Dear Friends and Family,
This post I would like to share with all of you the wonderful experience I had last week. My mother and I took a plane to Texas so I could audition at the University of North Texas in Denton. Now, before you get too excited, I have no idea if I have been accepted yet. I should find out in the next 2 weeks. Until then I'm busy praying about it over and over (and God's probably telling me "I heard you Liz! Just wait" ). However, instead of obsessing over whether I got in or not, I wanted to share a really neat story with you. (Warning, this is a long post, even for me!)
About 2 weeks ago (or 3) I received a rejection letter from Cincinnati Conservatory. As many of you know, I had high hopes of getting in at CCM. However, God's plans were different than mine. I knew from the audition that my chances were slim. Things just didn't go the way they should have that morning. So, shortly after receiving the CCM letter, I started really second guessing whether I should go to Texas at all. I wasn't that excited about it anymore, and didn't really want to get rejected again, and thought it would be easier to just accept my fate and stay at WVU next year.
Have you ever had a situation when God sent you a series of "Blessings in disguise" to keep encouraging you to follow-through with something? Well, here is my story of such a situation.
#1. I was feeling sorry for myself the day after I got my CCM letter. I stopped practicing and was calling random friends to talk and share my frustrations with. Before any of my friends answered their phones, I got a call from a piano friend from WVU. She listened to me, encouraged me that I needed to audition and not give up, and helped me let out all my feelings of frustration so I could get back to practicing and trying again. Without this person, I probably would have avoided my instrument even longer.
#2. I was praying one morning about whether God really wanted me to go or not. After finishing my devotions and prayer I checked my e-mail and had received a very encouraging reply from the piano chairman at UNT. He informed me that the school had A LOT of money to give out to incoming DMA students. Since money is a big issue for me, I was very relieved by this news. In addition, I had just begun to rework a Bach piece from 3 years ago and was concerned that it would not be ready in time. The piano chair said I didn't need the piece, and to simply play what I already had prepared. WHEW!
#3. (This is where it gets cool :)). The morning of my audition (Saturday) I walked outside the practice building to go sign-in for my audition that day. On my way over I ran into a Korean pianist who looked very familiar. Long story short, there is a girl named "Esther Park" that I saw play in Aspen, CO 3 years ago. The girl has won international piano competitions and is becoming quite well known. Last Thursday I saw an "Esther Park" play in one of UNT's piano recitals, and thought, "Oh, I know her!" When I saw this girl the morning of my audition I stopped her and said, "Excuse me, are you Esther Park" She looked at me quite confused and said, "Yes, but how do you know me?" I proceeded to expalin the Aspen and then UNT recitals. She laughed and said, "Oh, yes! I AM Esther Park but you see there are 2 Esther Parks and we both play piano and we both go to school here! But the Esther you are talking about is much better than me!" We laughed at this extremely rare coincidence.
Then something surprising happened. This complete stranger, at a school which I have been told is filled with "self-centered" musicians, became overjoyed at meeting me! I'm not sure how but within about 30 seconds we realized that we were both Christians and she started hugging me and saying "Oh, I will pray for you, I will pray for you! God Bless you! Just pray to God and you will do well!" It was the coolest thing ever! Then she introduced me to her piano teacher, and told me the teacher I had a lesson with (and a bad experience with) had given many students problems and that it wasn't just me. We exchanged contact info. and I went on practicing, feeling much more confident knowing that someone was praying for me to do well and be calm :)
#4. My audition! I was not nervous until about 10 minutes prior to the audition. Probably because I had a heat pad on my shoulders due to waking up with a big pulled muscle, and I think the heat pad and practicing non-stop helped calm me down before the audition. But when I walked into the audition, I felt relatively confident and when I started playing, everything came together! It was very cool. Yes, there were slips and things that I wished hadn't happened. But overall, so much of it was great playing! It really helped me to feel good about the performance and to know that regradless of the outcome, I was in good hands and could feel good about the whole experience.
#5. I got back from Texas, and was not sure whether to e-mail Mr. Banowetz to let him know I would like to study with him if accepted. I e-mailed Esther for advice. She responded "I do not know what to tell you but I think you should not say anything and just pray about it. " She also told me that she would pray that I would be on the piano faculty's minds when considering all the applicants.
That's my story! Sorry so long. But I was excited to share it with you. Now, the question is, if I don't get in, will I feel like a goof for sharing all this with you? I don't think so! I am finally starting to get that God knows what He is doing, and regardless of the outcome, it's what He wants me to learn from my experiences that really counts. And these past 2 weeks I have learned that God is very VERY faithful :)
Thank you so much for everyone who has been praying for me through my schooling, recitals, competitions, and auditions. It's all finally over and it's time to start something new. But I know I could not have gotten through all of that without the support and prayers of my friends and family. God Bless!!
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