Today's Student Spotlight Interview features Alyssa Prichard, a recent graduate of Ironwood Ridge High School in Tucson, AZl.  Alyssa first joined my studio in 2016 and is currently a participant at the renowned Brevard Summer Music Festival in North Carolina.  It has been remarkable to see Alyssa's musical growth over these past two years.  Her numerous successes and accomplishments have proven that hard work and dedication will always prevail!  It's been an absolute privilege working with Alyssa and I'm wishing her the absolute best as she begins her musical journey at The U of A on a merit scholarship this Fall!

In March of 2018, I auditioned for The National Collegiate Solo Competition hosted by The United States Army Band "Pershing's Own."  With a few hundred applicants every year, I was honored to be chosen as the NCSC winner and was given the special opportunity to perform as a featured soloist with the Pershing's Own. The Army flew me out to Washington D.C. last week to rehearse with the band and perform Emmanuel Sejourne's Concerto for Marimba at their outdoor concert in front of the United States Capitol Building.  It was an absolute privilege and honor to share the stage with such remarkable musicians and it's an experience I won't soon forget.

It's winter break now and I've successfully completed my first semester of grad school!  As I reflect on these past five months and prepare for the New Year, I figured it was long overdue to finally post about my experiences in grad school thus far.  So, that being said, here is my attempt to summarize everything that has happened since my last website update back in June...

I'm back home in the United States after spending the past two weeks in Powell River, British Columbia for the Pacific Region International Summer Music Academy.  This was my second year attending PRISMA and I had such a fabulous time reconnecting with friends from last summer, as well as meeting many new incredible musicians from around the world.  The members of our percussion section came from Texas, Washington, Canada, and South Africa!  Continue reading as I describe my unique experiences and share some photos from PRISMA 2017!

I am happy to announce that I have officially completed my Bachelor of Music in Percussion Performance and have graduated from The University of Arizona! I will be moving to Athens, Georgia on August 1st to begin my studies, on a full graduate assistantship, at the University of Georgia.  I will be pursuing a Master of Music in Percussion Performance with Timothy K. Adams, Jr. (former timpanist of the Pittsburgh Symphony) and Kimberly Toscano-Adams (former timpanist of the Tucson Symphony).

This summer has been relaxing as I've taken some time to recover from the craziness of graduation season. But, with some exciting performances on the immediate horizon, I decided it was time to jump back on my website and provide some updates for all of you! 

A sincere thank you to all of you that have been following along with my weekly blog posts outlining my progress in planning my benefit concert, ...in loving memory. Now that the performance is over and the funds have been collected, I decided it would be important to provided one final, conclusive post about the concert. Read below to watch a short video summary of the event, explore my detailed "timeline" for planning the event, read my final reflections on the event, and, on an unrelated note, discover where I'll be attending graduate school next year!!

This week, I am excited to announce the results of all the recent projects my percussion trio, Lineage Percussion, tackled during our week together in Tucson, Arizona!  Although much of my focus was directed to ensuring the success of my benefit concert for the Alzheimer's Association, ...in loving memory, I also had a busy week of events planned for Lauren, Wesley, and myself.  From recording sessions, to school clinics, to new marketing materials, and a lot of delicious food, you can read about it all below!

A HUGE, sincere thank you to each and every person that was involved in last week's successful benefit concert for the Alzheimer's Association.  It was truly an honor to perform for such a receptive and loving audience while sharing the stage with such genuine musicians.  ...in loving memory was easily the most emotionally exhausting recital I have ever presented and, yet, it was extremely rewarding and powerful to allow myself to be so vulnerable on stage.  

​Of course, pushing myself to my extreme limits since last September has certainly taken its toll.  From professional audition prep in September, to my first senior recital in October, to my trip to Russia at the end of November, to a world premiere in Georgia in December, to all five graduate school auditions throughout January and February, to performing with the Louisiana Philharmonic in March, to last week's jam-packed schedule with the benefit concert and Lineage Percussion's school shows and recording sessions, it is no wonder that I am writing today's post while in bed with a cold!  However, this has afforded me the time to reflect on last Wednesday's concert.  Continue reading below to find out how much money was raised at the event, view photos from the concert, re-watch clips from the performance, and more!

If you go:  Even if you cannot donate, you are still welcome to attend tonight's concert! However, free-will donations will be collected at the door before the event and during intermission.  Morgen Hartford, Regional Director of the Southern Arizona's Alzheimer's Association, will be in attendance to collect donations and issue receipts to all donors.  Please arrive early as the lines may get long as 7:30 approaches! It is easiest to park in the "Park Avenue Garage" and to walk to the Fred Fox School of Music via the underpass that leads underneath Speedway.  (Download the map by clicking here)

If you can't go:  You can still watch tonight's event LIVE online!  The video will also be archived and available for viewing after the concert.  You are also encouraged to send in a donation online.  All online contributions go directly to the Alzheimer's Association and you will be issued a receipt via your email address.

WATCH online at: https://livestream.com/ffsom/events/7041357
DONATE at: ​act.alz.org/goto/trevorconcert

We are officially three weeks away from my benefit concert scheduled for March 22nd to raise $10,000 for the Alzheimer's Association.  By now, assuming you have read my "save the date" post, you have hopefully added the information for the concert to your calendar.  So, what if you live out of the state or you realized you are unfortunately busy the night of the event?