Hi Kokopeli,
I LOVE jazz, but am very much classically trained. I am ashamed to say that outside my working hours (since I used to spend so much of it in the classical field) I don't listen to classical but jazz music. One of the biggest things I have missed is the jazz radio station we had in Florida and also the really nice stereo I had in my car (which I sold, of course)! There was also an annual jazz festival in Jacksonville, Florida that we never missed! There are no radio stations here that I can stand...and I don't have a car right now. I guess when I finally get some time, I need to rip off a whole bunch of music from my CDs onto my ipod so I can at least listen to them while riding the bus or walking....which I do quite a lot. Working at the Arts Center (where Southern Ballet is located) has been a problem because there is no free parking closeby. I usually bus and walk from the bus exchange. My hubby comes and picks me up when I get done (usually 7 or 8.30 p.m.). I could take a bus, but it would be another hour before I get home....I think he is getting quite tired of it! About live music for ballet classes - yes, I realize that it is a luxury for most ballet schools...but Southern Ballet has 3 pianists (I was very, very lucky that one of them quit in January.....so I have her job now)....when I arrived here, i had to be realistic and was prepared to never have a job playing for classes again. The students are not of the caliber I was used to, but I truly enjoy working there, even if they pay me just $15 an hour before taxes.
This long weekend (plus the break between terms at school) has been very welcomed! Our house is still in a huge mess although we have been in it for over a month....I work so much that it is hard to get much done except on the weekends. We have about 90% of our boxes unpacked, but I still need to paint the walls of the hallways and the 3 spare bedrooms (we have no kids). We painted the master bedroom and great room (living/dining/kitchen) soon after we moved in so that we could set up the furniture and use these rooms. The master bedroom had one wall in a dark purple and the dining area had one bright red wall that my husband could not stand. I have done lots of painting (and faux finishings) in our house in the US, so I ragged the ugly-colored walls with a beige paint. It instantly muted them and made them look so much better. We had to paint all the other walls in those areas as well since they were quite scuffed up from use. Two of the other bedrooms belonged to teenagers and have pink and bright blue/cobalt blue walls. One will be a guest room and the other an office, so we need to get them more neutral and "peaceful". Hope to do all this and set up the rooms/decorate the next 3 weeks!
Regarding teaching piano privately, I haven't quite decided when and if I will start doing that again. The ballet classes take up all my afternoons and Saturdays...if I start my studio, I will have to drop some of those days. Ideally, teaching as an itinerant piano teacher is great, cos I get to do that in the mornings and the pay is really good too. One of the downsides of teaching piano privately at home is that my hours would usually end quite late in the evenings...not much privacy for my hubby when he came home from work. Also, I am not sure with our neighbors being so close as well (the buildings are about 5m apart!)...if I would be too noisy!
Your musical experience sounds very interesting! I am not sure how you would go about starting up workshops for beginners here....the people who belong to the IRMT (music teacher group) all seem to be classical folk. I could ask around. Have you heard of the CPIT?
How do I send you a private email?
Julie
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