Michael Alexander: Proud

It is exciting to see students grow.  The last three days of rehearsals have made me even more excited (if that is possible) about the trip to China.  First, the musical growth of the orchestra is amazing.  The students continue to raise the bar and I am happy to keep setting it higher.  This trip will give us the rare chance to play amazing repertoire three times in quick succession.  They sound great now, I can't wait to hear the last concert in China!

I am also proud of the maturity and personal growth that the students have shown in this whole process.  They gave up part of their winter break, they all came prepared and clearly worked on their "vacations".  They are learning to be professionals in every sense of the word.

After spending three days with these students I am continually amazed at just how lucky I am to do what I get to do.  The fact that I get paid for it continues to boggle my mind.  It is a pure joy to work with people like I do.  How fortunate we are to have the support of a great administrative team, an incredible staff, colleagues with staggering talent and class, and students that are not only talented, but hard working and always seeking to improve. 

I travel today to China not nervous, but simply proud.  I am surrounded by great people and musicians doing what we love.  We will return having represented KSU well and will be changed forever by the experiences we have over the next week.