This last part of the semester I worked with Theresa and Mikayla to create a cover of P!nk's song  What About Us.  
Links to their blog posts are below
Mikayla's Post
Theresa's Post

https://bandhub.com/s/5a25c5b7e3472923f142e072​ 

When we started this project we had to choose a song from the Billboard top 100.  In searching the songs we wanted to look for songs about inclusion, moving on and upwards, and self empowerment.  We found P!nks What About us to fulfill almost every guideline we had laid out.  Next became our instrumentation.  We all told each other our strengths and weaknesses and decided that we would use vocal, keyboard, and percussion.  We decided on some times to meet but they never ended up working out.  We were very successful in getting our guidelines set and strengths put together.  One major issue we ran into was me having a tendonitis episode with my wrists.  I was unable to play percussion for more than a week.  This put a damper on our project.  At the same time of me recovering with my wrists I became very ill.  I didn't leave my bed for 4 days.  These two issues definitely show in the project.  Some other issues we had were with recording and posting technology.  When we each individually recorded our tracks they ended up not lining up with each other.  This makes the project hard to listen to and enjoy.   If we could redo this project I would've had us record together at the same time and hopefully without wrist braces on haha.  I would've also tried to schedule meeting times in advance so we would've had the project done at an earlier time so we could have more time for the editing process.  This project helped me learn as an educator how technology can be helpful or harmful.  In this case since we had too many technical issues it was more frustrating than helpful.  I've also grown and believe others would grow from this experience simply because of the opportunity to work with other musicians.  I thoroughly enjoyed this experience and I hope I get the chance to do this again.   

As a college level musician I feel very independent and eager to learn from other musicians.  Collaboration is a huge part of my daily routine as a musician.  Playing in small ensembles, duets, and large ensembles shape me in my connections with other people.  When I play in smaller ensembles, I continue to learn how to work with people.  I have also learned different skills of teaching and practicing while playing and rehearsing in these groups.  As a musician I am a director.  This past summer I put together a benefit concert and raised over $5,700 for the Herndon United Methodist Church's Capital Campaign.  Through this experience, I worked with over 60 musicians, and learned that it's not always about how in tune and lining up exactly.  The more important thing in my opinion is making music with others and conveying emotion and connection.  Here are two videos of my ensembles I've conducted over the summer.