Today I achieved a somewhat strange feeling of contentment. It struck me that I’ve been spending quite a bit of time in recent weeks frustrated with this or that element of the course (isolation, Trevor being overbearing, social tensions). However, all the musical friends I’ve chatted with via Skype or email all express their jealousy that I’ve got this time here to just focus on flute and not worry about all the other things that life throws at us. Though everyone seemed to be keeping to themselves for the day, I embraced all the time I had, got a lot done, and throughly enjoyed it!

I noticed a small improvement on the Reichert from yesterday, and tried to take pleasure in it rather than dwelling overly much on what still needs work. A friend suggested I try some flute-free visualisation with the exercises, so I spent a bit of time on that as well.

In the afternoon, I spent some time comparing a cylindrical and conical bore piccolo (from the list of instruments we have to borrow out), as well as learning the Fantasia No. 6 in D minor by Telemann on traverso. The slow movement is coming along quite well, though I’m still not totally on top of notes like Bb, C and G# in both octaves. The D natural is very sharp on this instrument, and I’m having to adjust a lot of notes to get them in tune. As for the fast movement…I’ll get there! It’s great fun playing the traverso though, and I’m already wondering how I might be able to get my hands on one in the future.

I also spent a few hours finishing off an application for Sydney-based Ensemble Offspring’s 2015 ‘Hatched’ program – a year-long mentorship for composers and performers interested in new music. I have no idea whether I’ll get in, but am trying to use this time to apply for a whole lot of opportunities next year. I hope that at some point, either by getting into something or getting a job, I’ll have a clearer idea of which side of the world I want to be on come April! This sort of program would be ideal, as it would give me some structure and guidance while I go about my own thing (hopefully) working and playing.