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Croissants and Culture
So far, this week has been an incredible blur of Parisian beauty and sightseeing. I’m enjoying my schedule of sleeping in, practicing new music, and wandering around the city. Everything feels more leisurely in Paris, and the days seem much longer without a strict schedule to follow (which will change when I start at the Versailles Conservatoire in a few…
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First Week in Paris
I’ve been MIA the past week – my apologies! My itinerary over here was hectic (Atlanta-Toronto-Reykjavik-Paris), but I enjoyed having a layover in Iceland, a country I never would have had a chance to visit otherwise. I enjoyed listening to music by Icelandic artists on the plane, along with learning facts about Iceland (apparently the majority of the population believes…
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Bon Voyage!
Hello Paris, here I come! I’m writing this during my 7.5 hour layover in Canada (ughhh). After this, Iceland, then finally Paris! I’m so excited and thankful for this opportunity, and I still can’t believe this is really happening! It’s amazing watching hundreds of people from around the world in this giant airport! Hopefully I will be writing on…
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Books Every Clarinetist Should Have on Their Bookshelf (Or Kindle)
I have been a bookworm ever since I first started reading. Combine my love of books with my passion for clarinet, and you’ve created nirvana. In the age of the Internet, there are a multitude of resources for recordings, sheet music, and information readily available for any musical queries. Having the world at your fingertips is an amazing thing, but…
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One month to go! (and my visa story)
This time exactly one month from now, I will be aboard an airplane en route to Paris! (with a few inconvenient and long layovers; at least I can say I’ve visited Iceland!) It seems so surreal that it’s finally happening. The past few months have been a whirlwind of planning and organizing every detail, which included a super last-minute visa…
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Creating a Syllabus for Your Private Studio
Creating a Syllabus for Your Private Studio Chances are, your band director, theory professor, music history teacher, or studio professor are very familiar with syllabi. Most institutions require educators to maintain up-to-date syllabi outlining their expectations, objectives, assignments, and overviews for their classes. For students, these are the papers you probably pretended to read and then threw away after they…
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How to Test Equipment at Conventions
How to Test Equipment at Conventions For musicians, conventions and conferences are wonderful opportunities to hear concerts, attend masterclasses, and peruse exhibits for music, tchotchkes, and equipment. These events are great places to try equipment you might not have access to otherwise, but making sure you find your best setup at these venues can be tricky if you are not…
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Da capo
For those of you that don’t know me, my name is Jenny Maclay, or Jenny Clarinet, as my friends call me. As you might have guessed, I’m a clarinetist. I’ve been playing clarinet for about sixteen years now, and it is the most all-consuming, incredible, stressful, exciting, daunting, frustrating, enjoyable element of my life. Ever since I began playing when…