Last Repertoire Test Ever...maybe

I just took my last test.
Hmm...am I qualified to graduate with a Bachelor's diploma from the music department?
Let's hope so. It would suck to fail your very last music test on the very last day of school. lol

Anyways, yes jie! you're right.
When I grow up, I do wanna be a child! =)

Have you watch the movie of Benjamin Button? It kinda contradicts that thought.
Makes you wonder if you really wanna become a child again when you grow old.

So, guess what? My dad's arriving tomorrow!! I get to finally see my dad again.
yay!

And he's gonna hear me sing for the first time. Ain't that cool? I'm singing my Poison Aria from Gounod's Romeo and Juliette.

Let's hope he'll like it and applause. Otherwise, I might have to end up drinking the potion.
NAH! Joshin!

I'm sure you're all wondering how it feels to finally graduate huh?

Well, it feels awesome.
But I'm not quite sure how a graduate would feel post graduation.

I'll let you know as soon as I find out.

love,
Evelyn Tsen

Finding Words

As I sit here listening to Ben Folds' "Still Fighting It"
I'm trying to find words to describe what it is I'm actually feeling.
It's a cocktail of liberation and constipation.
All in a cup.

It's interesting how I'm currently listening to BenFolds.
Brought me back memories from freshman year.
Where everything Tyla and I listened to was Ben Folds.
I wish my entire college life was somehow video taped.
So I can rewind.
Go back in time and I don't know...
I guess there are so many things about college that I wish to remember more often.
And forget all at the same time.

Must grow up now.
Can't sit around.
Must deal with life like an adult.
And why the hell am I being so overwhelmed?
I have been doing this for the past 4 years.
I have been taking care of myself.
I know this...

...RIGHT! lol

OHH!! ben folds' soooo right.
Everybody knows, it does SUCK to grow up.
It hurts.

Cabbage Wabbage

Done with School?

I just completed my very last final yesterday.
It's weird to be done.
Do I really have the freedom to do what I like to do?
Can I finally do what I want to do to make this world a better place?
To actually be "productive"?

It's so weird to think that I've been here for four years, and I can finally leave and be my own.
No more dumb academic grading system.
No more stupid student worker jobs.
No more homework from dumb classes that I could careless about.
No more dealing with new roommates from small towns.
No more dealing with professors.
No more professors.
No more spending money on extremely useless but expensive textbooks.
No more maroon and white.
No more Res Life.
No more tuition fees.
No more coffee shop.
No more practice rooms.
No more knowing everyone around you.
No more college.

All of the sudden I feel...
overwhelmed.
Like I'm gonna throw up....

Cabbage Wabbage

My Previous Posts

The words I use in this blog are all in the moment.

Sometimes, I don't even think about what I am or will be typing.

I just type and I do it as a paying job as well as for leisure.

So I must apologize before college ends for some inappropriate things that I shouldn't have exposed or worded in public.

And sure you can make assumptions of who I am since more than half the things I type in here are assumptions anyway.

However, if I did say certain things that you know for sure are false or offensive, I do wish to be called out.

I have always been one who makes wrong assumptions. So, I really don't mind being called out and corrected.

Just so you know ;)

Cabbage Wabbage

Final Sunday in Augsburg College

Today's schedule:
Solo at United Methodist Church
Grocery shopping
Study for Music Business final
Honors Banquet
Homemade meeting

Yay!

Cabbage Wabbage

Realizations

I've come to realize that my voice tells me more than I thought it was capable of.
It sounds crazy but I really do think that to become a classical musician, you must say "I do" to your instrument.

Your voice becomes your top priority once you respond to its calling.
As my teacher once taught me, it is a very jealous master.
In order to perform it in its most stunning being, it requires your utmost attention.
Be a servant to the voice, but never a slave.

Isn't it interesting? And people wonder why classical musicians deserve to be paid hundreds of thousands of dollars.

We shed blood each time we perform. We give away a part of ourselves.

I don't know if I can represent all the musicians out there. But I know that each time I perform, I want the listeners to love the piece as much as I do.
Each time perform, I want listeners to enter the realm where I live.
Each time I sing, I want them to remember the life beyond what we can see and touch.
I want them to hear, to feel, to smell the piece the way I do.

Yea...I know. We're all crazy people. I rather not spend time on this blog trying to justify my insanity.

So, good bye for now.

Cabbage Wabbage

New Pieces

Now that I'm done with my performances for this year, I'm starting to look for new pieces.
Potential pieces for Met auditions, Schubert Club, and recording...
What am I suppose to look for when I choose my repertoire in the upcoming year?
1. Potential debut role
2. It must fit where my voice wants to go
3. Cannot be bigger than what I can do for now
4. The characteristics has to have some similarities to my personality


Cabbage Wabbage

Bored from Procrastination

Such a depressingly boring day. So here I am surfing online for interviews of Miss USA 2009.
I remember those nights when I would faithfully sit by the TV watching the Miss America Pageant.
Interesting how that title means so much to some of those girls in the pageant. The crown and tiara, and the scholarship. Spending an entire teenage life dreaming and working to become Miss USA. And then what?
Yea...I really wonder what she's up to today after winning the crown.

Cabbage Wabbage

Minnesota Opera Audition

In a couple of hours, I will have my MN Opera audition. This is making me quite nervous. I have never done this before, so my heart has been pounding like nuts ever since I woke up.

I have an idea of what to expect. All I can do is to trust that I know what to do once I hit the stage.



Peace...
Cabbage Wabbage

Scene Introductions

Il Zeffiro
In this piece, there are 2 characters, me a girl who misses her lover and a little breeze.
Throughout this piece the girl is telling the "little breeze" to tell her where her lover is.
You can hear in the piano's part where the breeze comes and goes.
As the piece progresses she understands that she is not allowed to see her lover,
so she ends by sending the breeze away to her lover so it may speak for her.

Chi il bel sogno di Doretta pote indovinar?
This is an aria from the first act of La Rondine by Puccini. In this scene, Magda the character singing this aria is having a cocktail party in her salon. She begins this aria by entertaining her guest with a story about a dream that her aunt named Doretta had. As she continues, she is reminded of her own youthful affairs that she had in the past, which brought back the emotions that she once had for her past lovers.

Quando m'en vo
Also known as Musetta's aria from Puccini's from La Boheme. This scene is set in a cafe where Musetta's former lover Marcello was hanging out with his buddies. Musetta walks in with another man, spots Marcello and decides to sing this risque aria with determination that she will get his attention again.

Dieu Quel Frisson
Also known as Juliet's poison aria from Gounod's opera of Romeo and Juliette. This scene is set in the cathedral by the tomb of her ancestors. The friar has just given Juliet the poison that will temporarily leave her lifeless. And she must decide to drink it before her family arrives and marries her to the Count. Her only other option is to kill herself with the dagger. You will see how she arrives to her decision as she talks to herself and see dark imageries in her head. Please forgive the simplicity of the props. Here is the altar and here is the tomb. The rest will depend on your imagination.

The Lady

Come, watch and listen to me sing and act in 4 of my favorite operatic arias.

Tomorrow at 4:30 in Sateren Auditorium.

Cabbage Wabbage

Coming into the Last 2 Weeks of School

Oh man...
This weekend I spent lotsa time realizing how close I am to being done with college.
It's kinda scary.
The thought that I better get my act together.
Search for music jobs.
Get my resume together.
Start singing for churches.
Get a car.

The hardest part about being so close to the end of college is finishing school strong.
It's kinda difficult to remember that I still need to study for finals and walk during commencement.

On top of that, I need to figure out how I'll be moving outta this place.

Yea...Tons to think about.
But I guess the best thing to do is to deal with things one at a time.
And quit being such a worry wort.


Cabbage Wabbage

Eileen Farrell

By http://www.youtube.com/user/Onegin65

Listen to the narrowness of the sound that she is giving.
It's very smooth because there is such a great mastery in how much air she is giving out on each note...
Singing on the vowel and consonant with great musicianship.
Voice is moved by what is written in the music.

Great. Exquisite.

I like her.

Cabbage Wabbage

My Teacher

One who is wise.
One who is like a mother to me.
She is the one who nurtured my artistry.
She is the one who held my hand and told me that it's okay.
"It's okay to be weird."
"Evelyn, we are all crazy. But that's what makes us different--special and unique."

She is the one who gave me the permission to be my own.
She is the one who opened new doors in my life.
May it be the doors of my dark past.
Or doors to the higher and better place.
She will walk by me, and carry me through all of them.

My teacher is a badass.
She kicks butt.
And tells me that I can do the same.
=)

Her elegance makes the weak fear her.
Her strength scares the evil.
And she walks her religion.
She lived and now preaches the life of a great artist.
She is who is.

She will forever be the true Diva in my eyes.

Thank you Audrey Stottler.


Cabbage Wabbage

My Recital

Alright, so I bet all of you are dieing to know how it went. =)
It was the best thing that has ever happened to my singing career.

People were tearing up--sheets of kleenex, glasses off, eye wipings, the smiles and sighings.
It was beautiful.
The music was. And everyone knew that it was.
This is what I've always wanted and will forever want to do.
Inspire.
Not to impress but to inspire.

I want to sing for the people--
People who cannot sing,
beyond all language barriers,
beyond all emotional baggage,
beyond all skin colors,
beyond all hearing,
beyond all stories,
beyond my personal interest,
beyond all types of interpretations.
I want to sing for the music.

This is what I learned through my recital.
I have the power and the gift to do so.
So why waste it?
Why sit around and doubt?
No more.
I sing because this is who I am.
A singer. A musician.
A humble servant to the Higher Power.

This recital was great, beyond my personal expectation.
But it is merely the beginning.

Thank you for all who have and are supporting me.

Cabbage Wabbage

My Mom

I feel like I have just moved past a new phase in life.
Meeting my mother, having her hear and watch me for the first time has given me a chance--permission to move on.
Little did I realize the greatness of a mother's love.
How much did all those questionings hindered from my growth as a young lady...when they were all merely assumptions with no evidence.
What was is it that happened when I was just a child? I could never remember the details of incidents clearly, but the conflicting emotions raging in me--those were the things that I remembered.
As my sister and I ran(literally) to the airport to pick my mother up the day before my recital, I've realized how amazing it was for me to have the opportunity to sing for my mother for the first time.
How many great artists get the chance to sing for their parents? I'm sure its not very many. And there' especially not many parents who would be willing to sacrifice time, money and energy to fly half way across the world to hear and watch their children sing.
When I saw my mother's sweet, loving and slightly exhausted face, I knew right away that all the anger and resentment that I had against my mother were illusions and assumptions. They were unnecessary and meaningless.
How did I manage to be angry at this sweet and loving lady?
As we embraced, I felt her strength for the first time.
My mother is a strong lady. Her power resonates through my skin. Her confidence radiates upon my face.

This I truly admire.

Thank you for your love.
Thank you for your heart.
Most of all, I thank God that I am a part of you and you are a part of me.

Cabbage Wabbage

Hello Mom

My mom's finally here.
Here to be with her daughters.
And also to watch and hear me sing.
My heart has been pounding like crazy ever since I woke this morning.

Today's the day.
I hope you can make it.

Cabbage Wabbage

Sateren at 4:30pm

Discoveries

A few things:
1) it is very hard to type on the key board with fake nails sticking out of your finger tips
2) I found a new opera role that I will be singing in the future. Amina from Bellini's La Sonnambula
3) I found the tenor who I want to sing with in the future: Juan Diego Flórez
4) I cannot stand listening to Natalie Dessay if only she wasn't that good at acting
5) High notes are thrilling and trills are ticklish

To end:

Cabbage Wabbage