Finding Momentum + Exciting News
There is nothing glamorous about shuffling along in the freezing cold when I’d rather be curled up on my couch with a hot chocolate. There’s nothing grand about staring at a partially-filled out musical staff paper with absolutely nothing coming to mind (especially when the rough draft should have been finished yesterday). There’s nothing more humbling than sucking wind trying to hit paces that felt like a breeze five years ago, or only being able to nail a piano passage well if I play it at half the performance tempo.
It can feel both riveting and also almost sting a little when you see someone at the peak of their craft. There’s something electrifying about witnessing an incredible performance. There’s also that voice inside whispering, “I could do that too.” The absolute only answer to this call is actually doing the thing. If you believe you can do it–DO IT. Do it! Do it right now.
I have felt frustrated trying to manage run training while being a grad student. Sometimes I feel like a fraud posing as a classical pianist. I could accept my circumstances, or I could do something about it. And if nothing else, I have a knack for taking action! This season I’ve made some changes. I’ve carved out more time for my creative process for my composition degree and more practice time for my upcoming performances. I’ve been realistic about how much I can take on and have had to say “no” to a few things (which is always sad).
I also started getting many of my runs in early in the day versus late, which helps to allow me to stretch my time for creative practice later in the day, and as I recently shared about, I’ve committed to weekly speedwork, which had gone a bit to the wayside. This has paid dividends! I’m surprised at how much I’ve improved in six weeks and only wonder why I ever let it slide.
I’m accepting being “okay” at some things so that I can focus being great at a more narrow pool of specific things. I feel like it’s taken a whole lot of dissatisfaction and humility to find a path that works for me. But the cool part is that I feel like I finally found something that’s working, after a lot of trial and error. And that’s not to say there are still moments of burnout and frustration, but the overall trend is UP in a big way!
So the exciting news: it hasn’t been a secret that I’ve been touting Mountain Hardwear apparel and equipment for a while now, from Okushinano in Japan, to Kungsleden in Sweden, to prepping for the Pacific Crest Trail this summer. With that, I’m thrilled to share that I’ve officially joined Mountain Hardwear’s Athlete Team as their first trail athlete!
Mountain Hardwear has been designing durable outdoor equipment that lasts since 1993 (read their super cool origin story here). On top of making incredible gear, I love that MHW is committed to sustainability, accessibility to the arts and outdoors through their Open Aperture clinic and AMGA scholarship program, and as a musician and athlete, I love that they highlight multifaceted aspects of their athletes and celebrate them as whole people. I truly couldn’t think of a better fit!
For one of my first creative projects with Mountain Hardwear, photographer and filmmaker Brendan Davis came up to Boston to capture some my musical composing process and how it comes through in my running and time outdoors, and made this beautiful film about it!
The music you hear in the film is by me! Special thanks to Vincent Francis (viola), DeShaun Gordon-King (flute), and Will Moore (mixing) for lending their talent to make it shine!
Just a few quick reminders:
I’ll be speaking at the Run Boston Expo on Saturday, March 1st at 12:45pm at the Inspiration Stage, on behalf of Appalachian Mountain Club! Please come by to see my talk and say hello!
You also don’t want to miss my orchestral composition debut, Wildwood, premiering Saturday, March 29th, 7pm at Arts at the Armory in Somerville, MA (free tickets here).
And I just recently announced a very special concert MOMENTUM that I’m putting on Boston Marathon Weekend, Saturday, April 19th at 3pm with GAIA Quartet, an all-women’s string quartet. We’re performing some incredible music for piano and strings (Dvorak’s Quintet No. 2) along with original music by me and Taiwanese-Canadian composer Patrick Wu. This concert has been a long time in the making, and I very much hope you can come! You can buy tickets here.
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