- Playing in some amazing ensembles - U of I has an historical band program (oldest in the world). I played in the Wind Orchestra (flute/piccolo), Harding and Hindsley bands (oboe, bassoon, clarinet and bass clarinet - not all at the same time, mind you!) and the University and Campus Bands (clarinet and bass clarinet). I also played in the U of I Philharmonia on oboe and cor anglais (English horn), which included the famous Respighi Pines of Rome cor anglais solo! Over the summer, I played in the Urbana Pops Orchestra on principal flute - great fun!
- Playing in musicals - I played in the pit for Lucky Stiff (flute/piccolo/oboe) and Drowsy Chaperone (piccolo, clarinet, tenor sax). I got the opportunity to work with some amazing actors and musicians, and they were all students - the talent out there is amazing!
- I taught woodwinds at the Champaign School of Music - I was so blessed to find this organisation when I was pining for my teaching career! I have such beautiful students here, and they are possibly the thing I am going to miss the most about leaving.
- And for something completely different, I became a performance librarian, in the largest band/performance library in the world, the Harding Band Library. Being a performance librarian is not something I had ever considered before I came here, and I may have just unleashed a new talent!
As we prepare to upheave (is that a word?) our lives for the second time in less than two years, I am reminiscing about all the awesome stuff I got to do as a part of that upheaval, as well as focus on the return to our new-old life in Perth. I am looking back and forward - and I am certainly looking forward to restarting my musical life back home!
