As a part of an initiative mark, some friends and I are creating a National Anthem for our 'country.' In order to make it the best we can, I started researching, and these were the common answers:
- patriotic
-Uses the country's history
-Includes the traditions/struggles of the people
-(generally) strophic, meaning multiple verses to the same tune
Personally, I really enjoy Anthems, I love the feeling of patriotism they evoke. It's great playing them too, so you can share the feeling with others.
Finlandia is

Recently, as in like 1 week ago, OneRepublic released their new album entitled 'Native.' I've already bought like 6 of their songs, and they're all amazing. I first got into their music after seeing the Sorcerer's Apprentice, the one released just a few years ago. They play 'Secrets' in it, and the cello part was what drew me in. I love the voice of their main singer, their beats and their lyrics. Basically, OneRepublic is awesome and you should listen to them.

'And if we only die once, I wanna die with you' - Something I Need

This past week, I had the chance to attend the TEDxYouth@Waterloo conference, and it was amazing. I enjoyed most of the speakers/performers there.  Andria (the picture) was interesting. I liked what she sang, but honestly, I couldn't get past her fiddling with her dress.. It was just so distracting. Even though I don't remember half of what she said, I wish the best for her, pursu

So, here I was, about to start writing a new blog post, and BAM! I see a new 2CELLOS video.. So, i watched it. It's a cover of Coldplay's 'Every teardrop is a waterfall' and it is amazing. Basically, 2CELLOS, -being the awesomely talented people they are- decided to play it on just 1 cello. It really is something. My friend and I tried something similar last year when I hurt my hand and couldn't bow: it definitely wasn't as cool as them. Definitely check out the video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XleaVcy4he8

I love music ensembles. Playing by yourself can, and does, get boring: playing with a whole group is exciting. Also, it motivates me to practice more because I don't want to be the weak player who can't play their part. I love performing with Symphony, playing altogether just creates this powerful feeling. I love feeling the energy of the other music kids playing along, we get so pumped. Playing in a group is great, because it can be solely a group endeavor, or you can make it solo, by practicing and improving on your own time.

Music is incredible, it has the ability to change moods, to enhance scenes, to bring people together.

Whenever I'm in a bad mood, I'll switch on some music and BAM! Gone. If I need an energy boost in the morning (and who doesn't? *yawn*) , I'll put on some music to pump me up. There's no need for caffeine here! Music is amazing because it works for any mood. Sad? There's a song for that.

Just take a second and picture your favourite movie. Now, picture the movie with out music, it doesn't seem as interesting does it? Take an epic explosion scene, where the person is casually walking away, and picture it with no music. How ridiculous would that be?

Music is one of the few things that bridges the language gap that exists. I love listening to music from other countries, it's great to experience their unique taste of music. Ex. Celtic music, I absolutely love it. African music

"If music be the food of love, play on!" - William Shakespeare
This quote is one of the few reasons that I enjoyed reading Twelfth Night last year, Well, that, and we watched She's the Man. I love anything music related, and that quote just made the book, because I can relate to that. Music is what I most enjoy.

Music speaks what cannot be expressed/ soothes the mind and gives it rest/ heals the heart and makes it whole/ flows from Heaven to the soul.
That's a quote in my school's music room that I really like. I love music quotes, they're always deep and make you think.

Today was the last day of the Symposium, and I've gotta say, I'm going to miss it. It's awesome being placed in an environment where you need to rapidly progress, it really forces you to focus and improve your skills. We had 2 sets of guest groups play for us, one yesterday, the other today. Today's group consisted of a violist and violinist. They played an interesting contemporary piece: it was very dissonant, which I didn't really enjoy though. Snowday tomorrow?