The End of an Era

1.5 years can either seem like an endless eon or a blip on the cosmic radar.

To me, my experience in The Academy has been both: on the one hand, the days would often stretch ahead of me in a seemingly incessant cycle of energy-depleting commutes, intense teaching sessions, stressful planning, last-minute repertoire learning, and nonstop rehearsals; on the other hand, it seems like only yesterday that I walked into Kaplan Space for the first time on a cold winter's day in January 2007. Time really does fly when you're having fun, facing challenges, and developing new skills.

At the year-end celebration last Wednesday, I had the honor of giving a speech on behalf of The Academy's inaugural "graduating class." As I looked out at smiling faces in the crowd, heard everyone's warm laughter and attentive silences, and spoke of the memories that we've amassed from our shared odyssey as educational pioneers and performers-with-a-mission, I realized how poignant the moment was: it was a suspended point in time where we truly stood united as a fellowship.

Cheers to everyone who has made the past 1.5 years doubly rewarding for me.