Bad News but a Good Concert

It’s Monday the 3rd of March. I got an email from Freie Universität Berlin today saying that I DIDN’T get accepted to Doctor Samuel Adler’s course of composition this summer 2014. I was very surprised, because Doctor Adler liked me as a student and also said to me in 2012 “remember that you are welcome once again to this course, everyone can attend this course twice”! But I heard from my friends at Julliard School of Music that he is planning on retiring now (at the age of 86!), so maybe this is his last summer course and he wants to give the chance to as many new student’s as possible…? I don’t know, but I was quite disappointed for a few hours. Then I started googling up more courses which I can attend instead (with the given grant money), and there are loads and LOADS of courses, so now I just have to find out which ones are good and price worthy! If you have any suggestions, please let me know!

In the evening I went with my friend and composer Dante Thelestam to a concert “Tilaa kuulla – Tilaa ajatella” where Helsinki Chamber Choir performed a new piece by Zesses Seglias and “For Stefan Wolpe” by Morton Feldman. Seglias experimented with sound bodies, which I personally found quite boring. Morton Feldman’s 40min long piece only consisting of humming and a dialogue with two vibraphones was as meditative as ever. For getting more into the meditative mood I began closing my eyes (for not seeing the conductors waving hands, which disturbed the meditative impression for me). But having only slept five hours and sitting in a dark venue, closing my eyes wasn’t a good idea at all, and after a while I really had big difficulties not falling a sleep. But I still like Feldman!

After the official concert the audience was asked to stay for a contemporary choir workshop. We sang Cornelius Cardew's The Great Learning Paragraph 7, which was really fascinating and exciting! I really liked it!