money for nothing (and the chicks for free)

The workload of a musician always ebbs and flows. Whether it's a recital, a particularly busy concert season, or guiding (dragging) my students through their performances, every event is preceded by a steadily increasing number of time commitments: extra practicing and rehearsals, plus meetings with building administrators and publicity people, if it's a concert of mine; extra lessons, schedule juggling to accommodate accompanists, and supervision of rehearsals and performances if it's a student event. The event is generally succeeded by a brief period of relative calm, when the holes in my schedule from things I don't need to do anymore haven't yet been filled with preparations for the next thing. It's during these times that I try to excavate the dunes of paper that accumulate in my office when I don't have time to think about being organized.

Last night was The Recital. It was a given that today would be a fairly easy workday for me--I practiced only a little, I had no rehearsals to attend, and not a lot of lessons to teach (it's only Tuesday--my students seem to think that the later in the week they can have their lessons, the better. Somehow it's escaped them that there are just as many practice days between Mondays as there are between Fridays). But the actual experience of this day has made me wonder what, exactly, they're paying me for. I've never had a workday quite like it.

Recently I posted a day in the life of maikaojai; this is a little different.

8:30-11:00 DIDN'T practice

11:00-12:00 practiced

12:00-1:00 DIDN'T coach the student quintet I normally have at this time

1:00-2:00 DIDN'T teach the lesson I normally have at this time

2:00-3:00 DIDN'T teach the lesson I normally have at this time

3:00-3:30 DIDN'T go to the administrative office to straighten out recital details

3:30-4:30 DIDN'T coach the student quartet I normally have at this time

4:30-6:00 DIDN'T practice

6:00-7:00 supper with Husband

7:00-8:30 attend a student concert that I had absolutely no part in organizing (YES!)

I'm no stranger to student cancellations, but this is the first time that EVERY SINGLE STUDENT has cancelled lessons on the same day. Too bad they didn't give me any advance notice; I could have been writing this in my pajamas.

What have I been doing all day? Well, I've been shoveling paper off my desk; working on the draft of a book segment (it's not really a chapter; more of an appendix) I've been asked to write; trying to figure out how I'm going to herd everyone into their appointed jury preview time slots at the end of the semester (already the tide has turned; I'll be at high water again soon enough); catching up on some correspondence; and harassing Husband.