In the middle of all this, I've actually changed my major. While I was working on an orchestra masters, as of next semester I'll be doing a pedagogy masters (but will still graduate on time, with a little effort). This decision came after serious thinking, but my teachers and I have decided to use this masters to get what is arguably the most useful degree the school has to offer (orchestras never hire someone because they have the degree, but music schools will look much more carefully at someone with the teaching degree, and often even require it). If I was doing what might be considered the "normal" thing in Zürich, this might not matter so much, many people do more than one masters at this school, so there would be time for both. That said, the current plan (and of course plans change often and without giving much notice) is that I will leave Zürich in two years (so after this masters) and pursue an old music masters. Since natural horn is what I currently do best and enjoy the most, it seems like the best option. This was a big decision, but I think everyone involved currently feels like it's going to turn out to be the right one. I know I do. :) Hopefully by the end of this degree, I'll have some practice teaching and the certification, and I'll have managed to make contacts in the old music world, and will be ready to take that step.
So, for anyone who's a bit unclear about what this "old music" this really is, it's basically exactly what it sounds like. Its the idea that the music of Bach should be played on the instruments that existed when Bach was alive, and that we should do our best to learn the stylistic aspects that went with each period. There are many books written by players of these time periods detailing how they felt pieces should be played, and old music students study these for information on things like ornamentation. The fun thing about old music is that you get to play a lot of different styles and instruments. The not so fun thing about this is having to potentially carry a few instruments to school every day. When I go to Germany in a few weeks, I'll be taking some lessons with a very well known natural horn player (if anyone wants to give me a lesson for Christmas, that could be cool).
I leave you with a few pictures:
This is what my locker looks like with both my modern and natural horn. I can just barely make them both fit!
This is a picture I took of the natural horn this week. I'll put it up again with pictures of a baroque horn, as soon as I take some. :)
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