My name is Drew Alexander Forde and I am a second-year Masters
viola performance major.
The thing about the viola is that it's so much like the human voice, and I think when
you can pull beauty from that there's just -- it's just so much more fulfilling
for me. I generally just wake up to my iPhone alarm. I love to snooze. I go
straight to the fridge, I just try to get some fruit in me, and then I check my
social media. I check my YouTube, I check my Instagram, Facebook, and answer all the comments.
Doing the social media, doing all of these different things, it's teaching me
how to be an effective teacher, and really convey a message that not only
motivates people but inspires them to shoot for what they want. On the way to
the subway I may Snapchat some of my followers. I'll start a Snapchat story, try to do
something inspirational, or I'll end up listening to podcasts. And I listen to
those, I try to feed my brain, get it activated before I go through the front doors.
I practice, try to warm up my body. Start with my scales.
And then I go ahead and tackle the repertoire that I need done for the day.
There is structure. You have classes, you have the schedule. You also have chamber music
and orchestra, but every day is different if you choose it to be.
It's fantastic, we get to work with amazing conductors like Maestro Noseda.
They don't look at us as students. They look at us as young professionals.
I study with Heidi Castleman. I had known about her for about seven, eight years
before I even decided to audition.
The explosive pulses...more attention is on the release that happens after that.
And then, I go to lunch and learn. It's a service through the career services. They provide mentors and speakers
to come and speak with us on entrepreneurial topics, things you should think about while you're in school
and where to go once you've left. And then after that I have a
class called "Understanding the "Profession," which is so important because
in the 21st century, if you don't go into an orchestra, how do you make money as a musician?
And then after that, I have an independent study class, and it's with music technology, so using
interface programs like Logic and Ableton, and figuring out how to take
what we do as musicians and make it a product for people to consume.
And the possibilities are limitless. I find that although I learn so much from my teachers,
in studio classes, in the lunchroom, on the way to class, on the way
to going and grabbing some dinner, I'm learning much more from my colleagues.
Sometimes there's this notion that, "I can't play with them, they're too good."
No! Everybody's like, "come on! The more the merrier! Let's go play some music!
Let's go make an experience, and let's go learn from each other!"
I have a Gluck fellowship and that means I get to perform in alternative venues,
where you wouldn't usually see classical music being performed, like hospices, hospitals,
elderly residences, and centers for at-risk youth. And these concerts are
always -- they always really reaffirm why I do what I do.
That's why every day is so different. That's why every day is filled with joy.