On Spetember 21 at 7:30 in Williams Hall, I participated in a piano concert performed by Mrs. Kristi Helfen and Mrs. Pamela Martin. What’s even more surprising was that this performance is not only a simple piano concert. Rather, it was a four hands piano concert that required much more proficiency in piano. In this concert, they performed several renowned songs: Overture to Orchestral Suite in D major, BMV 1068 by Bach, Grnde Rondo in A Major D. 951 by Schubert, The Frolics of a Band of Children by Villa-Bobos, Sonata in F major, K. 497 by Mozart, and Marche Ecossaise sur un Theme Populaire by Debussy. Mrs. Kristi Helfen was a dedicated piano educator in Oxford College of Emory University and a freelance piano performer.
Professor Ross Government 2306 8 February 2015 Is Abstinence-only education the correct approach for Texas? Owning one of the highest rates of teen pregnancies in the Union, Texas has an abstinence only approach in sexual education to try to reduce pregnancies? In addition to this, Texas ranks first as being the top spender in sexual education, but can’t get solidified results out of its spending. Texas doesn’t teach anything about contraception, how the Texas Department of State Health Services has said that the mission of the program is to delay sexual actions among teenagers until they are old enough, and the use of abstinence only education to protect children from explicit content only to find out in their own way leads to curiosity
Music is a very recent thing that has changed my life. I have always had an interest for music, since I was young I would dream of playing the Alto Saxophone. My dream became a reality in Sixth Grade when I was able to pick up and learn an instrument. I ended up choosing the Tenor Saxophone because of its dark full sound. I progressed very quickly taking lessons from Jill Marasa, band director at Costa Catholic Academy, later that year I bought a Flute, and Clarinet.
2. How and when did you decide to enter teaching? Well I always played music as a kids, as you know, to help me cope in my everyday life. It was always such a huge part of who I was so it just seemed natural to want to share that. It was in high school that I really decided I wanted to teach.
Beethoven’s Symphony No.2 in D Major was from the Classical Era and the final musical set of Schumann’s Concerto was from the Romantic Era. Despite each set of music were from different musical Eras, the audience and I found every performance unique and memorable. Towards the end of the orchestra the audience gave a standing ovation and was treated with an encore performance from the pianist. The pianist at the orchestra was Maxim Pakhomov who provided an outstanding, memorable and moving performance. Although the entire orchestra was pleasant, the most memorable and striking entertainment throughout the performances was the piano solo.
Did you have a dream when you were young? Something that you loved so much that you swore you would never give it up? I certainly did—music. I have written and performed music for the biggest part of my life; it was always something that I could depend on to make me happy and take the stress away. As I got older, I had multiple offers from managers.
From a very young age my grandparents started taking me to musicals and symphonies. Teaching me that music is a very important aspect of creative expression. I was reluctant at first like any 5 year old would be, but soon I fell in love with the music as well as the acting. From there my musical obsession started. I started choir in 3rd grade and then orchestra in 4th grade.
As far as I can remember my relationship with music started back in elementary school. Music class was a required course in my elementary school back when I attended. The first instrument I can remember learning how to play was the clarinet. I wasn’t very good at it the first couple of times but I didn’t give up and was able to learn how to play Mary had a little lamb and twinkle, twinkle little stars.
The reason I chose to study music at a collegiate level is that I truly believe I would not be as happy or fulfilled studying anything else. Music stimulates not only my creative and artistic side but also my problem-solving and analytical side. Music has been at the forefront of my life since at least middle school, so I could not realistically imagine doing anything else. It was my middle school band director who inspired me to take music seriously and pursue it. Matt Hammond always believed in me and pushed me, so in turn, I did everything I could to be his best student.
“Music is a moral law. It gives soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination, and charm and gaiety to life and to everything” (Plato). If my childhood was filled with anything: it was imagination. From my earliest memories of my cousin, and I putting on a sold out concert on my papaw’s front porch; to putting my baby dolls to sleep with lullabies. Music has always been a big part of my life: it was the one thing I could always count on, no matter where I went; and that still stands true today.
Curtains open. Lights come up. Music starts. Six little dancers, three and four years old, dressed as bumblebees, lined up across the front of the stage. Each doing her own version of the choreography: one waves to family members in the audience, another runs offstage early, and another ignores the choreography altogether, simply enjoying her time under the glowing stage lights, I suppose.
As a Chicana first generation college student my parents have reiterated to me that education was the only way to a better life. They came to achieve the American dream, but failed in their efforts, now they hope to see their children achieve it. Since I was little I knew that I wanted to help out people when I grew up. I was conflicted on what I wanted to study when I was in high school so I opted to go to a community college and find out what interested me.
While I have inherited many important characteristics from my parents, the most important characteristic I inherited is my innate curiosity and my passion for learning. My father, a software engineer, has always encouraged me to observe the world with inquisitive eyes and to constantly learn. On the days that my dad would work from home, I would often just observe him for hours trying to figure out what all the symbols and lines of code meant, which inspired me to major in computer programming. As a child, I always have wanted to know the answer to everything, whether it was the stereotypical question of why the sky was blue needing to figure out who the murderer was on Law & Order.
I found my passion for music at a very young. As a little girl I would always sing the theme songs of my favorite TV shows with my brothers or at relative’s homes. At a young age I understood and appreciated different genres of music and the cultures they rose from. In elementary school I joined my schools 4th grade and 5th grade choir for the first time. The first performance we sang “Wade in the Water” and another song for black history month play at our school’s Columbus Africentric Early College held.
The way how human mind works intrigue me. I am interested in study Criminology because I want a deeper understanding of the causes and the consequences of crime. The only way to get rid of temptation is to yield to it." (Oscar Wilde) The role temptation plays within the context of the criminal psyche, is a matter which compels my inquisitive and analytical mind to gain a deeper knowledge and understanding.
