The Stovers Christmas Letter

In the tradition of our writing a letter each December, we will be posting a blog post instead.  It is simply too expensive to send everyone a letter this time of year from 4,000 miles away.

As many of you know 2013 has brought many changes to the Stover Jr. household.  We say "Stover Jr." because Jean and Jeff Stover (Brandon's Parents) already sent out their letter claiming the Stover household name.

Here's a 2013 list of firsts:

1. This year was the first time we will have seen Emily's parents 4 times in one year.  That sets a new record since we have been a couple. We saw them in May after the death of Emily's grandmother, We saw them in July when we visited north Georgia, we saw them in September when we went to Michigan again to visit Emily's extended family one last time, and they just got to London to come and see us.

2. This year was the first time we have both been to London (an obvious big change in our household, but still a first).  The first time we had ever stepped foot on the island was after we had paid lots of money to travel here and go to school.  It was a big leap of faith not knowing what to expect.  We only had accommodations lined up for 9 days after arrival.
 
3. This year was the first time Brandon won Best in Show at the Bureau County Fair for a photograph he entered.  It was a lovely picture of a frog asleep on a metal pole.

4. This year was the first time we hosted two boys at our house during the summer for the Festival 56 summer season.  They were nice guys and it was great to get to know them.  Emily gave up her room to house the second guy and Brandon put up with all her make up and clothes in the bedroom.

5. This year was the first time Brandon has officially auditioned and sung in a choir.  Despite having been trained in music education and teaching choir for two years, Brandon was never in an official choir.  This year he sang an entire concert in Russian with the Goldsmiths Concert Choir.

6.  This year was the first time we took an overnight trip with school children.  We went to Branson, MO in the spring and performed.  It was a scary endeavor but it sounds like the kids had lots of fun.
 
7. This year was the first time Emily was on Group Workcamps Redshirt Staff.  (Brandon has been on staff at 12 camps and attended 20.) She was the worship leader and lead the camp each morning and evening in song.

8.  This year was the first time we washed our clothes without a dryer.  You learn to make a lot of changes when you live in a small studio flat.  Everything is small and we have to do without a lot of conveniences we got used to in the US.

9. This year was the first time we 'freecycled'.  It's a website where people give away their stuff, for free!  We got a mirror, a cheese grater and a hair straightener.

10. This year was the first time we watched fireworks in November.  Everything seems so strange here... they have fireworks in November and a fair (like a county fair) in December. 

Have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year
Brandon & Emily

Orchestral Notes

Royal Festival Hall decorated for Christmas with the Eye in the background

The past few weeks for Brandon and I have been filled with lovely sounds of orchestral music!  I have really missed orchestra music in the past few years, being surrounded by band music in Princeton.  There is just something so much more expressive and intimate with orchestra music, that a wind ensemble just cannot replicate.  Don't get me wrong, I really enjoy band music too, directing the 5th grade band in Princeton is still one of my most precious memories!  But nothing compares to a beautiful symphony orchestra!

Last week we went to the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment (OAE for short...).  They are not your typical orchestra.  They perform on period instruments (so trumpets and horns without valves...wooden flutes...baroque oboes, etc.) and they offer performances in many different settings.  We went to one of their "The Night Shift" concerts.  It is aimed for students and young professionals, and those who don't enjoy the 'stuffiness' often associated with orchestral music....

The Night Shift logo on the wall, with Val's hand shadow

Our group at The Night Shift concert, Val, Brandon, Sarah, Manuela and me

The concert began at 9:00 in the bar area of the performance hall with an acoustic set.  He performed some singer-songwriter type stuff for a hour while everyone chilled and enjoyed some drinks.  We then moved into the auditorium to see the orchestra at 10:00.  The orchestra was already on stage, they were chatting with each other and warming-up.  We were greeted by the 'announcer' who introduced the orchestra and the first piece.  It was a Mendelssohn Concerto for 2 Piano-fortes, played on actual piano-fortes rather than the usual grand piano.  They then played Beethoven's 8th Symphony (one of his lesser known symphonies).  The entire time they performed without a traditional conductor.  In between each movement (which is usually a time of uncomfortable silence...) they allowed the audience to clap, and they had different members of the orchestra discuss what we were about to hear from the next movement.  While that can sometimes be patronizing (i.e. for little kids..."This is what the clarinet sounds like...") it was informative and interesting.  Following the performance, a DJ was set up to play in the bar area for another hour or so.  However by this point Brandon and I were ready to go home, as it was already 11:00 and on a "school night."  But overall, it was such a cool experience to see an orchestra in a new performance setting.  I love what the OAE was trying to accomplish with this performance and I hope to attend many more of their performances in the future.

The OAE with the piano-fortes in the front

Bus ride home after a great concert

Last night, I got to perform in the Goldsmiths Sinfonia Orchestra.  For the first time in four years I played principal oboe in one of the pieces!  It was Prokofiev's Romeo and Juliette Suite.  It's such an amazing feeling to perform again with an orchestra.  Thankfully, I have another chance to perform on Tuesday with the Goldsmiths Chamber Orchestra.  I will try and get a picture of that one, since we forgot to bring the camera to last night's performance.

And tonight, we will be seeing the London Philharmonic Orchestra performing some more contemporary pieces.  Their feature soloist tonight is Evelynn Glennie, who is a deaf percussionist.  I am super excited to see her perform, as she has incredible talent, despite the fact she cannot even hear what she is playing.  She uses the vibrations of the instruments to hear in her own way.  So cool!

I am very blessed to have all these orchestral sounds around me.  Stay tuned for our next blog post where Brandon will tell you all about his adventures with the shakuhachi flute!

Em

First Thanksgiving not in the US

So, Brandon and I spent Thanksgiving day working and going to class.  I even had a job interview on Thanksgiving morning!  I applied for a job as a student blogger at Goldsmiths working on a brand new project they are starting called "Inside Goldsmiths."  I am supposed to hear back from them next week if I got a spot on the team.  It sounds like a cool job, I would get to attend events at Goldsmiths and around London (which I'm pretty much doing already...) and then blog about them!  On top of that they mentioned they would train the students in photography, video editing and creative writing.  Sounds like an amazing job, but I'll have to wait and hear the results from them later this week.

Anyway, after attending Ethnomusicology class, we worked as Student Ambassadors for a post-graduate open house.  This was for prospective post-graduate students to learn more about Goldsmiths.  I had the best job of the night - stand by the free chocolate/coffee/tea table and give people goodies and talk to them about life at Goldsmiths.  It was great to meet new people and tell them about studying here as a post-graduate student.

Even though Thanksgiving day was kind-of a bust, we did manage to have two wonderful Thanksgiving meals with people we have met.  The first was on Wednesday, with another American girl we met in the first week on campus named Bri.  She invited us to her dorm kitchen where we ate a festive meal with other post-grads.

Thanksgiving number one

 On Friday we had an amazing 'around the world' meal with the fellow Ethnomusicologists!  (It was also to celebrate a birthday of one of them).  We had dishes from the UK, Portugal, Colombia, Italy, Belgium and Finland (along with the "famous" Sundin family corn casserole!!). The meal was then followed by hours of music jam sessions and sharing our favorite songs with each other.  It was such a great end to the week!

A dinner from around the world!

I wish I had a picture of our whole group, but I am waiting for my friend to send them to me (I did not take any...oops!)

We are so blessed to have gotten to know all these brilliant people.  I am so thankful to have this opportunity to study in London and be surrounded by so much culture!  I was also glad to share the tradition of Thanksgiving with people who have never celebrated before! I hope everyone in the States had a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Stay tuned for the next blog post, where we will share our recent experience at the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment concert....let's just say I've never been to an orchestra concert quite like this one, and Brandon's venture into playing Shakuhachi.

Emily (ed. Brandon)

Academics

So, Barb Miller (the secretary at St. Matthews...) mentioned recently on facebook: "Are you sure you are studying enough? You look like you are having way too much fun!!"  So to answer Barb's question, I thought I'd write a post about the classes we are taking and let her know that, "yes, we are studying enough!"  :)

So here is my weekly class schedule -

Monday: Cultural Policy and Practice, lunch break, Intro to Arts Marketing
Tuesday: Guest lectures (from arts adminstrators in and around London), lunch break, Intro to Fundraising, Chamber Orchestra
Wednesday: More guest lectures, lunch break, Goldsmiths Sinfonia orchestra
Thursday: Contemporary Ethnomusicology
Friday:  No Class!

My classes are currently focusing on UK and European cultural policy (how the government influences and funds arts organizations), how to build and market to an audience within the cultural sector and how to fund-raise for arts organizations.  I have heard lectures from arts administrators who work in dance venues, performing arts venues, visual arts galleries, outreach and education programs focused on arts, etc.  I have also visited several arts organizations in London to see how they are run.  The music course that I chose for this term is 'contemporary ethnomuisology' where we look at current issues regarding the field, such as globalization, gender, race, identity, etc.  We compare how these issues affect musical consumption and participation (are you bored yet...???).

I have also started working on my end of term papers for my current class load.  I have two 5,000 word essays due mid-January, but they are both on interesting topics (at least I think so!).

For my cultural policy classes I am writing a paper about the public value of the arts and how that relates to the accessibility of different art forms.  For ethnomusicology, I am writing about how music is used to manipulate consumers while shopping in public areas.  So here is a stack of books that I will be diving into the next two months in order to complete these essays....

Arts accessibility books on the bottom, with music & manipulation books on the top

Brandon's class schedule is a bit lighter...
Monday: No Class
Tuesday: Ethnographic Film & Music Research, lunch break, Sound Agendas
Wednesday: Goldsmiths Chamber Choir
Thursday: Contemporary Ethnomusicology (yes we are taking that class together!)
Friday: Goldsmiths Big Band (but they seem to cancel rehearsal alot...)

He is studying about various types of music and cultures.  In his film class he is learning how to make an ethnographic film, basically a documentary on a musical subject.  In sound agendas he is looking at different aspects of sound and how it affects people psychologically.  And I mentioned a bit about ethnomusicology already...

He also has two papers due in January, one on the cognitive neuroscience of music and audio illusions and the other on how western music uses and adapts the music of the "Other".  He has also started researching for his final thesis paper due in August, and he will be studying Japanese immigrant music in the UK.  Here is his massive stack of books...at one point he actually hit the limit of the amount of books you are allowed to take out of the library (15 at one time), so he better get to reading!

Music and the mind, lots of ethno books, etc.

So hopefully I have enlightened you about our studies here in London.  No, it is not all fun and games, we are getting a master's degree.  But between the lectures and papers we are enjoying all the fine things London has to offer and making the most of our time here.  (I can't believe we are almost 1/3 of the way done already!)

Well, better get back to studying!  (or napping)
Emily (& Brandon :))

St. Catherine's Church

Many of you know that Brandon and I are proclaimed Christians.  We love Jesus and we try to live our life in a way that reflects Him.  So, it is important to us to find a church home while we are in London.  Not only does a weekly worship service help you feel closer to Christ, but it is a way of connecting with the community of Christians and gives us a support system to rely on when things get difficult.  We have joined the Christian Union on campus and attend their events when we can.  We have also befriended the campus vicar (clergy).  Both have offered several church suggestions for us to try, so we spent our first month visiting several area churches to get a taste of what is available and find a church home while living in London.

So the church we landed on is St. Catherine's!! This is a Church of England (Anglican) based church and it is located on the top of big hill, with wonderful views of the city.  The building itself is made up of Gothic architecture and is a wonderful atmosphere to worship inside.  The vicar of the church is a woman, who is interested in developing the music programs at the church and reaching out into the community of New Cross.  The service itself was much like St. Matthew's, with a very liturgical based worship and even included some familiar phrases ("The Lord be with you....and also with you!")  Everyone is very nice and we have already met many of the church members.  Downsides of this church - not very many other students (25-35 age range) attend, the congregation is made up of mostly young families and older adults.  But overall, it feels a lot like St. Matthew's and I love the fact that we can offer our musical gifts to help the vicar in her vision.

Here are some pictures of our new church home!

The sanctuary and alter

Stained Glass windows above the alter

Gothic arches

Outside sign

The front of the church

Happy Sunday everyone!!

The End of Reading Week, No Books Read.

This past week has been Reading Week.  Reading week is a week off from school lectures and most activities to allow students the chance to read course materials, catch up or begin assignments, and to meet with tutors about final projects. 

We did work some on our projects, with mixed results.  In our tiny flat it is tough to get work done without a desk and table, or any type of chair.  Your seat options are the love seat, the bed, or the floor. 

Before getting any work done, however, we decided we needed a break.  Friday evening began with salsa dancing at the salsa society. 

Brandon dancing in blue, Emily taking the photos.

Saturday we felt we needed to get some work done, so we spent a couple of hours working and soon we decided we needed a break.  Work was too tough and it was a week to have fun.  We went to the bonfire night fireworks (see previous post).

 

Sunday we went to church in the morning and Salsa club met one more time.  

 

Monday involved picking up a free mirror, taking it on the bus, and a very 'reflective' walk from the bus stop to our flat.  Brandon played games with the gaming society before we were off to eat sushi and go to a pub of a Finnish classmate.  On our way home from the pub we went to the £1 store and stocked up on cheap stuff.  We also stopped off at a library and got Emily signed up for a library card.  All and all, a busy day.

Tuesday was spent meeting with tutors and group members for future projects, playing board games and going to an Okinawan traditional music performance for the Vice-Governor of Okinawa.  We are getting good at navigating places without a smart phone.  Fast fact: The US still has quite a few military bases on Okinawa.

Wednesday Emily went to see the Book of Morman for £20 (front row tickets) while Brandon was stuck at home reading and going to choir to sing Russian sacred choral music.  We were invited by a local pastor to his house for dinner that evening and got to meet his lovely family.  

Thursday nothing special took place, some shopping, some group meetings, and some studying.

Friday we gathered some friends together to make use of a groupon at a burrito place downtown.  After living in a small town for 5 years, you forget that groupons are available and can be a good deal.  When we finished eating, we wondered the streets in search of a game store on our way to our final destination.  The guys we were with were all from the board game society so we needed to kill some time.  Having the guys from the game society came in handy at our final destination, a museum treasure hunt.  We split up into teams (Emily and Brandon were on different teams) and made our way through 5 small museums to uncover clues.  Once at the final destination we had to unscramble the clues and Brandon's team was the first to do so, thus earning a prize of a £10 gift card to a book store in town.

 The Treasure hunt ended in the Museum of Zoology, hence all the dead things around us!

 The winning team and their prizes.

And the not so winning team

Saturday we spent cooped up in job training all day.  The good news is that we can now work for the university and get paid £10.57 an hour.  That equates to $16.91.

We are now 1/6th of the way finished with grad school, time to get to work.

Guy Fawkes/Bonfire Night

Remember, remember the fifth of November
Gunpowder, treason and plot.
I see no reason, why gunpowder treason
Should ever be forgot.

Guy Fawkes, guy, t'was his intent
To blow up king and parliament.
Three score barrels were laid below
To prove old England's overthrow.

By God's mercy he was catch'd
With a darkened lantern and burning match.
So, holler boys, holler boys, Let the bells ring.
Holler boys, holler boys, God save the king.

And what shall we do with him?
Burn him!

I'm sure many of you have seen the movie V for Vendetta. [WARNING: Spoiler alert if you have not seen the movie] In that movie the main character, "V," wears a Guy Fawkes mask and blows up the UK Parliament building. Natalie Portman also shaves her head...but I digress.  This movie is based on the true story of Guy Fawkes and the Gunpowder Plot.  Basically it was an assassination attempt on King James I in 1605, in which a group of persecuted Catholics organized a plot to blow up the House of Lords, while in session, on the 5th of November.  Due to an anonymous tip off, Guy Fawkes was found on the night of November 4th guarding 36 barrels of explosives that was to be used the following day.  He was then arrested, tried and later killed, along with his co-conspirators.

In the UK there is a celebration this time every year to remember the failed assassination attempt, called Guy Fawkes Night or Bonfire Night.  They celebrate similar to the way we celebrate the 4th of July in the US, with fairs and fireworks!  We have also noticed several people in our neighborhood shooting off fireworks.  It really feels like the 4th of July, only in the beginning of November.

Most of the London Boroughs have organized their own fireworks displays within the next few days.  Our borough of Lewisham, had fireworks and a fun fair last night.  After bundling up with hats and gloves we set out to see the fireworks and enjoy the fair with a few new friends. 

Rides at the Carnival

Blackheath fireworks celebrating Guy Fawkes day

It is interesting to learn how new countries and cultures celebrate holidays.  We went to the fireworks with a new friend of ours from the Netherlands. She had never been to a firework display like this and really enjoyed it.  It was refreshing to see her reactions and joy while watching them.  It was a nice way to celebrate a new holiday!

So, Happy Guy Fawkes Day!!

Olympic Park and the Weather

This past weekend was another adventure in our new town.  We decided to go to see a movie (Ender's Game) so we traveled up north of where we live to the Stratford Picture House to see the movie.  If you have not seen it, it is a decent movie; the book is a very good read.  Next to the theater was not one, but two malls.  We went through one to buy some stamps to send letters back home. 

If you want a post card, e-mail us your address. 

The other mall was 3 floors of madness.  Lots of people and lots of shops.  We went into a cheap department store and Emily picked up some leggings because all the girls wear leggings (under skirts, under shorts, even just on their own!)

This large mall was built up because it was right next to the Olympic complex.  We walked down the road and saw some of the buildings where the 2012 Olympics took place.  See the pictures below.

 Olympic Stadium and the ArcelorMittal Orbit.  This part of the park is under construction until April/May 2014.

 The indoor cycling track.  They have a wall built because they only have about 10% of the park open to the public while the rest is converted to public space by next summer.

Another view of Olympic stadium. 

On Sunday we got to talk to the Stover family (Jean, Jeff, Amanda, Britt, and even Grandma Stover).  It was nice to catch up with the whole family. 

Sunday evening into Monday morning was the big storm.  Although it did not affect us very much, we still saw what it did.  Fences and trees got knocked down and the Tube (subway) and trains were virtually shut down.  Emily had one class canceled because the speaker could not get to London. 

Monday's weather was crazy.  It rained before we woke up (it was a loud wind and rain so it woke us up).  By the time our alarm went off and we got out of bed it was sunny.  At about Noon it rained.  Then at 3pm it was sunny.  Again around 6pm it rained, and by 7pm I could see stars and clear sky.  All in a day in the weather of London.

Cardiff

When Brandon approached me a few weeks ago and said, "Would you like to go to Cardiff for an ethnomusicology conference?"  I said, "Yes, as long as we can go to the Dr. Who Experience!" So we planned a trip to Cardiff, Wales.

But let me backtrack, last weekend Brandon asked me if we could go to a geocaching event, and the way he talked me into that one was by telling me that the Tardis was nearby.  So...I've been a total Dr. Who fangirl this week!

The Tardis in London

 Back to Cardiff...we took the train from London Paddington (which is just about the complete opposite side of London from us and was an hour bus ride just to get to the station).  Upon arriving in Cardiff we took a few minutes to find our bus to get to our Air B&B homestay (Air B&B is a website where people rent out their extra rooms and apartments).  Once on the bus we had no idea what stop to get off, since the buses there do not announce where they are...so we went one stop to far and had to backtrack.  We did find the place, thankfully, and dropped off our bags to head to the Cardiff Bay. A spin-off show of Dr. Who, called Torchwood, is filmed in Cardiff and according to the show, the Torchwood headquarters is located at the Bay. So we were pleasantly surprised to find a Ianto Shrine and Memorial at the fictional location of the Torchwood visitor entrance. (Ianto is a well-loved character of the show...)

Entrance to Torchwood, where there is a Ianto Shrine and Memorial

 

The Millennium Centre at Cardiff Bay, a giant performing arts theatre

Following a short walk through the bay area we found the Dr. Who Experience!  The first part of the exhibit is an interactive walk through "experience" including video filmed by Matt Smith (the current Doctor) in which we helped free the doctor from a slew of his enemies (weeping angels and Daleks included).  The second part is a display of authentic costumes and props used in the show.

Costumes of the ninth and tenth doctors

In the Tardis of the ninth and tenth doctors

Evolution of the Dalek

Jack and Rose (she is still my favorite companion!)

Amy and Rory

 Following our Experience, we went on a nice walking tour of the Bay Area, which was provided free of charge by the Ethno conference.  We learned a lot about the rich coal history that made Cardiff the town it is today as well as we got to see where the Welsh government happens.  Wales is a part of the UK, but is allowed to make their own laws and have a governing body just like states in the US.

Cardiff Bay

The conference was the next day at Cardiff University.  Once again we were confused by the bus system and got off at the wrong stop, but eventually made it just in time for a cup of tea before the first session.  We attended many interesting (some boring) paper presentations on "Music in the Atlantic Rim," and ended the day at a dynamic performance by an African ballet and drum ensemble called Ballet Nimba.

The final day of our trip included exploring the city centre and Cardiff Castle (a fort built about 1050AD on top of a roman fort from about 50AD... you could still see some of the old Roman wall).  At this point we gave up on the bus system and just walked the whole day!

The following are all pictures from Cardiff Castle.

At the top of the Castle Keep looking out over the city

Our trip home was also interesting, our train was delayed by 30 minutes due to lightning striking some track signals in our path causing a back of trains ahead of us.  Thankfully it was only 30 minutes, because they were originally predicting two hours!  Back at Paddington station we once again had to take the hour long bus journey home.  As we walked outside we could see out bus coming so we literally ran waving our arms to catch it at the stop before it took off, only to get stuck in some construction traffic one block later...oh London bus routes!  But we are now home and have some wonderful memories of our first visit to Wales!

Hwyl am nawr!  (Welsh for "Bye for now!")

Borough Market, Tate Modern and The Rose Theatre

Brandon and I with St. Paul's Cathedral (to the right of B's ear) and the Thames

My last post was about our recent pub adventures, but do not worry we have not spend all of our time at the pub.  We spent this past Saturday in Bankside checking out the Borough market, which is an open air market where people sell cheese, meat, sweets, fruits, veggies and all kinds of international food. It happens every Friday and Saturday near the London Bridge station and it was really fun.  I hope to go back sometime with some shopping bags to get some tasty food to prepare at home!

Borough Market (I cannot take credit for this pic, just got it online...)

We also ventured into the Tate Modern, and Brandon and I both decided that modern art is just not our thing.  One of the "artworks" on display was literally a mirror attached to a piece of canvas...um yeah, I have one of those in my bathroom, how is this considered "art?"

Close to the Tate Modern is the Globe Theatre.  We did not venture in, or see a show, but it is on my list of things to eventually do!

Replica of the Globe Theatre

But I think the coolest part of our day was stumbling upon The Rose Theatre, who was having a free open day.  It was the first theater built south of the Thames in 1587, and it was one of the theaters Shakespeare used, as it was built a few years before the more well known Globe Theatre.  Pieces of the original structure were found and excavated in 1989, but then the dig was stopped because the exposure to sunlight and air was causing the wood pieces to crack and decay.  So they artificially buried it and basically just left it.  Fast forward to 2012, a group of volunteers began trying to raise money to re-open the dig site, preserve the original structure, re-build a replica and eventually re-open it as a theatre.  You can check out more info on this website: http://www.rosetheatre.org.uk/ 
The history and story was really interesting and we hope to see their project succeed!

Also in this area is the Millennium Bridge - it's the one that gets destroyed by the Death Eaters in the Harry Potter movie...

St. Paul's and the Millennium Bridge

The New Cross House

We have been in London now for about three weeks and we are finding our way around quite well.  We have made several friends and classes are in full swing.

One recent phenomenon of our new life is how, at least three times a week, we end up going to the same pub...it's kinda like on How I Met Your Mother, or Friends when they are seen hanging out at the same bar/cafe every night and you wonder, "Who actually does that??"  Well we have become those people...and the pub is New Cross House, which is situated on the same block as Goldsmith's campus.  They have a nice little garden area in the back which we have been taking advantage of while the weather is still pleasant.  It is also known on campus as the "pub that you bring your parents to," while the pub across the street (The New Cross Inn) is the "get crazy and party pub" (which we have not ventured into yet...).  But I think the most interesting thing about this phenomenon is that we are not always with the same group of people.  Our first night on campus we went out with some Goldsmiths staff (including the campus vicar and one of the music lecturers), on my birthday with a group of friends, a few times with the Christian Union (yes even the Christians meet at the pub!) and once following our first day of Ethnomusiology class with other classmates.  It is just kinda the place to hang out if you are a postgrad student.  The best part is that someone usually offers to buy the group a round of drinks, then you all sit and chat the evening away, knowing that eventually you will offer a round of drinks as well.  Hopefully we will continue to make memories at the New Cross House throughout the year.

The New Cross House, with a Goldsmiths building in the background

 

 

Check back soon to hear about our recent weekend exploration of Central London!