Its here!!!!

Here is the long awaited update!! At the beginning of this semester, we decided that we wanted to kick our quartet playing up into a higher gear. After consulting with our wonderful teachers, the Arriana String Quartet, we came up with a plan. We decided that for this semester, instead of working on a single quartet, we are going to work on three. Doesn't sound like much, but when each quartet is four movements long, then practice time really stacks up. Along with that, instead of having one quartet lesson a week, we are going to be having three/four a week. Because of the level of excellence our teachers require from us, we have our work cut out for us. "Why are we adding such a big workload right now?" you ask. Its because we've decided to enter into a couple of very prestegus quartet competition, and in order to compete with the rest of the groups, we need to kick it into high gear. So thats the plan right now. All of us are excited to see how well we can progress this semester. The three quartets the we'll be playing are 1. Debussy Quartet in G minor. 2. Mozart Quartet no 17 in B flat Major, k458, 3. "Night Fields" by Joan Tower. In later blogposts we'll explore each of these pieces and talk about what makes them interesting. So thats the plan!

Oh yes! Be on the lookout! We're working on getting a date for a concert at the end of the semester. We're hoping it will be sometime at the end of April/beginning of May. We will let you all know as soon as we get it finalized. Have a great weekend!

Brandon

New Beginnings...

Dear Friends and Family,

We wanted to let you know that we have some pretty exciting plans coming up for this next semester, and we will let you in on them in a very short amount of time. (Don't worry, it will be a very short amount of time) We haven't forgot about you all here, and we hope to be updating the blog on a regular basis. Thanks!

Brandon Dickson

Dead People

Hey All

I wondered the other day if anyone visits this blog anymore. I just have to say, that I miss you all o much. Life in MO is great but you all cannot be replaced. Where are you all with life? We should bring this blog back to life yall. Its an encouragement to me and keeps us all in touch.

2 Peter 3:1

Therefore, dear friends, since you are waiting for these things, strive to be found in peace, without spot or blemish, when you come into His presence.

The Dickson String Quartet Concert

We will be playing Quartet Op 13 in a minor and Quartet Op. 80 in f minor, both by Felix Mendelssohn. Hope to see you all there!

The Dickson String Quartet

Yo-Yo Ma

I had the amazing opportunity to hear this fantastic cellist when he was is St Louis. It is rather funny how I got to go. Read as I tell you my tale of fortune.

So, I have cello class on Fridays and this Friday our instructor said that whoever played their scales the best would get a prize. OK, I am thinking that the prize is going to be some chocolate so I am motivated because chocolate is amazing. So everyone plays their scales individually and Liz Oar, another fantastic cellist, and I were picked as the people who played them the best. So our instructor goes to his bag and pulls out a envelope and says to us, I have two tickets to Yo Yo Mas concert this weekend and you two get the tickets. As soon as he said that, I went crazy. Now, you have to understand, I looked at tickets in August and they were all sold out so I was really disappointed that i could not go. When I found out that I was going, and with another cellist, I was on cloud nine the rest of the day. So the rest of the day, Liz and I were planning on how we are going to tell everyone else. We finally decide to just go ahead and tell them straight on. Everyone was completely speechless. It was really funny. The look on everyone's faces was priceless. It was really funny because Benjamin thought that we were joking. He did not believe us until we showed him our tickets. What can one say though, he is a violist.
At the concert, their was not a empty seat in the house. There was this excitement in the air that was unbelievable. The conductor introduced Yo Yo Ma and the house went crazy. Everyone was clapping for a full 5 minuets, on their feet. After everyone sat down he played one of the most memorable concerts in the history of music. It was completely incredible! He does so many strange things with his posture and yet produces the most amazing sound one could every hear on a cello. Throughout the concert, Liz and I would glance at each other and notice that at times we would have our mouths open wide. It was really that kind of an experience. It was truly a once in a lifetime concert. What made it special for me though, was hearing it with another cellist. There is something about hearing a professional cellist and being able to share your thoughts with someone who plays the same instrument that makes everything seem better. Hearing Yo Yo Ma was a amazing thing, and hearing it with another cellist made the concert perfect.It was a night that I know I will never forget.

Together at Last!!

I can't begin to tell you how glad we are to have the family back together. After a separation of nearly 3 months, we are ecstatic to see each other again. We went out to dinner the first night they got here and we spent the whole time catching each other up on the latest developments.

Life here in Missouri has been pretty amazing so far. College has been going really well and we are really enjoying working with the Arriana String Quartet. Thank you all so much for your prayers. Please continue to pray for us as the semester goes by.

Blessings

Daniel

Sorry for the lack of posts! We've been super busy here at school. One of us will give you more of an update in the next week or so.

Until then!

Brandon