As I was rifling through some old files of my graduate years, I came across this photo I had completely forgotten. Austrian pianist and recording artist Paul Badura-Skoda is by my side after he performed a concert in 2009 at the local arts center (called Arts Place) in my hometown here in Indiana. I also had the privilege of being the designated transport for him, to and from the Indianapolis airport.
(I’ll admit I had never heard of him previously as I’m not completely in the know-how of famous classical pianists. Still, I think it was pretty cool I had that opportunity.)
The fact that I had completely forgotten about this makes me realize how beautiful photos are at capturing moments of our lives.
Can I tell you quickly how I got to this place? (Feel free to jump down to this week’s finds below but if you have a few minutes, I promise it’s a good and short story)!
After having returned home from 3 years in Melbourne, I was unsure where life was going to take me. I knew I wanted to move on from my first career as a choral director but my husband had lost his job, as we returned home in the middle of the financial collapse in early 2009. Before we became expats, I applied to Ball State University to pursue a Masters in General Music Education – however with the move, the application was left dormant.
Shortly after we returned home two years and eight months later to be exact, I received a random phone call from BSU asking if I was still interested in pursuing the application. After explaining our unexpected unemployment situation, I mentioned that if I were to pursue a Masters, it would more likely be in the Piano Pedagogy degree rather than the general ed. as originally intended.
Being true to who I am, I have to get a tiny religious in this next statement. At that moment, I knew the Lord had his hand in this, as the next thing the director of graduate studies asked is if I would be interested in a graduate assistantship they had yet to fill teaching piano in Portland, Indiana 50 minutes from BSU. What!? My heart skipped a beat. You have got to be kidding me…that’s my hometown we’ve just returned to – are you serious? I couldn’t have planned it any better.
Thus, I was an instructor there the year they brought in Paul Badura-Skoda. The rest is history!
Now onto this week’s goodies…
1
Speaking of the beauty of how photos capturing moments of our lives, check out The 100 Most Influential Images of All Time.
2
Easy presents for your students are just a click away!
3
One of my brother and sister-in-law’s good friends has a fun Etsy shop where I purchased this cute Felt Mistletoe for only $10. This is one purchase I’m sure the hubby won’t argue with. 🙂
4
The possibility of making a healthy income doing what you love as a piano teacher.
5
A music theory parody on the “The Christmas Song” (a.k.a. Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire).
About Friday Finds
Each Friday on this blog, I share some of my favorite finds from the past week. You’ll find anything from directly piano-related resources, articles, podcasts, and music, to recipes, world-happenings, fun finds and more.
I look forward to helping you as busy teachers see what’s worth checking out and promise to try and keep it under 10 items each week!
Interesting history of you, Amy–thanks for sharing! Love the Time photos, too. The quote for the “Invasion of Prague” photo is fitting for your article: “You cannot rely on your memories—but you can rely on your pictures.” –Josef Koudelka
Well there ya go! Ha! you’re right – perfect!
Amy – the timing of your story about the assistantship offer was a God-send for me. I appreciated reading it as your sister in the Lord, and also because of our own present loss of income. Thank you for reminding me Who is in control 🙂 Merry Christmas!
Lori
Oh, Lori, I’m so glad to hear this! Yes, we just never know why things happen – what in the world made me suddenly search through my old photos that ended inspiring this post, or why we lose jobs that were such a blessing in the first place but yes, his timing is not ours!