Black Lives Matter and Roma Solidarity Protest By Antoni K. I wish I could say that a few years ago, before coming to AAS, I would have still felt obliged to kneel for 8 minutes, 46 seconds in George Floyd tribute 12 days after his murder at the hands of a white police officer. But I can’t. As countries go, Poland is truly emblematic of homogenous societies. That’s not her sore spot though; that honor must be reserved to the xenophobia that when a time is right, morphs into racial hatred in a flash. How beautiful would it be if stereotypes like this were but a bad joke repeated out of love for the inconceivable? Hate is subtle though, and it assumes many forms; its most vicious, most ravenous guise is never a nasty slogan or an invidious word. It’s ignorance. Having attended an all-white school almost my entire life and lived in what’s virtually an all-white country, coming to AAS was a needle that shattered my bubble in an instant. Everything has already been said about what it means to immerse in a melting pot, to realize your culture is a mere drop. For me, it’s never been as palpable as today. I stood there amongst hundreds who at that moment believed in the same ideals and endured the same pain even if never to understand what it meant. But I wouldn’t have felt it two years before. I wouldn’t have even tried to recognize the possibility of sending my ignorance into eternal exile. Today I wasn’t there to profess a right to anger; I was there because it felt right. I’m grateful to have let my ignorance pass through me so that now only I remain. I’m grateful for my educators. I’ve never seen Mr. Phillips give up on anyone or take a single breath in-between his lessons. I know I’m hardly the only one to have recognized by now the character growth he has set in motion. What I wish to say to his departure is that I’m glad to see him leave with a bang. Photo No. 2 Credit: Anastas Tarpanov Photography Mr. Phillips Farewell Speech (Transcript by Tomas A.) Conducted by Antoni K. Mr. Phillips: Today, AAS community it’s been incredible five years to have it end in a pandemic and the explosion of emotion concerning not only the death of George Floyd but so many other black people dying at the hands of white supremacists and abusive police. I want to say thank you for those that have supported in so many different ways. Come talk to me not just about these issues of inequality, but everything that we’ve done. Thank you for those that I have coached, thank you for those that I have taught, thank you for those that I have had conversations with in the hallway and just connected with on so many different levels. I am so grateful for my time here, I am so grateful for the students, my colleagues, the friends I’ve made here in AAS and outside of AAS. I am a better person because of Bulgaria, I am a better person because of AAS, I am a better person because of y’all. Thank you all, I love you all, I wish you all the best. Awfully Brief Alumni Anecdote By Julie D. Some of the things I was most nervous for, for university, were the new people, the new place and having to do it all alone. In terms of the new people, don’t worry about “not making any friends” you will! All first years who come to your university from all over the world are in the same situation. They are just as nervous to start a conversation and just as nervous about getting to know new people, so just go for it. For the new place, yes you need to make sure you can manage your time well. Depending on your situation, you may need to think about making sure you have done the groceries every week, making sure you are in class on time every day, making sure you are at practice on time, making sure you have done your washing before you run out of clothes. Despite all this, it is awesome that you get to do it your way, without anyone telling you how to, so use that freedom to make a system that works for you. Additionally, please remind yourself you are not alone. Every first year student is in the same situation as you are, so be there for each other and help each other. That won’t only lead to friendships but it also helps you settle in faster and better. Lastly, go to university and go have some fun, take the opportunity to meet new people, explore new places and enjoy it to the best of your abilities. Gustav Mahler: Ten Symphonies for all of us (Ranked) By Tomas A. Yes, it has come time for Tomas to talk about more classical music. This time I was prompted by the Mahler festival which recently took place online with historic recordings of all ten Mahler Symphonies set free from the archives of the Royal Concertgebouw (one of the most important music institutions in Europe). Who was Mahler? He was an Austro-Bohemian composer and orchestra conductor who reached international fame especially for his staging of operas by Richard Wagner. He conducted some of the leading orchestras in the world in cities like Vienna, Prague, and New York until his death on May 18, 1911 (which is when I’m writing this article coincidentally). But without much further context of Mahler’s life, we can dive into my personal ranking of his symphonies. The Ranking: To me, all Mahler symphonies are first and foremost masterpieces, it is important to take into account that I don’t consider any of his symphonies to be bad. The ranking is based on my superficial musical analysis of the music and the strength of my emotional response to each individual symphony. I’ll also include my favorite recording of each. 10. Symphony No. 8 “Symphony of a Thousand” We start off our ranking with a bang, imagine you walk into a concert hall and you see one thousand people warming up to deliver a colossal performance of this symphony. It is truly an incredible experience, the instrumentation of the symphony involves a large orchestra and multiple choirs making all together 1,000 musicians. In terms of themes, the symphony involves an exploration of the divine, it explores God, the creation, mankind, and coming of age. It was composed remarkably fast for a work of such scale and it is truly a very powerful thing to listen to. The reason, however it ranks 10th is because it is musically less intricate (in my opinion) than the rest of his work. In other symphonies, we will discover how Mahler uses the orchestra to truly showcase his compositional genius. The eighth though, being a piece composed with such urgence and speed, it lacks some of the musical experimentation that we see in other symphonies. Nevertheless, Mahler 8 is a towering experience, who doesn’t want a concert hall with 1,000 musicians blasting music about the meaning of life and the creation of the universe for a solid hour and 25 minutes? The recording I chose is from this year’s online Mahler festival, it features Mariss Jansons conducting the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra 9. Symphony No. 4 Now we have Mahler 4, a beautiful symphony especially in the final movement where we hear a beautiful song called The Heavenly Song. The symphony is an ode to childhood in itself presenting elements associated with children such as bells and whistles and referring constantly to many of Mozart’s compositional techniques (after the beginning bells in the first movement we hear a melody that sounds borrowed from one of Mozart’s operas). The entire symphony presents a musical voyage, it takes the listener through a journey between two distinct musical universes (G major to E major). Personally, my favorite movements are the first and the last and overall I believe this is the lightest of the Mahler symphonies (without being at all superficial) The recording I chose is by the Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra directed by Colombian conductor Andrés Orozco Estrada. 8. Symphony No. 6 “Tragic” Probably the most notable element of this symphony is the Mahler hammer which makes its appearance in the fourth movement. Essentially one of the percussionists takes out an enormous hammer and loudly strikes a wooden box with it. Seeing that huge hammer mid-symphony is probably one of the most anticipated moments in music. There is more to Mahler 6 than just the hammer. It is a very intense symphony with an absolutely gorgeous slow movement (Mahler did not specify whether the slow movement should be included after the first or after the second movement so you’ll hear many different performances). It is also quite important since it is the last of Mahler’s symphonies that holds on to the new romantic period of music, his seventh is a huge contrast where Mahler becomes an impressionist in his outlook embracing some techniques from modern music. More on that later. I ranked the sixth as my top 8 since I never connected with it at such a deep level. There is no question it is worth listening to though. I chose a recording from the Lucerne Festival directed by Claudio Abaddo.