By Kody Myhra 11/18/2023 at 6:15pm
Hello everyone and welcome back to the blog! It has been such a long time since I last posted, so I figured that today we could do a little life update, and catch you up to speed on the events going on in my life, why I took such a long break, and some fun and exciting news!
Looking into the future, I am going to be making it a goal to keep up with this blog, but moreso on a monthly basis. I had this ambition in 2022 when I made this website that I was going to post at least once a week, and that DEFINITELY and QUICKLY became a very difficult task for me to keep up with finishing college and moving back home. In any case, we are BACK and I am very excited to bring you all some more free clarinet, music, and life content!😁
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Life Post-College: Who Am I and Why Am I So Tired?
I am going to be quite honest with you, after graduating college, I HATED music. I hated learning it, playing it, practicing it, writing it, EVERYTHING. Going through music school during a global pandemic was one of the most exhausting things I have ever done in my life.
I think it was like this for a lot of my friends, peers and educators as well. I felt like I was so unsure of myself, constantly found myself second-guessing my choices, and was overall tired of so much happening at once, but yet nothing happening at all. After graduating, I fell into the mindset that music didn't make me happy anymore and took a break.
Because of school and everything I encountered at that time, I developed the mentality that a break is necessary. I am an AVID advocate for taking breaks, and I myself still need reminders to take it slow once in a while, or that I am taking on too much work I cannot handle. The toxic part of the "breaks are okay" mentality came clear to me when that break lasted a little over a year. I have loved music and band/orchestra my whole life, but due to extreme exhaustion and burnout, I pushed myself into a music hibernation-mode. As of this past July, I finally got myself out of that mentality.
What Am I Doing? (exciting news portion🎶)
Near the end of my "musical hibernation", I discovered a local concert band on social media looking for musicians to join their group. Further looking into the group, I decided "Why don't I just attend a rehearsal and see how I like it?" I immediately messaged the director, gathered my musical necessities (instrument, stand, reeds, a pencil obviously😂) and headed to the two-hour rehearsal (mind you, I had also not played my instrument for a long time, so afterwards my chops were BEAT up). I had such a FUN time at this rehearsal! There was no pressure to be perfect, everyone plays at and has a different level of experience, and there was no sense of "competition" where everyone was trying to out-do each other. Just a community who wants to create music.
I have gone on to perform with them in this 2023-2024 season, but I've also taken on the roll of Assistant Conductor for the band! I have been having such a great time leading and teaching everyone in this group, and I have already conducted in two of the concerts we've
had this season! I was so nervous to take on this leadership role, I kept thinking "Why me? Would I be respected? Will I make myself look incompetent? Will people be upset with me leading them?" And it turns out all those negative thoughts turned into positive experiences and memories.
As a group, to end 2023, we have one concert left on December 14th at the Round Lake Civic and Cultural Center, where we will be performing an assortment of Christmas songs! I will include our beautifully made promotion poster below. I am so proud and happy to be included in such a great band, and I appreciate all my time with the friends and colleagues I've made along the way!
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Here is the poster for our upcoming holiday concert! If you live in the area, come and enjoy some FREE live music! If you cannot attend but would still like to watch the concert, contact me and I can send you a live stream link!⭐️
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More Opportunities On My (And YOUR) Plate!
Another opportunity I have coming to me is the opportunity to teach! I am looking to teach private lessons through Andre Alfonso Music Studio! I am able to teach woodwinds, beginner piano and composition/music theory lessons to any ages! If you or someone you know is looking for music lessons in the Lake and McHenry County areas (Illinois only, sorry!), go to https://www.andrealfonsomusic.com and contact Andre for any inquiries! This is an opportunity you won't want to miss!
If you're looking to book online/zoom lessons, I can also work one-on-one with you on how we can get you started! Shoot me an email at kody.myhra@gmail.com with any questions/inquiries!
I hope you enjoyed reading about my whereabouts over the past year, and I would love to hear what you are up to! Feel free to comment below what you have been working on recently! If there's one thing I want anyone to take away from this post, it is that you are doing your best. Give yourself time to rest, and when you're ready, KEEP GOING!
Have a great rest of your week and a Happy Thanksgiving to all celebrating!🦃🍂🍗
Here is a little slideshow of photos from May 2022 to present day:)
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