'Sup???

[Duel of the Flutes]

Not like anyone actually reads these things anymore, but hey...
Actually, it's quite sad to see how dead it is here, now. I myself have not posted here in over a year. I suppose that generation of kids who lived on these forums are all growed up now and are off at college, though...

So basically, I'm finishing up my first semester of my sophomore year at Eastern Michigan University. A lot has changed since I frequented this site... some of which I believe I've posted in some random threads here and there, but here's the breakdown.

I'm still majoring in instrumental music education. I already made a huge change last year by dropping out of the flute studio halfway through my first semester and auditioning for the horn studio, into which I was accepted and have been (OH-so-happily) studying in since last winter. I'm hoping to change my major to horn performance by the end of next semester, as I keep coming back to the conclusion that I don't ever want to teach, so majoring in music education is just a stupid decision (albeit a smart one when it comes to employability) if I want to play horn for a living.

Slightly more exciting (at least, to me), I auditioned for the Bluecoats mello line a couple weekends ago (my first-ever corps audition!), and got a callback!! So I will be going up against some super fierce competition (12 callbacks total, I believe) at their January callback camp for one of 4 total open spots (2 legit positions, 2 alternate positions). I honestly have never been more excited/nervous in my whole life, but the fact that I'm halfway to achieving my LIFE'S DREAM is absolutely amazing.

So, other than that, life has been going on as usual. I've been kept busy with my classes and ensembles (marching band just ended, basketball band, woodwind quintet, principle horn in symphonic band, hopefully orchestra next semester) and practicing for my jury.

Woot!

Hope life is great for all of you!

[animal]

Hay Dual of the Flutes

Don’t give up the flute totally. As side line jigs, there is always accompaniment at religious events with piano, pipe organ, or handbells at weddings, funerals (and to some that s one in the same ;-) ) and this time of year, Christmas. Horns, it is generally the trumpets or French Horn (which I see you are learning) but it is always nice to have something extra in your back pocket.
As far as the site here, the bait has always been the comic but the head GA bull dog, I would assume, is really busy with two underfoot at this time.
Enjoy University while you can, the work-a-day world can get to you…..

[Greenepony]

Congrats on the Callback!

I see a similar trend in music ed majors here. All band music ed majors are required to do two seasons of BUGWB- often very begrudgingly. It is obvious who is there because they want to teach (there is a flute ed major in my section who just loves to serve like that, it's awesome) and who is an ed major because- as some have less tactfully put it- "they are too scared to be performance." If you really do not want to teach, do not force yourself through the motions.

I can completely relate with being too busy. In the process of wedding planning and school and the fact our football team is actually decent this year, some things have slipped.

[Lprdgecko]

^Wedding planning? Are you getting married? If so, Congratulations!!!! If not, then congratulations to whoever you are planning a wedding for lol.

[~*Not~a~Stalker~*]

Wow. Congrats on the callback! It's always good to see updates from the members that were here back when I first started on TFBC.

It's so weird seeing actual posts on here. Isn't that sad? Seeing this has just made me think back to when these boards were hopping...the times of NinjaBaker's RVT threads...Does anyone else remember Tide to Go and STD man? Gosh, I started here when I was in the 8th grade, and now I'm getting ready to graduate. O.O

[Greenepony]

Dec 22, 2010 0:33:26 GMT -5 Lprdgecko said:

^Wedding planning? Are you getting married? If so, Congratulations!!!! If not, then congratulations to whoever you are planning a wedding for lol.

Oh, I'm getting married thanks!
I'm starting to panic (on multiple fronts) because I realized we're getting back the day before my last band week starts. Way to plan, right?

[altoclarinets]

We have determined the boards are dead. While this is partially due to people moving on, the link from the homepage to the boards also hasn't been working, which probably means people who have been looking haven't found. Amy said something a good six months ago about revamping the boards to a more modern format (Facebook page, I'm guessing) but we haven't heard from her since. I'm starting to wonder if she's ok- I sent her 2 emails, one about the link problems and one with a comic suggestion and have heard nothing regarding either. Anyone know?

[Lprdgecko]

Dec 22, 2010 0:46:26 GMT -5 ~*Not~a~Stalker~* said:

Does anyone else remember Tide to Go and STD man? Gosh, I started here when I was in the 8th grade, and now I'm getting ready to graduate. O.O

Yes!!!! Dang, that was back when I was in 10th grade... It's been 4 years already?!?!?!

[Greenepony]

Dec 22, 2010 18:48:16 GMT -5 altoclarinets said:

Amy said something a good six months ago about revamping the boards to a more modern format (Facebook page, I'm guessing) but we haven't heard from her since. I'm starting to wonder if she's ok- I sent her 2 emails, one about the link problems and one with a comic suggestion and have heard nothing regarding either. Anyone know?

I'm friends with her on facebook and she seems very busy with her daughters. I'm not sure about her involvement with TFBC but I assume her daughters are utilizing what would be her free time (which is perfectly understandable)

[altoclarinets]

^Cool, it's good to know she's not in any dire straits.
In other news, I am now an All-Stater! We had 5 people from our school make it, all seniors, so combined with the two who made it last year and didn't repeat we have 7 all- staters in our graduating class, which is the largest group we've ever had. The 5 we had this year constitute 1.26 % of the available 398 spots, an impressive number considering our one high school is .41 % of the 5a schools in Texas. (And for those of you not from Texas, I will let you know that Texas 5a All-State is one of the best and most unattainable All-State bands in the country. So we're very happy about our numbers. The ones who made it are our first chair bassoon, our first and second chair percussion (both were in the top 4 of 24 people, insane: what makes it even more awesome is that they're twins), our first chair tuba, and me. The ones who didn't repeat were our first chair flute, who didn't go because he had a college audition, and our first chair clarinet, who found herself in a room where only one of the 5 returning All-Staters made it back.

[spacermase]

So, might as well drop an update while I'm here....

So, after much work, travel, and interviewing, I was accepted into graduate school at Washington State University (I found out Dec. 19th, and had to be there in time for the start of classes on Jan. 10th- yeah, that was a pretty intense three weeks, what with moving across the continent and all). Technically, I'm in the Environmental Science department (for some reason), but what I'm actually researching is astrobiology (the tentative topic for my thesis is modeling what a possible ecosystem on Mars might look like). I've also found out that if we're really lucky, my lab might be selected to be one of the groups to analyze the data from the upcoming Mars Science Laboratory mission, which would be all kinds of awesome.

I'm still playing flute- WSU has a Symphonic Band that doesn't require an audition, and is pretty much specifically for people who just want to play. Some of the undergrads have started asking if I'm interested in marching in the Fall, which I've considered, but haven't really made a decision on- I have no idea if I'll have enough time (I'll either be a TA or an RA next semester, and that's a 20 hour per week commitment, at the minimum), and, plus, I feel like marching band may be something whose time has past for me (and, frankly, after so many years of intense dedication to the UVa marching band, learning someone else's pregame is probably going to be kind of....weird). But we'll see. I've also been invited to drop by the info session their chapter of KKPsi is having next week, which will give me a chance to see what they're like.

So yeah. That's what I've been up to.