September Update!

Hi Everyone,

It's been about a month since I last posted to my blog, and today, I feel like writing something new! Last time I wrote, I had just come back from the Oxford Philomusica Piano Festival and Summer Academy, which was (of course) amazing beyond belief! After returning home for a week, I flew to Nebraska with my younger brother, Will, younger half-brother, Kai, and my dad to visit his side of the family. I stayed with my Grandparents while I was there, and we had lots of fun talking, reading, baking cookies, going on walks, relaxing, and enjoying each other's company. On August 10th, I gave a concert at Savannah Pines Retirement Resort. A few days later, I gave a mini-recital at another retirement home called Eastmont Towers. The residents at both places were extremely kind, welcoming, and had a great love and appreciation for music. By the way, if you would like to watch clips from the performances, please click on this YouTube link! :)

We stayed in Nebraska for eight days in total, then I flew back to Boston briefly before leaving with my mom and Will for a vacation in Manuel Antonio, Costa Rica. It was definitely one of the most beautiful places I had ever been to, and there was wildlife everywhere we went - especially monkeys! They were by the pool, on the power lines, on the roof, and atop the lampposts. We also went on a tour of Manuel Antonio National Park, and we were fortunate enough to see a sloth just a few feet in front of us, slowly crossing the dirt trail. Algae was growing on the sloth's back, and the tour guide told us that this was because the sloths often stay in the same position for most of the day! We loved being able to visit the beach whenever we pleased, as well as browse the many unique shops in town and drink fresh coconut water sold by vendors on the street.
Lots of composing inspiration also came to me while in Costa Rica... which leads me to an announcement I've been very excited about making for the past few days:

On Tuesday (September 9), I finished composing my most recent piece of piano music! It is titled Reflections and consists of eight short movements that were each inspired by a different part of my life. The pieces contain lots of symbolism and tell a personal story. However, I won't reveal what that story is, because I would like the performer to use their imagination to create their own while they play the pieces. I've attached the score here (and on my website) so anyone who wants to can play it.

Well, I should probably work on my homework now; I started high school last Wednesday and am enjoying it thus far!

All best,
Anna Larsen
annalarsenmusic.com

Oxford 2014

Dear Everyone,

I don't think it's possible to describe how much of a wonderful time I had in Oxford. It was most definitely one of the best weeks of my life! I was immersed in breathtakingly beautiful music the entire time: There were fascinating master classes to watch every day and fabulous concerts during the evening. I was fortunate enough to have been able to listen to legendary pianist Menahem Pressler perform Mozart's Concerto No. 23 with the Oxford Phil at Sheldonian Theatre a couple of nights ago; it was some of the most spectacular playing I have ever witnessed. During the past week, I had master classes with Mr. Pressler, Dame Fanny Waterman (founder of the Leeds International Pianoforte Competition), and Marios Papadopoulos, the artistic director of the Oxford Philomusica festival. They were all very different in their teaching approaches, which enabled me to learn an unbelievable amount during my short week at the festival. I also attended many of the other master classes and even though I wasn't on the stage for those, I found them to be just as helpful. It was also amazing to be able to perform Bach and Chopin at Holywell Music Room, the oldest purpose-built concert hall in Europe!

I met many new wonderful people and be reunited with many of my close friends while I was there! It's really a terrific thing to be able to truly be yourself around a group of people who all cherish and accept each other. I especially enjoyed spending time with the younger kids! One girl, 10-year-old Catrina, always kept me company while I practiced the piano. :) Also, I had the opportunity to give a very talented young pianist, William, a lesson on a Bach Prelude and Fugue. I realized that I absolutely love teaching and hope to do a lot of it throughout my lifetime! Anyways, if you are interested in watching my master classes, stay tuned because I will be posting them on YouTube as soon as I can! (Until then, you can check my Events page to see what I played.) Additionally, I kept a daily account of my adventures in Oxford on my Instagram page, so be sure to click on the pictures and read about my trip in more detail there! :)

Until next time,
Anna

Welcome!

Hi Everyone!

Welcome to my new blog. For those of you who don't know me, my name is Anna, I'm fourteen years old, and I'm a classical pianist and composer. I have a website called annalarsenmusic.com if you would like to see what I'm up to in terms of my musical endeavors. Meanwhile, since I love writing (journaling especially), I decided to start this blog for people who are interested in hearing more about me and my ideas about life.

Today, as an introduction, I thought I would talk a little bit about why music is so special to me. Sometimes, especially on my YouTube videos of my younger self playing the piano, I notice comments from people expressing concerns about whether my parents were doing what was best for me by "forcing" me to play piano at a young age. A lot of comments that seem to appear often under these videos are remarks such as, "Poor kid, does she even like playing piano?"
The answer to this question is, always has been, and always will be: yes. Piano, and music in general, is such an important part of my life that without it, I would probably not know where to turn. Sure, when I was really young, practicing for a few hours a day wasn't exactly my idea of fun, but as I've gotten older, I have grown to love the piano more and more. Also, my parents were always very supportive of my musical journey. They encouraged me to practice but never forced me to... Music is something I cherish within my heart and have decided to continue with for all these years out of my own accord.

So why did I decide to continue with it?
That's what I'm going to try to explain. When I was little, playing piano and composing pieces used to be something I would do simply because it was a part of my life for as long as I could remember, so it was just sort of natural to me. To put it in simpler terms, music was something I enjoyed, but I didn't necessarily love it with all of my heart. However, over the past several years, music has taken on an entirely different meaning for me.

• Music has become the best way I know how to express myself. In life, there's a lot we think and feel that simply cannot be expressed through words. I've found that if you try, anything can be expressed through music. 
• Music gives us a sense of accomplishment. When we learn a piece, practice it, polish it, perform it, revisit it, et cetera, there are clear milestones that we reach along each step of the journey. This is especially true when there is something in the music that we find to be extremely difficult. We realize that when we persevere, try different methods of approach, and simply have patience/give it time, we will eventually be able to conquer the challenge, no matter how impossible it seemed at first. 
• I don't know how else to say this, but I can say firsthand that music saves lives. Everyone goes through difficult times in their life - everyone. I had a particularly rough time this past year when I was going through several personal struggles, but if someone asked me what got me through it, I would definitely say piano. It was both a distraction and a way to pour out everything I felt inside of me, and it is largely because of music that I am still here.
• This leads me to my most important point: Music is a language which nearly everybody can understand, and this makes it a truly amazing way to connect with others, even people you've never met before. If there is just one person who I can relate to through my piano playing or compositions, I'll be forever grateful. Through music, I want to be able to help people who are lost to see the beauty in life, to inspire people to face their demons and overcome their struggles, and to make sure that everyone knows that they are worthy of happiness and life.

There is definitely a lot more I can think of about why music means so much to me, but those are just a few reasons. I'm going to wrap this up now so I can go work on learning new repertoire. I hope you all have a wonderful day!

Sincerely,

Anna