Recital and Concerts!

Well! This weekend has been amazing!  As you know, I had my recital this past Friday.  I had invited a few people from my apartment, but I didn't expect the turnout !  About 20 people (or more, including my flat mates) came to support me at the recital!

My performance was not bad.. it could have been better but also could have been worse so I'm not complaining at all haha! I played the whole of Bach's English suite no. 2, Brahms op. 118, no. 2-4, and an improvised Christmas medley.  My colleagues also performed.   I am glad that the audience enjoyed the recital. 
Here are a few pictures Kyle took at the recital.

After the recital, I went to grab a kebab (equivalent of a shawarma.. except in a burger bun) with the guys then I went to the first choir concert.

The choir concerts were very nice although the churches was freezing!  I performed with my coat on.  On Friday evening we performed in a town about 40 km outside of Graz called Leibniz and on Saturday we performed in a town close to Leibniz.. I forget the name haha.  Here are some pics I took at the concerts.

At the first concert on Friday evening

The choir

The choir director, Zelika

The venue at the second concert on Saturday evening

After the second concert on Saturday evening, the choir members went out for dinner and invited me and I happily accepted the invite!  We had a 5 course traditional Steierian meal.  "Steierian" comes from Steiermark, and it is the province that Graz is in.  I even won a gift at the dinner haha.  But all in all, a good night.

School is officially out for the holidays and as Christmas is approaching, many of the students are going back home, traveling, etc.  Therefore I've been hanging out with some friends before they go off for the holidays.  Here are some more pictures!

Hanging out with the flat mates! (and no, I and Mario's outfits were not planned lol)

My flatmates got me a cake and posted it on my door with this note :) what can I say?.. I have awesome flatmates!

That's all from me for now.  As always, thank you for reading!  I gotta go cook for the guys! Cheers and God bless!

Kofi

What A Night!

Hey guys,

I hope you are all enjoying your weekends.  My weekend has been amazing so far! As you know, yesterday evening was the concert at Fiedler's Piano House.  It was actually a piano concert with a few chamber groups.  The performers were children from the age of 10 to 18 years, and some of them are prodigies; like this 13 year old boy who played Chopin's third Ballade.  We got to play on a beautiful Bosendorfer and I thoroughly enjoyed the concert.

Our performance was not bad.. it could have been better.. but it also could have been worse haha so I'm not complaining :).  I played with flutist Magie (17) and Kathrin (20).  Magie's father was kind enough to record our performance.  Here it is!

From left : Magie, myself and Kathrin

Again, with Heidi (Instructor)

The Programme

Again

We had our sound check a few hours before the concert and in between that I was fooling around on the piano playing some random jazz.  The owner heard me playing and asked me if I could play during the reception after the concert..and of course I said yes haha!  After the concert was done, the piano was moved to the center of the room. When the reception began, I started playing some jazz.  Before I knew it, there was a crowd forming around me.. some people even taking seats; it became another concert haha.  I used this opportunity to practice performing the pieces (Bach English Suite no. 2 and Brahms op. 118) that I will be playing for my recital in about 2 weeks.  After a few jazz standards, I played the Bach and then the Brahms..even got an applause after the performance :) After that I went back to jazz.  Some of the audience came to speak with me, gave me some very encouraging words, and thanked me for the performance.  It felt amazing because as musicians, I believe that we need as much encouragement as possible.  After I finished playing, I spoke with some of the performers who are also students at KUG.  At the end of the evening, the owner of the piano store invited me to come to the store at my convenience so that he could show me around! Unfortunately I was not able to take any pictures of this event because I was at the piano haha, but it was a truly amazing night.

That's all for now.I just got back from Church and feel lazy haha .. Then I have to cook dinner.. cooking for 6-7 people tonight!  As always, thank you for reading! God bless!

Cheers,

Kofi

Lately..

Hey guys!

Sorry for slacking off on my blog!  Since school  started, things have been a little hectic!

So far school is going great!  I have 2 courses, some type of Musicology and Music History after 1900 on Thursdays... The catch.. BOTH of these classes are in German [-_-].. so I pretty much have to improve my German now haha.  It's not too bad because I knew the professor before I came to Graz, and thankfully he speaks good English... So we have an arrangement where I will come and see him during his office hours, and he will give me a summary of the week's lectures.  I am enrolled in 2 chamber ensembles, which is also great because I get to work with the other talented students here at Kunst.  We actually have a concert on November 17th, so I'm pretty excited.  Last but definitely not the least, I have my performance lessons on Fridays.  My teacher (Prof. Eike Straub) is amazing and I am really enjoying the lessons.

Besides school, I've been hanging out with a lot of friends, salsa dancing, going sightseeing, going to concerts, and having a great time in general.  Here are a few pics of what I've been up to lately.

The boys! From left :Miljan from Serbia, Miguel, Akos and Martin, both from Slovakia as well

Again.. plus me haha

There was a concert this evening at my school

The concert hall is very beautiful

My friend, Monika, from Lithuania, joined me for this concert

Eduard Lanner was the pianist

That's all for now folks!  Thanks for reading and God Bless!

Cheers!