Loving the Avaloch Life

Hello everyone!

We have been at the Avaloch Farm Music Institute for almost a week now, and it has truly been an incredible time.  Amazing food, wonderful company, and great music-making.  Could not ask for more, really.  Especially after a day like yesterday when we were treated to an incredibly intimate and wonderful house concert!

After dinner, all three of the groups currently at Avaloch got together for a very small group of friends (including the 4-legged), and just performed whatever we were working on during our stay here.

It was such a fun mix too, because the Diderot Quartet opened the concert with some Mozart and Haydn on their period instruments which had gut strings tuned to 430, which is about a quarter tone lower than A440 (a more 'standard' tuning pitch for instruments today).  It was a simply delightful experience, especially because I had never heard or seen pieces performed on period instruments before!

Then we performed our Ravel from memory,
and then the CMW quartet played the Beethoven Op. 130, which they learned during their short stay here, and played beautifully.

I really loved playing chamber music in this intimate setting, which was what chamber music was originally intended for, among good friends.

Snoozer, the resident Avaloch pooch, was also there of course  =)  isn't he such a handsome pup?!

It really has been a wonderful week spent here at Avaloch performing, rehearsing, memorizing, and getting so much done.  But it never felt like we were working too hard, if that makes sense.  It's just that kind of a setting where you work extremely hard, and get an incredible amount of work done that you couldn't possibly do out in the 'real world', but it never feels like work.   It's going to be so sad having to leave this place...

If you are a musician, I highly recommend applying to come to Avaloch, because really, there is no place like this, and I guarantee you that you will fall absolutely, head over heels, in love with the place like we did.

I mean, how could you not?

Especially with a pup like Snoozer 

and the incredible director, Deb Sherr, (our Mama) around  ;)

We are so thankful, and feel incredibly blessed to have had this opportunity  =)

I hope you are having a wonderful week, and thanks so much for stopping by!
--Janny

Garth Newel :: Last couple of days

Hello everyone!

The larks were in California for the past week at Capo International Chamber Music Festival, and we were so busy that I didn't have time to open my laptop even once.

It was really an incredible week though, getting to meet and work with so many amazing musicians and working with such good kids  =)  Capo blogging will be coming soon, but I wanted to squeeze in one more  Garth Newel post before moving on to our Cali adventures!

I got to play the Schubert Rosamunde Quartet with these amazing folks, and I'm so glad that we got to play together!  =)

Garth Newel also had the most amazing 4 legged companions (at least 3 different ones were always around, and we absolutely loved it!)

Ben and Alan's 'Gay couple pose' with Zoe  haha

and Sky playing fetch with a rather large stick.. haha

Sky is so well trained that she knows to not go into the kitchen.  so she'll stay in the doorway, like so, and beg, but will never enter fully!

and beautiful Arpine  ;)

Rachel and I discovered that we are actually,,, like,, the same person  haha  we like the same things, we are interested in the same things, and we are going to be in the same studio at BU!

on one of our last days together, we celebrated by sight reading Tchaikovsky Souvenir de Florence!

There's really nothing better than playing incredible music with people you love!!

our attempt at a serious photo..

this is more like it  haha

it was such a great group of people, and I feel so blessed to have had the chance to meet everyone!

Til next time!

Thanks for stopping by, and have a wonderful week!

--Janny

Playing with the new camera =)

Hello everyone!

I hope your week is going well so far!

In less than 2 months I'm going to be saying goodbye to Rice and Houston, and for some reason, it had never felt real.. until a couple of days ago.  but soon, we'll be moving out of our apartment, going through the graduation ceremony and 'walking through the front gates' thing that Rice does, and most likely leaving Houston to relocate to a different city and a different school....  I'm definitely getting a little bit sentimental over here...  sigh...

Anyway, a little while ago, we took the new camera David got for me for Valentine's Day (it's a Sony NEX 3N) and took a stroll around the neighborhood and our campus with Pucci.  It was a good chance to play around with the camera, and to take a few photos of our beautiful campus  =)

This camera is kind of a cross between a point and shoot and a DSLR in that it has all of the functions of the point and shoot, but you can change out the lens.  The lens that I have seems to work best for shooting scenery, or subjects that are farther away, and it also does a beautiful job with natural light.  It isn't so good with macro photos though, but that makes sense considering the type of lens I have.

So, a few outdoor photos around our neighborhood...

With Pucci!

and walking around Rice

with Mr. Sleepyhead...  haha

and my favorite photo from the day  (a photo of a coffee shop at Rice that David snapped while I went into the Rice library for a second)  =)

I did little to no editing on these photos, and I really love how great the quality is on the photos!  I mean, do have a Canon point and shoot, but most of the time I feel like the quality is comparable to my iphone5, so I never bother taking it out.  But now that the photo quality from the camera is significantly better than the phone, I think I'll take it out more often  ;)

Do you guys own a similar camera?  how do you like yours?

Thanks for stopping by!
--Janny

Hello Houston! and puppy therapy! =)

Hello everyone!

I've been in Houston for a couple of days now getting ready to start another school year, and it's been quite an adjustment!  haha   what is this? I have to cook for myself? 100 degree weather with 100% humidity is normal...?  I'm back in Houston, but where's my man? (not back yet, wah wah) and where's my puppy therapy?

I have to say, the last one has been quite difficult  =/  I miss my McKinley man!  but thankfully, I've got friends with bene... uh I mean, puppies, so we're all set!  =p  In case you are also in a puppy funk like I am, here are some photos to drool over until you get your own/return to your own cuddlebug back home!

There is, of course, the infamous Houdini!  Chris's Italian Greyhound!  always such a charmer, this one!

cuddling with Emily  =)

and then he came over to cuddle with us!

And then, there was a new kid on the block, Maeby.  Jen's new puppy.  OHH MYYY GGOOSSHH!  I die.   Isn't she just a doll?!   They think she's about 4 months old, and she is such a sweetheart!

Playing with Houdini  =)

I was in such a puppy high after hanging out with Maeby!  Afterwards, I mentioned getting a puppy to David, and he said something along the lines of "I can only handle one monster at a time right now  =p" wwhhaatt! who's he calling a little monster?!  *grumble grumble*  haha  just you wait until you come back to Houston, dear!  =p

After running around the apartment a little bit, the little lady got tired, and fell asleep in my arms!!  AAAHHHHHHHHH    just could not get any cuter  XD

I hope this satisfied your puppy craving for the day!  =)

Happy Thursday!

--Janny