A few months ago I was accepted into the Emory Orchestra family. We just had our first concert last week! I am so happy that I have the opportunity to play with so many talented people. Check out the recordings at these links:
Boyce’s Symphony 1 – First Movement
Boyce’s Symphony 1 – Second and Third Movements
I just performed at my first recital with my new voice teacher, Ms. Wor. It was such a great experience – I had a lot of fun! Ms. Wor is a brilliant mezzo-soprano (my favorite Carmen!), a great performer, and such a wonderful teacher – I am so lucky to have her! You can check out the recording at the link below. If you like it, please leave a comment!
Recently, I have picked the charity that I am going to donate all of the proceeds from my book to! It is called Children’s Development Academy (CDA). It is a school that supports early education for children ages 1-5. It is specifically for children whose families cannot afford to send them to the regular pre-k and preschool. Recently, I had the honor of visiting the charity. The director, Ms. DeCan, took me on a tour of the school and showed me where the kids study and play. They do have a wonderful playground to enjoy! Then I had the most wonderful time with the young students in all three pre-k classrooms! The kids were so happy to meet me and eager to hear some of my poems. They were so engaged in a lively discussion afterwards.
The CDA is such a special place and I look forward to visiting many more times in the future!
I would like to thank everyone who has purchased my books or who has given a donation to this wonderful cause. This would not be possible without you. THANK YOU!
If you would like to learn more about the CDA and its mission, you can follow these links:
This past weekend I performed at the 5th annual Tower of Talent – a fundraiser for Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta (CHOA). It was my second time participating in the event. This year, I had the honor of working with a very talented vocalist Jasmine Handmaker. She has such a beautiful voice and she did such a wonderful job at the event! We performed One Moment in Time together. My wonderful violin teacher arranged a violin part just for me – thank you so much, Mr. Crane!
I am really glad that I was able to perform at the Tower of Talent again and support such a worthy cause. This event is put on under the patronage of the generous and wonderful Greenbaum family. You can check out the recording at this link:
Wow! I can’t believe that summer is over. I am still reliving the memories of being with my grandparents in the Czech Republic. I had so many wonderful adventures with them, including bike riding, roller-blading, mushroom picking, baking, and climbing up into my tree house:
My grandpa and I would go out into the woods on our bikes and when we reached an area with a certain set of characteristics we would stop and look for mushrooms. We brought a ginormous backpack with a bucket inside of it, and that is where we would put the mushrooms. We ran around the woods, sifting through mushroom after mushroom, looking especially for the squishy yellow ones – because they are soooo good! We would pick them all up, hop on our bikes and ride on to find a new location, and so on and so forth. Once we came back to the house, my grandma and I would start chopping the mushrooms up and then she would lay them outside in the sun to dry. We found so many mushrooms that they should last all winter long.
In the evenings, my grandparents and I would go out to the playground area across from their house. I would roller blade and my grandpa would ride his bike. One night we created a show that we later performed for my parents. My grandma was the ‘judge’, and my grandpa and I would ride around and do tricks. What a blast we had! We could not stop laughing.
While at home, my grandma and I would bake wonderful treats for the family. My grandma is a fantastic cook and baker and makes everything from scratch! We made kolache, fruit cakes, gingerbread cookies, and most importantly fruit dumplings. Oh, you never heard of these? Look them up! So yum! I love my grandma’s fruit dumplings, and therefore we made them almost every day.
I spent my birthday with my grandparents, and to celebrate, my grandma made me a big gingerbread cake, which was delicious! We decorated it together and then put it away until my birthday, as to avoid the temptation of eating it immediately! (because I would have)
We would often venture out to a nearby medieval city. There, we would just stroll around, stop at a vibrant cafe for a treat or we got soft-served ice cream. I developed a new taste for mixed soft served (vanilla and chocolate together). You might want to try it when you get a chance…
We also went to the city for my birthday dinner, and we ate at my favorite Greek restaurant. We go there every year – it is a real treat!
A couple of years ago, my grandpa built me a ‘tree house’ in their yard. I love to spend time up there playing games, eating treats, and hanging out with my grandparents. I have to climb a really tall ladder to get up there because it is quite high off the ground. It is my own special place. I always have the fondest of memories from that tree house and cannot wait to be perched up there again.
I had a such blast with my grandparents – they are the best! And I am so excited to see them soon!
Wow! My wonderful French teacher, Mme. Maryse, surprised me again with a beautiful collection of some of my new poems translated into French. She put so much effort into designing every page of this book and into translating every word so that it would be just right. I am so honored and lucky to have such a fabulous teacher and friend. I think that my poems sound so beautiful in French! Merci beaucoup, Mme. Maryse! ♥
