Viola

This morning I had my audition for l'Ecole Normale de Musique de Paris, and it went well! It was in this huge old building in the 17th, and I played in a concert room for the director. He was a really sweet guy, and kept trying to get me to take more classes at the Ecole. Right now I'm signed up for un cours d'alto, but I think this will be very different from a viola class in the US...he told me that this week the class is on Thursday (but it changes every week), and that I should show up in the morning. I asked him what time, he said "whenever you want...8:30 or 9, whenever" (very French. he then proceeded to map out 5 or 6 different combos of metro and walking that I could take to get there, even though the Malesherbes metro stop is 1/2 a block away from the Ecole -- also very French.) It's the viola class for 2nd year conservatory students, which makes me rather scared, and I think that you just get up and play for the class...which also makes me scared! so we will see. He wanted me to do chamber music as well (which I really wanted to do!), but I'm leaving at the end of May/early June, and anyone taking a chamber music course has to play the exam at the end of the course, so obviously I wouldn't be there for it. He did, however, talk me into taking/visiting a class on Analysis of Medieval Music...it's a really advanced class, but I don't have to take any tests, I'll just be sitting in on the lectures, so that I can see how "things are done" in France. However, this might conflict with my travaux dirigee at the Sorbonne...so I'll have to wait and see how registration at the Sorbonne goes.

After we sorted all this out, he gave me a tour of the entire music building, pointing out the mosaics on the walls, and giving me a long history of the arrondissement, the building, and the concert hall. One of the big perks of being a student at the Ecole is that I can go to lots of concerts and masterclasses hosted by the Ecole in all different locations in Paris for free! Every Tuesday and Thursday there are recitals given by grad students and by professors, and then there are masterclasses almost every week.

The director was really sweet, and told me to come to him with any problems or questions. He also pointed out that the academic director is American, and told me that when I get fed up with the French, I should go and talk to him :o).

More to follow on la vie parisienne--when I have more time I will give a longer summary of what I've been up to. But maintenant I have to go to my first writing class at Sweet Briar!