AMEB and beyond

So, I was playing again after a short break after high school.

But something was missing. A good teacher. I wanted to get better. I had a secret desire to play professionally - I loved playing more than anything else. I spend most of my high school years in the music dept at school. I was a band nerd before I even realised it.

So now that I was working full time, I could afford a teacher. So I found one in the local area who turned out to be a wonderful teacher and friend. She was so encouraging of me and got me involved not only in solo playing (I did my first solo performance at one of her student concerts) and AMEB exams (which I did quite well in up until 5th grade), but also in ensembles such as the Adelaide Clarinet Choir, now unfortunately extinct. All these things made me improve dramatically as a player and give me more confidence to try harder things. The clarinet choir was a particular challenge for me as the players involved in this ensemble varied from amateur musicians to music teachers to professional players and students of clarinet and saxophone. I was introduced to the conductors of this ensemble, one of whom later became my teacher, and they were most enthusiastic about sound and clarinet technique and all other information relating to playing which I found very helpful in learning more about the instrument. I didn't know very much before....just simply that a reed vibrates. I didn't understand the complexities of reeds and mouthpieces until then.

I was soon to find out though. I mentioned to my teacher (who incidently also played in the choir) that I was interested in studying music at a certificate level (although I had applied for the Bachelor of Music out of pure interest) but I wasn't sure if I was good enough. Looking back now, I probably wasn't ready, but she was very encouraging anyway. She helped me prepare for my audition meticulously and that involved 3 contrasting pieces plus my scales etc. I was already learning around a 6th grade level at the time (which probably wasn't high enough a level but oh well.... that's the beauty of hindsight!) and so I chose to play the first movement of William Hurlstone's Four Characteristic Pieces 'Ballade', the last movement of Howard Ferguson's Four Short Pieces 'Burlesque' and "Prelude" from Gerald Finzi's Five Bagatelles. I think for the most part, I played quite well.

I obviously did. I got into the Bachelor of Music. And this freaked me out. So after some rigmorale, I changed my SATAC application so I could get into the Certificate 4 instead. And I was accepted.

Uni was an eye opener. I wasn't ready for it at all, technically. I fit in quite well in the theory, history, piano technique classes, composition...everything. Except performance. My first teacher (who later turned out to be wonderful for my development as a player and under whose tutelage, I did the most improving) and I clashed big time and after a rather heated discussion, decided to completely start again from scratch. I did quite well in the C4 and as a result, was prepared enough to audition for the Bachelor of Music again and got in. By then, I was actually ready to study properly as a tertiary music student. I would recommend anyone who is interested in the Bachelor of Music to take this path also (Certificate or Diploma courses first help you settle in and ease you into the scary hectic lifestyle and particularly the practice schedule that is thrown at you at the conservatorium).

The repertoire I have studied (* or in some cases briefly studied) since I have been studying music includes (and doesn't mention the evil that is Alfred Uhl's study book):

Certificate 4:

Camille Saint Saens - Sonata
Don Banks - Prologue, Night Piece and Blues For Two
William Hurlstone - 4 Characteristic Pieces
Andre Previn - Fancy Passing and Passing Fancy
Carl Nielsen - Fantasy
Ferruccio Busoni - Elegie

First Year BMus

Igor Stravinsky - Three Pieces for Clarinet Solo (part)
Paul Harvey - Etudes on Themes Of Gershwin for clarinet solo
Johannes Brahms - Sonata No 1 in F Minor (part) for clarinet and piano
Carl Maria Von Weber - Concerto No 2 in Eb Major (part) for clarinet and orchestra
Malcolm Arnold - Sonatina for clarinet and piano

Second Year BMus

Csaba Deak - Sonatina for clarinet solo
Malcolm Arnold - Fantasy
Gioachino Rossini - Introduction, Theme and Variations for clarinet and orchestra
Margaret Sutherland - Sonata for clarinet and piano
Joseph Horovitz - Sonatina for clarinet and piano
Alec Templeton - Pocket Size Sonata for clarinet and piano

Third Year BMus

John Mayer - Raga Music
Carl Maria Von Weber - Concerto No 2 in Eb Major for clarinet and orchestra (part)
Johannes Brahms - Sonata No 2 in Eb for clarinet and piano
Claude Debussy - Premiere Rhapsodie
Aaron Copland - Concerto for Clarinet, Piano, Harp and Strings

Honours

W.A. Mozart - Concerto for Clarinet in A and piano
Carl Maria Von Weber - Concertino for Clarinet and Orchestra *
Darius Milhaud - Duo Concertante for clarinet and piano *
George Gershwin - Three Preludes for Clarinet and Piano *
Gerald Finzi - Concerto for Clarinet and String Orchestra
Krystof Penderecki - Three Minitures for clarinet and piano
Bohuslav Martinu - Sonatine for clarinet and piano
Arthur Benjamin - La Tombeau de Ravel (Valse Caprices) for clarinet and piano
Ferruccio Busoni - Concertino for Clarinet and Small Orchestra
Robert Muczynski - Time Pieces for Clarinet and Piano
Jean Francaix - Tema Con Variazioni for Clarinet and Piano


It doesn't need to be said but I think I did improve somewhat over the 6 years that I was at the con. I had some enormous setbacks emotionally (some not related to the con or playing at all) and there were times when I didn't think I'd get through it but I did. I pushed my way through the hard stuff and came out okay. My ability to sightread got even stronger. I was always really good at it but I'm pretty efficient at it now. My technique has improved (as is probably evident with the repertoire I was tackling in the last 3 or 4 years) although I am really quite disappointed that it is not quite there yet. I was hoping I would be better than this but oh well, you can't have everything. There's always room for improvement. I was never truly happy with performance. I did remarkably well in every subject BUT performance and that wasn't an ideal result for me. So I had a lot of pressure this year. And my final result for my recital which was 2 weeks ago was extremely disappointing - tear inducing in fact - but as usual, and to uphold the last six years' traditions....... I'm not a quitter.

I don't give up that easily. I'll get there eventually.