Back from Dallas...renewed sense of assurance.

Came back from Dallas last night after a very difficult drive home that was tiring and boring as all hell. Despite hacing such a struggling trip back home, the overall week I spent in Dallas was wonderful to say the very least.

I originally planned this trip to Dallas to attend a throws training camp at SMU but it turned out to be a beautiful combination of musical and athletic endeavours.

I first arrived and attended camp. It was a three day event that required much energy and mental stamina. The camp went great and it was a pleasure to work with Dave Wollman, head coach of the track team (only a women's track team there after the men were cut in 2004) at SMU. For the past four years, the NCAA champion in the men's discus have been from SMU or people who transferred from SMU after their cut of the men's team...he is a good coach. Well, actually, a GREAT coach. He gave me a lot of encouragement and said I have the potential to be a national champion in the discus...this means a lot...coming from someone who has worked with so many world-class throwers. In the 2004 olympics, he had 8 athletes that have worked with him extensively in the throwing events. 3 of them were top 8 in the discus placing 1st, 2nd, and 8th. He has alot of confidence in me and I am happy to be able to work with him now and in the future...now it's just amtter of utilizing this potential. The camp only had 5 participants so it was great to be in such a focused atmosphere. Being there made me miss SMU a lot and I wish they still had a men's track program...It still doesnt make sense how they (SMU athletics dept) would cut a nationally known track program.

In the afternoon of the first day I went to take alesson with a professor from the University of North Texas who is an expert on the neurlogical funstion of brass playing. She helped me TREMENDOUSLY and I am already hearing and feeling the benefits in my playing. The day after the camp was over I also attended a recital and masterclass of New York Philharmonic principal trumpeter Phil Smith. This man is nothing short of amazing. His playing was truely inspirational and perfectly tasteful. At the same time, he was an extremely humble person who truely loved the fact that he was there and proved so as he offered advice. Truely one of the greatest people in the circle of brass playing.

So the trip overall was great in variosu aspects. It wa svery well worht the money I put forth for the camp and lessons and GAS...truely a trip to Dallas seperate from others. I come back to Houston with a renewed sense of assurance that I can be world-class in both music and athletics and that my best is capable of being THE BEST. I haven tbeen feeling down or infereior...only feelignt hat I have a long ways to go and I cant wait to embark on the journey to becoming the best I can be. it's just one of those things you know is right.

I will be heading back to Dallas July 14th or so to dogsit for a friend. Why would I go back to Dallas to housesit dogs? Well A) I like being in Dallas and B) itll give me quiet time and a place to have focused practice in a house by myself and at a nearby high school for discus.

Later
JL

Summerland II

Well I'm off to Dallas for a few days to attend a training camp at SMU. It should be a fun trip that is filled with hours of training and hours of practicing. While I am up at Dallas I will stop in for a trombone lesson with Jan Kagarice at the University of North Texas. She is supposedly good with the certain issues I am facing in my playing. Throwing wise and trombone wise, I am excited about this trip. I am especially excited to be training under Coach Wollman who is the track coach at SMU. He is probably one of the highest regarded throws coaches in the nation with a well-known international reputation. If SMU had a men's track team, there is no question that I would have never left. But hey, UH is treatin me good...I just earned a full scholarship...and by EARNED i mean...EARNED. I came in as a no one (kinda still am a non one) and was offered nothing more than a spot on the team (rightfully so, no ones ever seen me throw). With my training and compeititon results, I was rewarded a full
scholarship...really feels liek i earned it...and liek it wasnt jsut handed to me. I got many offers out of highschool to places liek texas, texas a&m, and SFA but ellected SMU because I had a scholarship for music and coudl walk ont he track team...well,t hey cu tthe program...and here I am now...the unknown thrower climbing my way to bit by bit back into the sport...I feel like this scholarship is a very good step. This whole year I really had no intetnion of getting a scholarship..I was jsut happy they let me walk on...and I knew I could eventuially score money from the Music school...but my coach just said "hey, I got you on a scholarship" and it just capped everything off...it makes me feel good to have busted my ass with only the goal of wanting to throw far on my mind and then being rewarded for my passion with money! Wow, i am thankful. Now I just need to make sure I remain healthy...knock on wood.

Im kind of lining up my preparations for the music ensembles auditions in August. It is my total intent to blow the panel away with my best playing-which I know is potentially spectacular...i just know it. I'll have to whip my chops back into shape and shed down the music hardcore. My only intention is to play in orchestra as my schedule only will allow me into one ensemble...and I dont want to do band. I know my potential best will knock the panel dead...just a question if i can bring it to the audition! We will see. i am also anticipating the opening of some mid0major orcehstra positions and am likely to audition for these even if I do not intend to take the job. I feel mentally and in terms of maturity I am capable of preparing well for an audition ...and witht he combination of that and my talent...i feel that confident that I can be competitive...but again, its a matter of whther I will put the time in properly or not...that is yet to be seen! i do inmtend fully to finish out at UH with track and music but if somehow I win ajob withint he next two years that pays over 35 grand a yr or so...i may have ahard time deciding.

Anywho, I am off to Dallas. Until next time,
JL

Summerland

hello all

I am writing on a nice summer night in June...I liek these nights...so relxing, aint got shit to do.

I've began my regular summer training after a sort of "lay -lowZ" period. So far it has been sprint drills, sprinting, throwing, cardio via basketball, and lifting. My lifting this whole summer will be ased on high repetitions as I am trying to add a different dimension fo strength. As I am writing right no wmy body is ACHING from the expectionally hard day I put in today. Im just afew hours I will be doing alegs workout and will be destroyed even more. I will be heading out the 21st to SMU for a 3 day training camp.

Tbone has been sucking ass. Mainly becuase Im a total headcase. I know for an absolute FACT my potential is world-class. No doubt...I know it, my teachers know it, my colleagues know it, professional players Ive played for know this...im jsut holding my self back mentally...I have called ateacher in north texas who is good with discussing these things so I will go up there during my SMU training camp to see her and see whats going on. I know for a fasct I have what it takes...i just need to break abrrier mentally...im workin on it. As of now, it is directl affecting the physical aspects of my playign such as embouchere. It's like what one of my teachers told me..."if you told Michael Jordan of every complexity that happens when he dunks a ball, then he would have never dunked the ball again"...thats kind of what im going through. A teacher fromt he past exposed me to all the complexities of playing abrass instrument and broke my playign down physically and my analytical nature took it for the worse...im too analytical of everything...it freezes the nature of playing an instrument. I have to overcome myself. Meanwhile, my enjoyment of music still persists. I am looking forward to the free cocnerts the Houston Symphony offers every year. I have been goign to these evry summer and its kind of become atradtition for me...none of my freidns truly enjoy classical cocnerts so I go by myself...its ok...

Time to sleep, wake-up, and bust my ass tomorrow training wise and bonin wise.

Until next time

JL

Art...what exactly are we doing with it?

I consider art to be any medium in which the human uses to portray an idea, emotion, ...etc. These mediums are typically music, visual art, dance, theater, film, writing...and whatever else you can think of. But the intenion is so...to portray the essence of what is within. Any techniques or ideas to aid that can be beneficial but often it is taken out of functionality and abused without much regard to the core of what IS art.

I'm no expert on termonilogy to any extent but I don't feel that I have to be...afterall, this is art... a native charactertistic of humans that understands of what I feel to be a truely divine communication. I feel my natural ability can make such statement. Too many artists lose control of what is important. Instead of focusing on what the work ULTIMATELY entails from workiing from the inside-out....artists sometimes work from the outside-in. Inside meaning the ultiamte message at hand, and outside meanign what you do to enhance this message. I do believe in the use of affects, lighting, dynamics, emotion, and any other artistic embelshment but when all efforts are focused on technique the grasp onto the PURPOSE is lost...technquie, effects, and the other stuff must naturally eveolve out of a genuine pursuit to portray what is intended. I think an effort to be "dfferent" has taken on an utterly wrong perspective. When you have a work that only your professors and colleague can understand then the purpose of art has been disregarded entirely. It doesnt speak, it doesnt resonate...it only makes you an A in your compositon or film or choreography or art class...

True, not everyone is capable of understanding various art as many levels of depth are present but the effort to expand this circel of udnerstanding MUST be present...or the beauty of art itself begins to diminish.

I blame academia. I blame the school. I blame the professors that are growing in number that promote a false sense of innovation that is mistaken for an arttistic pursuit. Yes, art must progress but not at a rate that is faster than understanding. Things must progress from the inside-out. From love that yields new thought and idea...not the other way around.

I got the idea of this blog after seeing great example of both art that fulfills its purpose and art that fulfills nothing more than to raise eyebrows of maybe a film professor. You can tell...both examples had new features, had new ideas...but one more so than the others actually used them to feed the ultimate message, idea, emotion...and the ones that failed miserably were jsut scattered pieces of idea.

I welcome progression in art, but not when the idea of progression is the sole goal...art is in its truest form when it's innovations are yielded by a genuine purpose.