Tuesday, September 27th. Day 31

For some awful reason, my body decided that it needed to be awake at 7am, which is highly unusual for me. The good part of that was that I was able to practice without anyone else around. And yes, that does make a difference to me. I dont like to practice when other people are around, even in other room. Yes I know I'm weird...

In Dok we heard from a musician turned fund-manager that spoke on how to get paid in the Netherlands. A very important topic indeed, and one that is all too often ignored. The just of the conversation (from the point of view of someone that does not intend to live in the Netherlands nor be a self-sufficient professional musician) was that the traditional means of getting piad in the Netherlands (government subsidies and funds supported by these subsidies) are becoming increasingly hard to come by, and fewer entry level orchestras, projects, and studios will be open at all. Therefore, the young musician has to work extra hard on the business side to compete for fewer and fewer opportunities on the musical side. Not exactly what I wanted to hear, considering my current crisis, but it was what I needed to hear: my financial fears are not founded on myth.

After class I went to the ABC (the American Book Center). This place is amazing! It has like 4 floors, and has such a cool feel. It also helps that I found two really awesome books for stupid cheep (Innovation Nation by John Kao, and What Should I Do with My Life by Po Bronson). Even though I spent a lot of money (on cheap books, yes), I cant wait to go back!

I also had my second drum set lesson today. While I was not incredibly pleased with my performance, my teacher was excited to get into the niddy gritty with me and we made some real progress. On top of it all, he said I was a good student! HA! Fooled HIM! But seriously, I dont know if anyone has ever said that before, or at least in that manner. Despite all of this, I was still more excited to get out of there and check my holdings than I was to even listen to music. Think I know what needs to happen...

Monday September 26th. Day 30. Month 1 done

Hard to believe it has already been a whole month. A whole month outside of the US, thousands of miles away from the only home I have ever known. Away from all of my usual social support mechanisms. Away from it all. No wonder I am freaking out, haha!

On that note, I spoke with the student councilor at CvA today. We had a nice long talk about the usual: life, money, happiness, music, friends, family, etc. No new conclusions were really drawn, but it was good to talk to someone; someone new, who hasn't heard my story and doesn't know me. I guess in one regard we did make some progress: (it appeared to her that) I know what I want/need to do --- my mind is made up ---, I just need to stop worrying about the reactions or opinions of other people, and do what I know needs to be done. All of this talk about regretting this decision later, well I'm regretting not making SOME decision earlier. My decision to be indecisive has caused me much suffering, and it looks like I will be in school another year (at least) because of it.

On to happier topics: I wrote my first jazz song today! Very first. Never before. From start to finish. I'm not sure if I am too pleased with the final product just yet, but it is there. It does feel really good to actually have a finished product after one afternoon (as opposed to months without any signs of progression, as is usual with my writing). However, I more than made up for my productivity by practicing for only one half hour on set. Somehow I feel that I lost all of my recent progress on set, and on the eve of my second lesson, of course. So, it all comes out in the wash. Trying to stay positive. I'm a college student in Amsterdam. How can I be this mopy?!

Sun. Sep. 25th day 29

An even lazier day than yesterday. Got up, went for coffee, walked around, made some phone calls. Thats about it. I spent a lot of time trying not to spend time thinking about my internal struggles, but as usual, that is easier said than done. When it comes down to it, I just need to chill out and enjoy my time here. I will regret spending so much time freaking out once this trip is over...

Saturday, September 24th. Day 28

Today was another pretty relaxed Saturday in beautiful Amsterdam, complete with a trip to the Dappermarkt, practicing, writing, and cleaning. Despite my attempts to stay busy, I was "alone with my thoughts" as I say it, further distilling my recent internal (and external) debate to a boiling point. Why am I here? What am I doing with my life? Am I good enough to justify being here? Do I even want to be a musician? If not, what should I be spending my time on? Do I even enjoy what I'm doing here? Ok, so a little bit melodramatic, but nonetheless very telling. I suppose whatever the end result, or whatever I end up doing when I get back, I am here now, and I will do my best to enjoy it. Yes, I just said that. For some awful reason, I have to consciously try to enjoy my time, as a college student, in Amsterdam. I think I need to take a nice long walk to nowhere...

Photos from Brussels and Bruges

Brussels and Bruges, Belgium

Days 25-27

So, pretty much forgot I had a blog for the past few days...let me try and get you up to speed.

So Wednesday, my day off. I went to the conservatorie to do my practicing and writing and work on my Debussy homework, making my day off my busiest work day (right?). That went well. Started actually putting my orchestra piece together, which was nice to actually have notes on a page instead of just a vague idea of what I think I want scribbled on my legal pad. And of course there was the jam session at Hannekes Boom, at which I did not play, but my roommate did.

Anyway...thats all I can remember that was particularly noteworthy (see, this is why I blog/journal, because I can't remember jack!).

Thursday was my busy class day. I woke up just a bit before my composition lesson was to happen, which actually didn't happen because my teacher got caught up with other things. Next was composers' forum, at which two masters students presented their music to the class. It was very interesting to hear the similarities and differences between the music written by students of the "European system", and what is written back home. I believe that actually inspired me to sort of take a defensive stance on my affinity towards minimilist music, as opposed to the "new complexity" that I am beginning to see here. After that was the DRS (Debussy, Ravel, and Stravinsky) class. I felt I was quite prepared to discuss the broad macro-level background formal and continuity issues with the piece (Sarabande from Suite por la Piano). However, we never quite made it that far into our discussion. Much of the time was spent talking about the harmony, specifically in context of what Debussy did instead of what would be functionally "normal" or "expected". For some reason, I just saw this as obvious that Debussy would not write V-I in the key of the piece, and that there were other issues in the piece that were striking even when comparing Debussy to Debussy, but alas, not today.

Friday was quite eventful as well. It started with my jazz trio, in which we rehearsed tunes and welcomed a new vocalist (a woman from my DRS class, actually). She was quite good, and defiantly brought a passion to the group that was much needed. After that, I had a meeting with the head of the jazz arranging department. Because of the confusion with my declared area of study, he was under the impression that I was to take lessons from him, at which time I corrected the issue and thought nothing of it. Much to my surprise, the professor would not let me off so easy. As it turns out, he is also a jazz drummer that composes and arranges a wide array of styles, including jazz, pop, classical, and film. After sitting down for a bit, we came to the conclusion that it would be useful for me to try writing some jazz tunes for my Junior Recital next semester, as it will probably be performance in nature, yet I would not want to simply play a half hour of standards.

After that, I indeed had my classical composition lesson with the magician himself. I presented my orchestra piece, as well as my text-sketches of where the final product was to go. I also added the commentary that the piece was a sort of t tongue in cheek satire of the bombastic and complex music of young composer, of which I do not respect or find appealing. After much debating, it surfaced that I did not imagine the piece as such, but later came up with what I believed to be an academically sufficient excuse for writing what I "know" to be something that I know to be (or at least think I know to be) inferior music. This, of course, led to a deep debate on music, creativity, and my role as an artist. Naturally I took the opportunity to explain that I am not sure I am an artist at all, let alone destined for professional musicianship, and this whole trip was just an interesting notch in my belt on my way to becoming an investemnt banker. Well, this was not a very good answer to the problem indeed. Much needs to be decided before I take many more steps in any direction about my wants, loves, desires, and ultimately fate as a professional, as an artist, and as a person. So, you know, just polite water-cooler chat.

Well I think that about brings everyone (all two of you, if you even read it haha) up to speed. I will do my best to be more regular in my writings, asI know some details get lost over time.

Day 24 Tuesday, Sept. 20th.

Today I woke up early to practice drums before my Dok class. That was not easy considering the lack of sleep I have been getting lately. In any event, I dove deep into my technique work (trying to make up for a weekend off), and actually made progress! Go goal oriented practicing! I can't even remember the last time I went into a practice room and came out noticeably better! Feels pretty good.

In Dok we talked about professionalism in music, and what makes a professional. Things like education, methodic work, professional code/unions, replacement/subbing, project oriented work, and so on. Since I am not in the project group portion of the class (since I am only staying one term), it was a pretty short class. For my lesson...well, I didn't have it today. I was originally to have lessons only every other week, and I think our communications got mixed up when last discussing that. However, it was not really all that bad for me, since I was not as ready as I could have been because of my weekend off.

Other than that, a lot of CNBC Million Dollar Portfolio Challenge trading (getting into Forex, which is dangerous haha), and being lazy/eating frites (aka being Dutch). Tomorrow is my (other) day off, so I will no doubt be spending it in the library trying to figure out my Debussy assignment. Fun!

Day 23

Today we woke up very early to catch the 8:16am train back to Amsterdam. Much to our surprise, our roommates had already left, so despite waking up at 6:30am, we had been beat. Anyway, we returned to Amsterdam safe and sound before noon.

I met with an IES representative to discuss my credit transfers, and by our count, I have just enough credits to qualify as full time. Phew! It would have been difficult to join more classes this late in the game, so I'm glad it is looking like it will work out. Other than that, did a lot of laundry and catching up on sleep today!

Day 22, Sunday Sept 18th, Bruges

Today Spencer and I went to Bruges (or Brugge, depending on what language you speak). For those of you that don't know (like I didn't), Bruges is a small village in the North of Belgium (apparently made famous by some movie I've never heard of). It was all kinds of hoppin' in the 15th and 16th centuries and was a shipping hub, a financial center, all kinds of good stuff. And much of the town still looks and feels like it did back then (minus the tourists I suppose). All in all, I guess the town was exactly what I expected from a Central European village: cobblestone streets, lots of churches, etc. Glad we went, despite the fact that we had no idea what to expect.

To begin, we tried finding a restaurant that was recommended to us that had "authentic Belgian food". After a long while wandering the streets, we eventually found it, only to be closed for lunch. So, a natural second choice for lunch in Belgium is pannenkoeken, of course! We found a little whole-in-the-wall place and got our snack on. Afterwards we went to the center of town to view their largest and most famous bell tower, the Belfry. We arrived to find tons of people and a crew setting up for a rock concert. I have heard that Belgium is famous for its contradictions and lack of style and sensitivity, and I suppose a rock concert in a romantic village in front of a 500 year old church sums that up pretty well. Anyway, we intended to climb the several hundred feet to the top of the tower to take pictures of the town and what not, but there was a very long line and even a several euro fee! As such, we decided to move on to our next attraction: the brewery. This particular (now called De Halve Maan) brewery has been operational since 1546! Crazy! It was very interesting to see how the beer is made and how the recipes have changed so little since then. To top it off, the top of the brewery has a spectacular view of the town, which made up for our disappointment with the Belfry. After that was the diamond museum (not my choice, haha). Along with being a busteling financial center, Bruges was also once known for its role in the diamond trade. This (tiny and disappointing) museum was dedicated to telling that story. The story was interesting, but the museum was not. After this, we had to indulge in another Belgian stereotype: waffels! Fresh Belgian waffels covered in fresh Belgian chocolate and fresh whipped cream. So good it should be illegal! To top it off, we were on our way to dinner, so that mass of deliciousness was but an appetizer. Bound and determined to try actual Belgian food (as opposed to treats, like chocolate...so good!), we went back to t' Ganzespel (the place we tried to have lunch). Three courses of Belgian goodness including soup, salad, and veal with potatoes in cream sause. Amazing. Food is good, I love food. And I love Belgium!

Well now we are back at the hostel, enjoying our last night here by updating blogs and facebook. Unfortunately, the hostel somehow misplaced our reservation and we had to fight to get a room (not ours, mind you), and there are no sheets. Less than ideal, but I guess it is not all bad for 15 euro a night. Tomorrow we wake early for our return to Amsterdam. Travels complete =)

Day 21. Saturday, September 17th. Brussels.

What a day in Brussels. It was quite an adventure, to say the least. Upon awaking (again, in a hotel, a form of loding neither my friend nor I have ever experienced), we found that more than half of our dorm-mates had already left, at least for the day. As such, we had a pretty easy time getting showered and ready for the day. For me, however, the shower didn't do much, since I didn't bring any spare clothes. Anywho, off we went, no knowing where we were going or what there was to do in Brussels. So, naturally we went to the only place we knew, which was where we came from the night before. Around central Brussels, we managed to find this cute little cafe to have some pastries for breakfast, which were fantastic by the way. After breakfast, we used a free map provided by the hostel to find a tourist information center, to get some more complete information about what there was to do in this town we literally stumbled into. Finding said tourist information center was easier said than done, as the vague map just said it was next to the Royal Palace/City Hall. So, we made our way there, only to find nothing short of a royal wedding taking place! I'm still not quite sure who it was, but they were some combination of rich, royal, and popular. After a little more searching, we did manage to find the office (less people here speak english than in Amsterdam, much to our surprise).

At the information office, a very helpful and fluent Belgian helped us decided on what museumes to see and such. He even went so far as to recommend that we spend tomorrow in Bruges, a small, old town on the coast. After procuring even more maps, we set off once again. Some time later, we found ourselves at the Musical Instrument Museum (fitting, eh?). While there display was not quite as impressive as we expected, we did get in for free (apparently it was heritage day, whatever that means), so that made it less of a waste. It wasn't a waste at all actually...but especially since it was free haha. After THAT, we walked another x amount of kilometers to the international district where all of the European Union buildings are. I was quite excited (maybe too excited) to see where some of the most important and influential politicians and economists in Europe (and possibly the world, considering the current economic crisis in the peripherals) worked. It was quite impressive. Afterwards, we walked yet farther to the AutoWorld Museum, which promised an impressive collection of classic and influential European cars. Yet again, however, we were less than impressed with the collection at hand (however this time it was not free). Even still, we did see many very beautiful cars and learned quite a bit about the history of one of my favorite inventions.

At this point, we were beyond exhausted, and our feet were killing us (I am still scared to look at my feet, for fear of fainting at the sight of multipul blisters). So, we decided to take the metro back to the city center to find dinner. This turned out pretty well, and we shortly found ourselves at a Tex-Mex restaurant (not exactly authentic Belgian fair, but it was delicious nonetheless). After dinner, we continued to wanted the center and found several interesting location, including a kabap stand (great or what?!), to visit. But it was not too long before we found our way back to the shelter of the hostel (further persuaded by the rain, of course). All in all, a very interesting day, and well worth the brief emotional toll that an unplanned trip pose.

Friday, Day 20

This morning I had my first ensemble rehearsal at CvA; jazz trio with vocalists. All the musicians are really great players (well, the ones that showed up anyway), and it was really great to actually play my instrument with other people. After that I tried to write. As usual, it was a struggle. I was eventually able to muster the creativity and desire to at least play around with a piano piece, but I was soon interrupted by a Dutch student insisting that it was his turn to use the room. I tried to argue my case, but the language barrier was at last too much. So I went home and made a hamburger (the solution to most, if not all, of my problems).

The REAL adventure of the day came some time later. After half-jokingly asking everyone I could if they wanted to travel somewhere outside of the country, one of my friends was intrigued. So we decided to pack our bags and head to the train station and see where we could get to on the fly and on the cheap. As it turns out, last minute tickets on the train are much more expensive than last minute tickets on budget airlines. So we made our way to the airport to check the ticket counters. Naturally, since it was past 7pm at this point, most were closed, and the remaining counters had little to offer us. Our solution was to go to the train ticket counter and purchase round trip tickets to Brussels, naturally. So, without a plan, we were off to Belgium.

Once in Brussels (past midnight, mind you), we found our way to our hostel. It was a little bit of a treck, to be honest, and google maps did not have our best interest at heart when telling us to go through all of the sketchy residential neighborhoods on the way. Despite all of this, we did eventually find our way to the hostel. Upon check-in, we went to our dorm to find everyone fast asleep in all of the bottom bunks. This meant awkwardly undressing and bedding down on a top bunk in the total darkness and as much silence as we could maintain. This was compounded by the fact that neither of us had ever stayed in a hostel before, so we were unaware of things like edict and where to safely store our things. The only solution we could think of was to sleep with all of our belongings, and we could not put the sheets on our beds because of the lack of light and the noise it would make. All in all, a very interesting night to say the least.

Thursday, Sept 15th, Day 19

Wow, what a day (but, I've said this about so many other days). No seriously, today was crazy! First of all, I had my first composition lesson with Joel Bons. Oh my dear Lord. Nothing in my musical life could have prepared me for this lesson. What started off as a simple "let me get to know you better" session, we got into a deep philosophical debate about the role of music and music education today. Apparently, I may have been spending too much time and energy focusing on doing "what I am supposed to do" (no that anyone has been telling me what to do, just what I thought I should do because of the influence of institutionalized music education, if that makes sense?), rather than what I really find stimulating. I mean, I write the music I want to, but not necessarily in a way that I really find interesting. Therefore I usually hate writing. But clearly, that is not how it is supposed to work, right? So, the goal is to now write something just crazy, that really reflects me, and how my mind works. I am really hard on myself for bouncing around all the time and being, what I call, "high stimulation". So, naturally, I should write something that is really interesting TO ME! Music for me? Really? Yea...Anyway! I am so excited to write something really crazy and potentially unmusical that I can get completely lost in, and pick up the pieces later. This kind of creative play is something I don't think I have ever experienced, at least in my compositional life. This is all just a completely different way of looking at music altogether! Don't worry about what a grad school wants to see, or what you think the audience will want to hear. Write something that is fun to write. Write something that will be interesting to ME! AAH!

After that semi-life-changing lesson, we have composers' forum. Today, two composers presented pieces they wrote for brand new instruments designed by high school students as part of a competition. One was this bike with overtone tubes as helicopter blades, and the other was an octagonal drum set with cardboard heads. The first composer, a grad of the masters program at CvA, had a very similar view on composition to my teacher (makes sense right?). But the side effect of that was, he really enjoyed his work! You don't see that every day! The other composer was...not so much. He was really into pure intervals and microtonal stuff and had a very inefficient way of dealing with it, but thats that.

After THAT (long day, hu?) I had my Debussy, Ravel, and Stravinsky theory class. I can tell that this class is going to be a lot of work, but hopefully, since I really love all of these composers, it won't be too hard to get motivated. There are only 9 of us in the class, and the prof is nothing short of a genius, so there is no room to hide. In all honest, after I get my credits figured out I might have to drop this class, especially if I decide to go through with an orchestra piece like Joel was talking about (gulp)!

After class, this really nice Italian girl came over and helped a friend and I make a real Italian dinner. So good! So nice! I love people. I love Amsterdam!

Day 18

Woo day off! Nothing like having one day of class and then a day to recuperate! But don't worry, there wasn't too much realization going on. After waiting for the painters to come (yeah no more mold in THIS guy's bathroom), I went to the library to do some score studying. Since I am thinking about writing a string quartet, I was looking mostly at Debussy's Quartet in G, Ravel's Quartet in F, Philip Glass's 4th Quartet, and Lutoslawski's Quartet. Such great music. Ironically, I always feel less like writing after a day of hard studying like today, but it is good for the mind I guess. Afterwards, I found an empty room (right?) and tried to get something on paper for my lesson on Thursday. I managed to scribble out about 8 bars of half baked pseudo-post-minimilist nonsense that I wasn't really happy with, but at least they were dots on a page haha.

Later, we went to the Melkweg for AHK's Vers Party. Wow, what an awesome time! Good music, good club, good vibe. Just all around good fun :) Can't wait to do it again!

Day 17

Ah what a day! Somehow I knew that once I actually started classes everything would be great, but I had no idea it would be to this extent! After a few hours in the practice room, I went to my first class, Dok. I am not sure what it is literally translated to in english, but it is a guest-lecture based class on music entrepreneurialism. Today we were mostly being introduced to the course (of which I am only enrolled in half of, the other half is a year-long project based class that I cannot participate in since I will only be here till December) and the website. This website is a source of much amazement as well. It is like a Dummies book on anything and everything to do with being a professional musician. Taxes, payment, subsidies, grants, proposals, fundraising, negotiating, applications for teaching jobs, for university jobs. This website is key. If nothing else, I would love to find a way to start (and monazite, preferably) something like this in the states. I believe the lack of available knowledge about the workings of the music BUSINESS is one of the main barriers of entry to the field. Much work to be done.

Afterwards, I had my first drumset lesson with Lucas. Wow, what a guy, what a drummer, and what a teacher. He, much like everyone here, is very into the student-initiated teaching model. He will go where I want to go, and he will help get me there. Amazing stuff. I am so excited to work with him!

To top it all off, I officially have composition lessons with Joel Bons starting Thursday! All is coming to order, just as administration said it would nearly two weeks ago. I am sorry I did not believe you, for all has come to pass that you have fortold. I, sir, am one happy Barry.

Monday September 12th, Day 16

No class on the first day of class! That is a first to be sure, and a sign of good things to come as I see it. That being said, I went to the Van Gogh museum today. I love Van Gogh. And that was his museum. Need I say more?

Other than that I practiced a bit, and downloaded some string quartet scores to study (I still have not decided if I will include tape, or make it a string quintet...there is still much work to be done). Pretty lazy day actually. Tomorrow the real work starts, with a class I know nothing about and my first lesson with Lucas van Merwijk. Get ready!

Day 13-15

So, I haven't been keeping up with my posts like I should have, but I guess it's not really that big of a deal. Nothing has been happening! I think it is against the law to be bored in Amsterdam, but I am...

Last night a few friends and I got patats (or friets or whatever they are called) and walked around a little bit. At one point we found ourselves in the Red Light district. It felt very seven-deadly-sins-y to be "window shopping" while stuffing my face with fried goodness.

Saturday I went around town and took some pictures. Many of you have been asking for them, so it was high time I actually acted like a tourist and broke out the camera. If you would like to see them, go to my Picasa Page and check em out! After that, a friend and I found the I Amsterdam sign and tried to take pictures of it. That was obviously not an original idea, because everybody was doing the same thing. Our ingenious solution was to take the pictures at the back side of the sing and flip them later. I have yet to upload those, so I am not sure if it actually worked.

Today I went to see the Netherlands Philharmonic perform Mahler 6 at the Concertgebouw. That was way beyond epic. I realized that I had never heard a live performance of ANY Mahler work before, so this was quite an introduction. Such a great piece, such a great orchestra, and such a great hall. All of this excluding the off-stage mobile phone solo. I thought the conductor was going to throw his baton at that lady! It was 1 chord from the end of the piece too, so the conductor just stormed offstage after they were done. I have never seen a conductor so mad! The lady with the phone made a very swift exit, you can be sure of that haha!

Day 12

Last night I went to Cable, the Thursday night dubstep/DnB/hip-hop night at the Melkweg. All in all, it was pretty amazing. Great venue, good djs, the works. I am trying to ignore the fact that it was unofficial hey-everybody-lets-turn-barry-down night. Haha! What can I say...

Today was the definition of uneventful. Did a little practicing, a little writing, went grocery shopping...That's about it. I will be excited for classes to start so I actually have something to do!

Thursday, Sep 8th. Day 11

Last night, there was a session at a local bar called Hannekes Boom, hosted by a "techno jazz" trio. Apparently, techno jazz is drums, double bass, and saxophone, playing reggaeton-ish beats with melodies from popular dance songs. At first I was very skeptical, but it actually works. It didn't take long, however, for the swarm of (mostly freshman) music students from the Conservatory to take over and start jamming. It was quite funny to watch everybody scramble to be the "best musician" in the room by playing the fastest solo with the most notes. Musicality was defiantly at a premium, but hey, it was a jam session after all.

Today I woke up semi-early to practice, which is news in itself! Admittedly, I tend to be more motivated when there is direct competition, and there is certainly plenty of that around here! There are something like 40 jazz drummers in the department, and the only other exchange student is from the Manhattan School (gulp). After a quick hour warming up, I spoke with the man in charge of jazz ensembles. After a little wrangling, I was placed as the (only) drummer for the upperclassmen piano trio that works with vocalists. Pretty excited to play; I haven't played with a group for at least a month, and based on what I have heard so far, this group should be burning!

Today was also the first meeting of the Composers' Forum. I have never seen so many composers in one room, and from so many different countries! Far less than half are from the Netherlands, and there are only 3 Americans! I am quite excited for the semester to come. The only project I know of so far is our NMA monthly concerts. Alexes (the other American exchange composer) and I are (with the help of one graduate student from Turkey) are in charge of putting on, publicizing for, rehearsing for, and curating the November concert. I am anticipating we will have quite a hard time finding suitable pieces and players, since we basically do not know anyone as of yet. In any event it will be a great learning experience to be in charge of a concert!

Lastly, I just got back from a real Japanese Gagaku performance. Wow! I...I don't even really know what to say yet. It was quite intense...that much is for sure. I think it has something to do with the tonal language used; the modulations were almost exclusively ascending by half step, and there was no clear system of tension and release...so it just got more intense without ever releasing! Oh Amsterdam...what do you have in store for me next?!

Day 9-10, CvA Orientation Cont.

Yesterday was more of the same: orientation designed for freshman with useful information being rare and in small doses. I am really getting excited to start, I think it is the lack of productive activity that is getting to me. If all nothing else, at least I will be well-rested for when classes do start next week. We did take a boat tour of the canals and the Ij, which was fun, and very tourist-y. It was, however, very windy and raining.

To top off the day, we decided to have a "dinner party" kind of thing at a friends place. He cooked up some really awesome vegan food, and we got to hang out and vent a little. It was very much needed all the way around. Unfortunately, it was poring when we left, so I can now say I have experienced riding my bike in the poring rain at night in Amsterdam.

I was assigned a drum practice room (they call them "cabines", which is kind of a cute way to describe the tiny room we are expected to live in) yesterday, so that was good. The guys I am sharing with are very cool too, which is very important since I forgot my cymbals. Since I got all of that figured out, I got to practice this morning. I can honestly not remember the last time I really sat down and practiced, hard, like this. It was somewhat depressing to be reminded how bad (or should I say "rusty") I sound, however it felt refreshing to be at least a little warmer than I have been. One of my "roommates" (a gent I share the practice room with) took me to a little music store near Dam Square, where I purchased some drum essentials. The gentleman working at the store asked me where I was from (as most people do), and continued to press for a more detailed description of my home than my typical answers of "United States", to "California", then to "Southern California". Turns out he has relatives in Palm Springs, and actually knew where Redlands was (not Hemet however)! Nothing like hearing the name of your home town 6000 miles away to make you feel connected to the people. Now if only I spoke Dutch....

Day 8, CvA Orientation...

Sheesh where do I even start? Well, this morning was the beginning of the Conservatorium van Amsterdam new student orientation week. I was very much looking forward to having some of the many foggy details about my stay finally cleared up. Alas, I left, yet again, with more questions than answers. For starters, our student ID cards were again not yet ready, meaning we did not have access to practice rooms or lockers. Then, I was met with the decision of weather to follow the classical or jazz orientation programs, as the two were clearly separate and took place at the same time. Naturally, since I am first and foremost studying composition, I decided to follow the classical track and pick up the jazz info later. But, naturally, I was still listed as a jazz composer (well, jazz arranger actually...) on all of the Conservatorium's paperwork. Nevertheless, I went to the first few events with my classical colleagues, and then later flipped over to the jazz program.

Durring all of this, I received an email from the head of the jazz percussion department alerting me that I was to contact my teacher regarding scheduling a lesson time. Lesson? Time? Teacher? This was all completely new information to me, especially since I was fighting so hard to switch my declaration to classical, I had just about totally given up on jazz altogether. Anyway, I am to study with Lucas van Merwijk, who I found out after a little searching, is quite a big deal. He has received several Dutch and international awards for his playing, especially in the realm of latin jazz (ironically, or maybe intentionally, my area of most noticeable weakness). When it came time for the ensembles to be divided out, I was placed in a group that already had a drummer, since I was on the paperwork as being an "arranger". After speaking with the director, we decided it was best to just sit out and continue to fight the uphill battle to repair my schedule.

On the plus side, I did get to hear a few student ensembles perform today, including the trombone ensemble (22 of them, and it wasn't even offensive!), an alumni jazz trio (which I actually found artistically insulting, but the performers were defiantly very talented), and a few chamber groups. The caliber of performers, at least the ones displayed today, far surpasses any student ensemble I can recall hearing from any school back in the states. I am clearly way out of my league, and I am currently feeling that my presence here is not only plagued by a clerical error, but perhaps because of one. Most of the students at the Conservatorium are from outside the Netherlands, and more than half of the applicants were denied admission. The head of the classical department even went so far as to claim that 92% of graduates are gainfully employed by their music alone withen a year of leaving the Conservatorium. I have never even heard of another school using EMPLOYMENT STATISTICS to promote themselves, let alone with such impressive numbers (if they indeed be accurate). Long story short, I'm playing with the big boys now, and I am going to have my work cut out for me...

Day 7, Sunday Sep. 4th

This morning I found myself at the English Reformed Church on Begijnhof. I have never been to anything quite like this church; the service was not Catholic (at least I don't think so), but it was very liturgical. I defiantly had to use my music history knowledge (from studying so many masses) to understand what was going on. The church itself, however, was very beautiful and very old, older than American in fact! I believe they said the building was finished in 1608, but had been restored and renovated several times, naturally.

After church I came back to the apartment and made lunch; a pretty good home-made marinara sause with spagetti (yes very Dutch, I know). Later a few of us went to see if our Conservatorium ID cards were ready, so we could practice. Naturally, they were not, but we managed to find open rooms anyway. I noticed that none of the practice drum kits have cymbals or hi-hat clutches, so I am out of luck there. Attempting to write was a total joke as well. I am really not cut out to be a composer if I can't even sit at a piano and sketch for an hour. Hopefully orientation tomorrow will help straighten some details out and get my nerves back down to a manageable level.

Day 6, Saturday Sep 3

Today I went to the Dappermarkt, and I finally got some decent food. No more pasta, eating like a king! The produce was all very cheap and it seems more fresh than in the US (maybe only because I am comparing it to what I have been eating all week, which was pasta...).

Later, I went to the Muzikgbouw to see the Keller Quartet perform Bartok's 4th and 6th quartet. Really great stuff, and such a beautiful venue! The building is so new, you can still smell fresh cut wood when you enter the hall! It was also very encouraging to see (what I thought to be) a very diverse group of concertgoers, not like back in the states when everyone is either a student, teacher, or rich person going to be seen going. As far as I could tell, these we just a bunch of "normal" Dutch people going to enjoy some great music; life how it should be!

Day 4 -5

Yesterday the IES group went to this little village outside of Amsterdam, and visited a windmill museum and clog making demonstration. While it was nice to see what I assume to be a fairly accurate representation of average Dutch life during the time just before the industrial revolution, it was not necessarily my cup of tea. Much more to my liking was going again to a small cafe to hear some real Amsterdamer jazz. Hearing such great music in that amazing setting was what it must have been like to hear live jazz in the 40's and 50's in NYC.

Today we met with our Conservatorie student advisor to select and schedule classes. As it turns out, I was listed in the system as being a "jazz composition" student, as opposed to my declared"a composer who plays jazz". Honestly, I can see the similarity, but now I am attempting to register for classes when most administrative staff did not know I was coming at all! It is a little bit frustrating, but I am continually reassured that everything will fall into place soon enough. As of now, my schedule consists of:

Composition lessons

Composition forum

Music entrepreneurialism

Debussy, Ravel, and Stravinsky

Live electronic music

Drumset lessons

Some small group jazz (preferably contemporary)

All in all, not too bad of a schedule. Heck, I might even enjoy myself!