Hand Symphony!

Hand Symphony!

It's really exciting! you pick the different hands and they do different rhythms and you can make your own beat. Change up the hands for a latin or hip hop feel.
I thought it was fun and hope you do too!

I asked Brian about Pooh Phi

Hey Brian, what ever happened to Pooh Phi?

Pooh Phi? Ohhh POOH PHI oh man. I had one. He was a Winnie the Pooh with a Mu Phi Jersey. You guys don't have him?

Nope

(pensive look) I don't know what happened to him! Someone must have took him!

I am contributing to this blog. Look at my contribution.

Okay, so a couple weeks ago, I volunteered to help make contributions to the Mu Phi blog we've got going on here. I thought, this is great; I've got a venue through which I can add constructive posts to our group and help add to discourse or something. In any case, I was looking forward to helping out and stuff.

Then yesterday, it came to my attention that I hadn't actually done anything. Not a single post at all. So I decided that I needed to contribute something. So then in between trips to Storage Mart, I decided to actually put something into this blog, you know, to show my dedication to Mu Phi and all that.

So for the sake of giving this blog post a point, here's a little behind-the-scenes look at how one of the most important aspects of your weekly Mu Phi meeting note emails is made: the YouTube video. Oh man, we're all so excited now!

So as most of you are hopefully aware, just about every weekly email I've sent you all since August has had a link to a YouTube video. There is no real reason that I do this. I think I did it once early on, and decided to stick with it. And if you remember correctly, since you all follow my emails that closely, when the new pledge class started receiving emails, I gave a short explanation as to what kind of videos I choose. Basically, I tend to go with either an 80's music video or just something completely stupid. Now the stupid stuff (Gimme Pizza, Baby Monkey Riding on a Pig, I'm sure you remember all of these) I'll get to later. I like my thought-process with those 80's music videos a little better.

Now I don't go with just any 80's song though. Again, for no real reason, I've come up with a certain list of criteria that these videos must follow to make it into the notes. First off, the video must be a song or somewhat music related. Go ahead and look back at my emails. They're all songs! Boom! That's right! I was keeping it in da music with mah videos! Bet you didn't even think of that!

Anyway, as far as the music videos go, the second criteria is that the song must be good. If you look at all those music videos, you'll see that at least in my humble opinion, all of the actual songs are all good. You may disagree, but remember, you do not write Mu Phi notes, so your opinion means nothing.

Now you would think my next criteria would be that the song must be from the 80's. But that's not completely true. I've let The Ramones, The Proclaimers, Metallica, and so on slide, just because again, they fall under the whole good-song thing, plus, they were close enough to the 80's.

Also, though I don't always stick with this, I like to go with an actual music video rather than something like concert footage. The music videos, especially those made in the 80's with their weird visual effects and forced plot lines are just more fun to watch. This is why ZZ Top made it into the emails multiple times this year; because their music videos are the best and are what all other music videos should aspire to be.

But you know, there are plenty of songs that I've considered putting into the notes, but refrained, not because they slightly miss meeting all of these criteria, but because they see the rule I'm trying to enforce, and not just fail to meet it, they completely destroy it and then laugh in its face. Take Devo for example. When you think of cheesy 80's music videos, Devo normally comes up. So why after going on about how much I like 80's music videos, did I neglect to include a single Devo video this entire year? Well take a look at this right here and tell me that you'd honestly be okay with me sending this out to all of you late at night on a Monday night. You know, just before you go to sleep.

And you have now lost the will to live.

So yeah, I actually put a lot of thought into what video I include in the Mu Phi notes email. But when I don't I give you this.

I think I've written enough now. To those of you who read all of this, congratulations. You could have spent this time studying or packing or doing something more productive. Instead, you read about 80's music videos and how much Devo creeps out the world. Good work.

Recital Week!

We thought last week was a busy one!

Last Saturday was the composition recital. Mu Phi members (of past and present) performed numerous Trinity composers' work, including work by Maria O'Connor.

Wednesday at 7:30, Lauren Falconi rocked her sophomore violin recital

and Friday was a busy day:
at 12:30, the Chamber Singers performed at a lunch for some of the biggest Trinity donors
at 5:00 Jessica Mackey had her senior piano recital
and at 7:30 Katie Burchfield gave her senior organ recital.


Great job to everyone this week!

Good Luck on Finals too!

PC 08

If you all managed to catch a glimpse of the slideshow back by the food, I hope you got to see some of the gems I found. I'm not going to lie, I creeped on all the seniors since the beginning of time (their Mu Phi time, that is). Here are some of the milestones for this group. (Just know that I creeped out of love <3) Enjoy!

Rush PC '08

Initiation '08

At the Symphony

Mu Phi Campout

Murder Mystery Fall '09

Senior Night '09

Initiation '10

Initiation '11

Senior Night '11

Mu Phi Lovin Seniors! You are loved and will be missed!

Katie, Cristina, Jessica, Ashley, Brent, Rachel, & Will                                                                                                                 

Seniors :)

Literally just back from senior night and I'm already thinking about how much I'm going to miss all of you.

I remember when I came to Trinity, I was always worried about getting picked on as a freshman. I guess it's just the paranoia in me. But that never happened. And going into my sophomore year I was even more optimistic about how much better this year was going to be than my last.

Everyone seemed so welcoming no matter what. Whether it was a wave or a smile or a conversation in the music lounge, things just always seemed to be bright.

The seniors that I got to know better this year inspired me more than I could have ever thought. First of all, you all are so talented and inspire me to be a better performer. I've always had issues with feeling like I was any good at my instrument, but after watching you all perform and seeing how hard you all work...I've wanted to be so much better. Also, each of you has shown me (and many others no doubt) how caring and compassionate you can be. I would really like to say some personal things to the seniors that I got to know better this year. I would tell them in person, but I'm so awkward. Let's face it...it wouldn't come out right in the slightest.

Jess-The moment I heard you play, I've always looked up to the way you perform. Flawless (at least it seems to be :) ). And then when we would have conversations with other people in the music lounge, I got to see how personable you were as well. You always listened to what other people said and genuinely cared. Just those smiles and waves when we'd see each other on campus went a long way for me. Especially on days that were a little more gloomy than the rest.

Rachel D-I had always known that you were in choir, but I remember I was stunned when I first heard you sing in one of McNeil's voice recitals. I guess it's just always an experience when you first hear someone sing, but you really do have beautiful and unique voice. Also, you are literally one of the sweetest people I have ever met. It was always so easy to have a conversation with you and I don't remember ever feeling uncomfortable around you. You always seemed open to speaking your mind and listening to others opinions.

Cristina-I honestly thought you were going to forget who I was when you went abroad for a semester :P I was always thinking "oh, she's too cool for me. It's not a big deal if she doesn't remember who I am." But I was so flattered when you did. You're always so much fun to be around and you have become one of my favorite performers to watch. You make all of it looks so easy and effortless. I love your happy-go-lucky attitude about things and I hope to be more like that in the future. It's like when you walk into a room, everyone becomes happier. Don't forget about me when you're a famous singer/dancer!

Katie-I have had such a great time getting to know you. I love your honesty and your willingness to just say what you feel and not care what people think about it. I also love how quirky you are and embrace it. Whenever I would talk to you, I'd always feel better about things I had been a bit self-conscious about or not willing to say before. Whether you saw it or not, you really gave me a confidence to embrace who I am and not sacrifice it for anyone else's sake. Your performances are mesmerizing to watch. You also make your playing look effortless and I hope that I can do that with my playing as well.

Brent-Brent, Brent...where do I even begin? I remember when we ushered some concert last semester and I didn't really know you very well, but you would still strike up conversation with me. For some reason, people don't usually do that with me so, it meant a lot. I wish I had gotten to know you better sooner because you really are such a down-to-earth and humble person. Those qualities seem to not be present in as many people as they should these days. You're especially humble about your playing. I love that. You're so talented, but it doesn't seem like you let that boost any ego that you have at all. And now...do I need to mention the laugh? Of course I do. Whether it was in the music lounge or heard from the 3rd story of the music building or in Rachel's case....across campus, it's so recognizable and brought a smile to me even on my worst days.

So, again...thank you to all of you for the way you've touched my life. I know you've done the same and much more for others throughout your time here. We're all going to miss you and wish you all the best as you continue your studies and careers. Thank goodness for Facebook so we can all know the great things you will accomplish in the future!