    Undegraduate
    Undergraduate
    Violin
    Virtual Concert
    Voice
    Vote
    Wellness
    Women's Glee Club
    Woodwind
    Work
    Work Space

    Archives

    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021

    RSS Feed

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.
  • Home
  • Blog
  • About
  • Writers
    • Alumni