2018: A Season of Love

You might not believe it, but I’ve been hacking away at this post for over a month. I’ve drafted a post looking at the year chronologically, I’ve tried grouping events and decisions into themes, yet everything seems to come up lacking in some area or another. Even more than most years, my studio life has been intertwined with my personal life as my marriage and the time leading up to it impacted how much work I could commit to during the planning process. At this point, I’m still wondering how to compile all my thoughts about the past year and find myself borrowing a line from the musical Rent: “How do you measure, measure a year?” 

I could give you a couple quick studio statistics: 

·      One studio location left and one studio location gained. 

·      Two studio field trips to the Maryland Symphony Orchestra. 

·      Seven scheduled student performances – One cancelled for weather. 

·      Thirteen group classes. 

·      Thirty two rehearsals with the Junior Strings in Shepherdstown, WV. 

·      Sixty private lessons taught a week, on average.

All of this happened as these events occurred in my personal and performing life: 

·      Planning two long distance trips, one international to England and France and one to the West Coast. 

·      Adding a part time position at Allie Dattilio’s art studio in Hagerstown, MD. 

·      Several local freelance performances ranging from art shows to the Two Rivers Chamber Orchestra.

·      Joining the faculty of Shepherd’s Community Orchestra as the second violin coach. 

·      Getting married on November 4th, 2018!

To say 2018 was a full year would be an understatement and these highlights only begin to scratch the surface. How can I quantify the progress I’ve seen in my students? How do I explain how much it meant to me that the last people to see me before I got engaged were my students who performed in Waynesboro with our Suzuki group class and fiddle group? What is the best way to explain what it feels like to share the music history I’ve seen with my own eyes from this year’s travels?

I will say this year saw a lot of adjustments coming together in a way that allows me to create a studio and life I could have only dreamed off a couple years ago. Some decisions came to a head this year when I took a long look at where my energy was being used and what kind of a return I was getting back. Several months out from some of the biggest decisions, I am happy to report I am content with all the choices I’ve made, which is giving me courage to go forward into 2019 with more dreams and aspirations for where the studio could go from here! 

I hope to have another post outlining some of those goals here soon, but as most of you know, I am always dreaming and scheming with the hope of making a better life for everyone impacted by this studio: My students, their families, myself and my family. I feel like 2018 was a year full of steps always walking to a better place and I’m so grateful for everyone who has been along for the journey. 

To borrow again from Rent, I really feel 2018 was a season of love. I hope you feel the same looking back on your studio experiences, whether in mine or elsewhere.