Hiya!

So I started this blog for one reason, and one reason only: I do not plan on playing in an orchestra for a career.

Yes, you heard me. I'm a classically trained violist, I just graduated from The Juilliard School, and I DO NOT want to play in an orchestra for the rest of my life. Pretty spicy stuff, huh? ;)

Wow, okay. So, I've never actually written a blog entry before. Well, not an entry that wasn't assigned with a specific topic in mind. And honestly, I don't know what kinda structure this blog will take. I've never been a fan of rules when it comes to creativity.

I write this blog not because I have the answers. I write this blog in search of those answers, "fake it till you make it", if you will. I've never been a shy person when it comes to sharing my life. But sharing my thoughts, musings, and insecurities, that'll be REAL interesting. 

Aight, hipster stream-of-consciousness: Engaged.

So, if you don't know who I am, which is almost a statistical certainty--unless you came from my Instagram or YouTube Channel....or if you just made a mistake and clicked on this by accident. 

No matter what the case is--Hiii!! My name is Drew Alexander Forde and I play the viola (vee-oh-lah). I have been playing my instrument since I was 12 years old. I chose viola cuz know one else picked it...and I wanted to be original and fresh. Wait, maybe I've always been a hipster and didn't even know it O_O

Okay, so I'm gonna lay this one out on the table: I'm scared dude. I see a lot of my friends from school doing amazing things: winning jobs, touring with world-class artists, winning competitions, starting their own ensembles, etc. In a few words, my homies are crushing it.

I, on the other hand, want to walk a different path. Although I believe Classical Music to be a HUGE centerpiece and foundation for all musical thought, I can't help but have this nagging feeling that Classical Music is only part of the story--the story of what it means to be human. 

I'm interested in learning Pop, Jazz, Hip-hop, Rock, EDM--many different styles. I want to learn about how they are connected to Classical Music and each other. 

I have always believed that music is food for the soul. If you don't have a healthy consumption of many different styles, you're going to have a bad musical diet. Without a healthy musical diet, your soul misses out on essential, fulfilling nourishment. Wow, that's sounds so metaphysical when I say it out loud haha.

So, here's where the fear comes in. I fear that pursuing this line of work, the work of a "crossover artist," (I hate that phrase) will cheapen the my colleagues' perception of my art. I'm afraid that they'll no long want to play with me because they feel "I'm selling out" or "I'm taking the easy way out" or "I'm not good enough to have a strictly classical career." That thought burns me every day.

That's why we're here folks. I want to conduct a public experiment. I want to see if my fears are simply ego-informed, insecure @$%& that I'm telling myself, or...if there's some merit to this notion. 

So, I hope you'll join me on this journey. I don't plan on traveling too many dirt roads--I like uneven terrain. The steeper the slope, the higher the peak!

I actually didn't have a real point in mind for this post. I just kinda wanted to begin. They say beginning--especially on a long, undefined journey is difficult. Starting something new is always difficult. So, the best way to overcome insecurity and laziness, is just to get started, no matter what.

Thanks for reading--

TVK