The "Congrats Cookie"

I've long debated the idea of going back to school for a DMA. After grad school in San Francisco, I was pretty sure I was done for good with papers, classes, etc. but while living in San Diego, the idea would occasionally cross my mind. I was getting pretty burned out with the monotony of the beginner/intermediate flute lessons I was teaching and also missed the performance opportunities that abound when associated with a university, college, etc. More and more people in the music world would stress the importance of having a DMA if I ever wanted to teach at that higher level so the idea would continue to waft in and out of my thoughts. Even though there wasn't a school in SD that would've fit my needs, I knew our time there would be short lived and that our next stop may include a city that might have options for this kind of degree.

Well, after three wonderful years in San Diego, Steve was offered a position at the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center located in none other than New York City. Our first year was quite a whirlwind as I was busy trying to advertise for lessons, practice for competitions and auditions, etc and find a somewhat stable part-time job while I attempted the "freelance musician" lifestyle, so I didn't start considering more school until, go figure, it was too late to apply for that following fall. Beginning last year (2007) I started to seriously think about it and knew the person I wanted to study with would be Carol Wincenc at SUNY Stony Brook. She's a world renown, INCREDIBLE flutist who has been a soloist throughout the world with major orchestras and teaches at The Juilliard School in addition to Stony Brook. I'd taken a few lessons and masterclasses with her and the rapport was great. I knew Juilliard was not an option: 1. my chances of even getting in there would've been slim to none, and 2. their program is much more academic based, lasting up to 4-5 years, versus Stony Brook's performance based program which is feasible (albeit not easy...) to get done in 2 years.

I talked to Carol about starting the program in the fall of 2008 and she was very encouraging about it but I was nervous to find out last fall that she may not have any openings in her studio. I applied anyway and nervously awaited whether or not she'd be accepting new students. I prayed and prayed that God's will would be done and I would be accepting of and at peace with that will- I just asked that He would open or close the door depending on what He had in store for me. So, boy was I excited when Carol called me several weeks ago to ask if I'd be interested in being her Teaching Assistant!! The acceptance letter arrived this past Saturday offering admission with a full scholarship and the teaching assistantship, which includes a stipend! Praise God! Boy, was that confirmation that this idea, this dream of mine, might also be in accordance with His plan for me :) .

What is a DMA you may ask? It stands for Doctorate of Musical Arts and will be a performance based program consisting of many recitals including a lecture recital, a couple of papers, and a final oral dissertation of the final recital. My hope is that it will equip me to some day have an affiliate or adjunct faculty position at a university or college where I can teach more serious students, but also have more opportunities to perform!!! There will be quite a big change in our lives starting this fall, and it will be a challenge, but I am excited to begin. There will be much more to come on this adventure!

As for the cookie, which was the whole reason behind this post- my parents are the greatest. :) It arrived yesterday with a sweet note from them congratulating me on the acceptance letter. How sweet are they? We still have some yummy Crumbs cupcakes left over from our community group from Tuesday night so we are going over to the Sullivans tonight to share the yumminess. And if you actually read this entire post, you deserve a cookie, too!