The highlight of my education

Paul and I went to a piano concert for four hands last night. A great concert: music of Bartok, Brahms, Mozart, Gabriel Faure moved me deeply as they were pieces I had played years ago. They, especially the Hungarian Peasant Songs by Bartok, brought back sweet memories of being a piano student.

And you really have to believe the idea of the six degrees of separation. One of the artists, Rebecca Pennys from Eastman School of Music, NY, had actually taught me in a master class back in 1994!! She is the teacher of my first college piano teacher Dr. McCollough. Listening to her play immediately brings me back to the best days of my educational career.

The three years at Santa Clara were by far the best years of my life as a student. How I miss the days spent in practice rooms, music lab, theory classes, and most of all, the weekly lessons with the best teacher I've ever had (and revered and feared!!), Mr. Boepple. Though I no longer engage in music making, those days will forever remain a cherished memory which impact my life in many ways.

You know, I have been going to school since I was 3, and except for the last 3 years and one year off teaching at Sidwell, I have been a student all my life! That amounts to 25 years of being a full-time student!! Isn't that scary?

What's more frightening is that I am ready to go back to being a student starting July 1. guess I just can't stay away from studenthood. This time, in something utterly different from anything I've learned before, and I know it won't be anything like studying piano. Besides, I am already starting to have nightmares of not being able to answer a question on the test. Those miserable junior high school days are still haunting me! Oh well, at least I know that it's about time I work hard and suffer a little bit from work pressure after a whole year of explorations and fun. No more excuses.