Goodbye 2020!!!

I think we all can agree that 2020 was not the year we were expecting. The only folks who predicted this year correctly are crazy psychopaths that need some professional help!

2020 has been a rollercoaster of a year for my family. I am going to do a bit of a year reflection here in this post, so I apologize for the length. It's been a LOOOOOOOONG year.

January

Semester no. 6 started at UCA - I finished my Masters at UCA in May of 2019. I decided to stick around for a Graduate Certificate for another year. I was incredibly disappointed that I had to stick around (more on that later) but it turned out to be the absolute BEST thing that could have happened to Mackenzie and I. Some huge professional milestones were hit because of this extra year in Arkansas.

Doctoral Auditions (Round Two) began - I auditioned at five universities around this great country. I had two of those auditions in January. Like the true midwesterner I am, I drove to both of them from Conway, Arkansas. The first audition was at the University of Georgia in Athens and the University of North Texas in Denton. Both auditions were wonderfully presented and I really enjoyed my time on both campuses. The drive to UGA was a whopping 9 hours, and UNT was a measly 6.

My older brother was diagnosed with cancer - This one hits pretty hard. And I absolutely hate writing this, because this entire process has been incredibly difficult on the family, but nowhere close to how hard it has been for him and his wife. What a (pardon my language) hellish year it has been for the two of them. He has fought cancer through a global pandemic and I could not be more lucky to have him as a brother. He displays huge amounts of strength and has been a wonderful role model for me this year. We are still praying for him. If you're the praying type, please join in!

February

Finished Doctoral Auditions - I had my final three auditions in February of this year. They were three weekends in a row which was absolutely exhausting! Again, I drove to all three. My first was at the University of Texas at Austin. I absolutely loved my time in Austin, and it was such a joy to catch up with Dr. Brickens. That guy is one of the best, and I learn everything I talk with him! The next audition was at Indiana University. I was able to catch up with several friends who go to Jacobs, and it was a great weekend. This drive I was accompanied by a buddy from Arkansas, so the trip was not as miserable! The final audition was at Florida State University for Dr. John Drew. This trip involved a pit stop at Columbus State University for a friends graduate audition. It made sense for use to carpool because the two campuses were only a few hours apart. (See the crazy midwesterner brain coming out yet?) Total driving for these trips were 8 hours for UT Austin, 8 hours for Indiana, and 12 for FSU (without the CSU detour). My car hated me by the end of February, but it was all worth it!

Arkansas Conducting Symposium - the last weekend of February, Mackenzie and I drove up to Fayetteville, Arkansas to go to their Conducting Symposium at the University of Arkansas. Professor Jerry Junkin was the guest clinician. I only audited (you don't want to see me with a baton...) but Mackenzie participated and did an INCREDIBLE job! All around, the symposium was a great experience for us both. I took a lot away from it. If you haven't gone to a conducting symposium, I highly recommend it! I walked away with a lot of new musical ideas and teaching perspectives that I still use today.

March

Sadie passed away - March was one of the most challenging months of the entire year. Mackenzie lost our lovely corgi, Sadie to cancer. She developed blindness and had some underlying health problems that we really had no idea about. She lived for several months after her diagnosis, and every single day with her was a blessing. She passed on March 7th, 2020. She is still dearly missed to this day.

COVID-19 Pandemic - Shortly after losing Sadie, the schools in Arkansas shut down. Mackenzie and I went from being busy every day, to sitting at home missing our dog, and wondering what would happen to the world that we love so much. We have all been negatively impacted by the pandemic, Mackenzie and I have been blessed throughout it all, but it still SUCKED!

We got Coda! - Here is one of those roller coaster moments I mentioned earlier. We lost Sadie, the world shut down, and we got a 9-week old corgi puppy named Coda! We got our little guy from a breeder in rural Missouri. We drove up to the state line and picked up our little buddy and drove him back to Conway. He will never replace Sadie, but dang was it nice to hear a little life in the apartment. He has grown into a wonderful dog, and Mackenzie and I love him very much!

Cancelled Quartet Recital - The Elite Four Trombone Quartet was supposed to have our debut recital this month. We had an incredibly fun and challenging program planned, and we all were devastated that we had to cancel the event.

Doctoral Audition Results came in - All throughout the month of March, I had admission letters coming in from all of the universities I auditioned at. I was fortunate enough to get admitted to several schools this time around! I was able to make some decisions about where Mackenzie and I would be moving to continue our lives. Exciting stuff!

April

Graduate Certificate Recital - I had my final recital at UCA as a student this April. The program went through several different evolutions throughout the semester. I had originally planned to have a solo performance with the Natural Slides on this recital. Because of COVID, that couldn't happen. I also planned on using a piece from our quartet recital to close out the recital. Those two things getting cut caused a bit of stress. Having to pick out about 20 minutes of music a month before a recital is a bit of a challenge. That said, I am happy with the final product considering all of the factors. Preparing a recital from home and doing full run-throughs in the student parking lot at school was pretty..... unique.

Doctoral school chosen - After all of my offers from universities came in, I was able to weigh all of my options and discuss things with Mackenzie. After a lot of thought and discussion, we decided that the University of North Texas was the best choice for the both of us! Go Mean Green! I also accepted a Teaching Fellowship in the Instrumental Methods area which turned out to be an exciting challenge!

May

Graduation - I graduated from UCA for a second time in May of 2020! I received my Graduate Certificate in Trombone Performance. I studied under the great Dr. Justin Cook. I owe a lot of who I am as a musician and scholar to my three years at UCA. I learned a ton and grew as a musician more than I ever thought possible. Go Bears!

Coda Graduated from puppy class - Yes, I am that kind of puppy parent... Coda graduated from his AKC STAR Puppy Class at Conway Canine Companions! He learned and grew a ton over the two months that we were there. Pam was incredible, and we are so thankful for our time there!

June

We Moved to Texas - Mackenzie and I moved to Texas in the middle of June! Exciting times indeed! Our parents all met us in Arkansas to load our moving truck and we were able to get everything loaded in Conway (thanks to some INCREDIBLE friends who helped load the truck) and drove everything down to Denton where we moved into our new townhouse! We were excited about all of the additional space we were getting. We were not excited about the drastic jump in rent cost though... Yikes!

Mackenzie got a band job - Mackenzie spent all of February, March, April, and May filling out applications for band jobs in and around DFW. She got several interviews, but one really stuck in her mind as feeling "right". She was very excited after the virtual interview, and I just knew that she wanted that job SO BADLY. Well, the day before we loaded our moving truck, she got a call from the school district offering her a job! It is her dream job and she is doing some amazing things there!

July

I turned the big 2-6 - I celebrated my 26th birthday! Mackenzie and I went Axe Throwing at a place in Denton. It was my first time going, and it was a BLAST! If you haven't gone yet, treat yo' self to a trip. It is great!

Band camp got moved - The end of July I was supposed to spend two weeks in Bentonville, Arkansas teaching a marching band camp. Unfortunately, due to COVID, that didn't happen. The camp was moved back two weeks and I wasn't able to make the new dates work with my before-school schedule here in Texas. Hopefully I can make it up there next summer!

Body, Mind, Spirit Workshop - The end of July I spent a week at the BMS 1.0 Workshop with Jeremy Wilson and Karen Cubides. This is hands down the most transformative workshop I have ever attended. I learned a lot about myself as a musician as well as a man. The event completely changed my approach to my instrument and performance in general. I look at my instrument from a place of joy and privilege, and not from a place of annoyance and disappointment because of this workshop. Since then I have continued working individually with Karen and I keep up with Jeremy and the other workshop participants on a regular basis. Such a great event!

August

I started classes at UNT - I started my first semester of classes here at UNT in August! All of my academic classes were on Zoom, which turned out to not be all bad. The commute from the living room to the classroom was pretty short! I didn't hate having classes online this semester. It made the adjustment pretty easy. I was able to have lessons and trombone choir in person which was EXCELLENT! I have had a blast with all things trombone here at UNT. Incredible faculty, inspiring colleagues, and a wonderful atmosphere all together. I cannot wait for things to resemble more normalcy so I can get more out of the College of Music as a whole.

Mackenzie Started Her New Job - Mackenzie started teaching at Dillingham Intermediate School in Sherman, Texas! She became part of a fantastic Band Director staff in the district, and she has started a new batch of ambitious and excited beginners! They have grown so much since August, and I cannot wait to see where they get by the end of the school year!

September

Not much happened in September of note. Mackenzie and I did enjoy exploring several new restaurants around DFW. One of those has become our new favorite BBQ place ever! Hutchins BBQ in McKinney, Texas has some of the best! We are foodies, and it was nice to find a few new places to enjoy around the area!

October

Mackenzie and I started looking at houses - October was an interesting month for us. We decided that we are tired of renting and wanted to look for a house to purchase when our lease is up next summer. This was an unknown territory for us both, but with the help of our families, we were able to make a great decision! Tune into November to find out what we did.....

My parents visited us in Texas - My parents made the trip down from Illinois for a weekend to hang out! It was a wonderful time having them in Texas without having to move boxes and work the entire time. We took a day trip down to Waco, Texas to explore and we managed to stumble around Magnolia Farms for an afternoon which was a ton of fun! It's always exciting when family comes to visit!

November

Mackenzie and I signed a contract on a house - As stated earlier, we started looking at houses in October. We had every intention of buying existing. We were mostly curious about pricing and options in the areas we were looking. Little did we know that we would actually sign a contract on a plot of DIRT. We are building our first home in Aubrey, Texas! Such a fun adventure this has and will continue to be!

The Bayfield Trombone Quartet Recording Sessions - The newly formed Bayfield Trombone Quartet had a series of recording sessions which turned out excellently! I cannot wait to share what that group has in store for 2021! Exciting stuff!

December

I launched my first website - If you are reading this, you're currently on my first ever website! I had such a great time working with Karen designing and eventually launching this new website. I am excited about all of the content I have planned for you all in 2021!

Ground breaking on our house - The construction crew broke ground on our new house just before Christmas! They will be finishing up around early May which means we can move in just after the school year ends! We cannot wait to get into our first home! Be sure to check out my instagram or my facebook page for updates as the house goes up!

2020 was a challenging year. Probably one of the most challenging of my life. That said, it has also been one of the best years of my life (weird, I know...) The rollercoaster that was 2020 is finally coming to an end. As I reflect on the past year, I cannot help buy laugh, cry, scream, and smile. Every emotion on the spectrum was felt this year. It seemed like every time myself or my family had a win, a big loss came right behind it. Talk about challenging... The year has been much more challenging for many others around the world. Mackenzie and I have been blessed with opportunities this year and for that, we are so grateful. I hope you all get a chance to reflect on your 2020. All of us had a different version and wrote a different story. Take the time to identify the "wins" and "losses" of your year. Lean into the pain. Live in the joy. Find every emotion you had from this year and live in that for a moment. Try to find something positive that happened to you this year. I'd love to hear a win you had this year! Feel free to leave them in the comments. I'll read and respond to all of them!

Thank you so much for reading this entire post. I know its long, but the year was long and demanded a long reflection. Heres to a 2021 filled with reconnection, opportunity, and prosperity!

All the best and Happy New Year! Dominick, Mackenzie, and Coda