| mattwesselmusic.com |
| matt's journal november 30, 2002 |
| It's been over a week since the big "Concert For Life" here at Marquette. It was a HUGE success. Over 350 showed up for the event and we raised over $1,800 for the American Cancer Society. The concert itself was unbelievable. Those interested can view the playlist here. I played some new stuff at the show, as well as some of the oldies. I kept the theme of "hope, life, and overcoming adversity" a constant throughout. I had flute, violin, and guitar accompany me on a bunch of the songs and there was also a 10-person choir singing with me at the end of the show. And Katie Burke even came down from Minnesota to sing! All in all, it was just a fun evening and a great chance for the community to come together for a common cause. And it also satisfied my desire to play a show here at Marquette. It was such a rush to play in front of my college peers. Maybe I should be looking into a show for the spring?? Thanks again to all of those who came to the concert and to those who took the time to write me an e-mail letting me know how much they enjoyed the show. I value your feedback so much, and it was such a blessing to be able to read all of your kind words and to see how so many of you had a positive experience at the show. Thank you! What else is there to report? School is almost done for the semester. I have four days of class this next week (day off on Friday -- "study" day). Then I have ONE final (yes, I said ONE final) on Monday and I'm done for the winter! I'm going to hang around for a while to spend some time with friends before I head back to Gurnee for the break. We'll see. I can't wait for Xmas break, though. The last month for me has been incredibly busy. Like I've said before, I'm not stressed, because I'm doing the things I love to do, but I have been burning myself out. And thank the Lord for the start of college basketball! My two favorite teams - Marquette and Indiana - are both out to great starts and are both nationally ranked (13 and 20 respectively). I'm planning on going to St. Louis and Cincy for Marquette road games this fall. Focus, Matt. I guess I should talk about the shows I'm doing in the next few weeks. I'm playing a private show at Alverno College this Tuesday. I'm basically playing for the students of the college, but it's nice to label it as "private" because it makes me feel special. I'm still not sure what I'm going to be playing for that -- but I'm supposed to be showing what one can do with a piano and with the skills to improvise...yeah... I'll also be playing at the 2nd Annual PADS fundraiser at Carmel High School on December 14th. Some of you may remember my playing at this show last year. It was fun (but long). This year it's earlier in the day and won't go past two hours. I'm playing about 40 minutes worth of music -- and definitely some Christmas covers. The concert benefits the PADS organization. Please come if you have the night free. It starts early (5pm) and you'll be out of there by 7pm. Hope to see you there! I also just completed the song "The Rest Of My Life" for Andy Reistetter who commissioned me to write a song for his new organization (read about it here). I'll put the song on the site as soon as I get my own copy! I'm also going to be uploading "Thank You" and "Everlasting Love" within the next few weeks for your downloading pleasure. I think that's about it. I'm still trying to get my liturgical music published. If you can help in any way, I'd appreciate it. I'm planning on sending stuff out to OCP this break -- one of my newer songs, "Take, Lord" has some serious potential. And finally, I'm planning on releasing two new albums in the late-spring/early-summer. "Daily Bread 2" (more liturgical stuff) and another CD consisting of JUST piano instrumentals (no title yet). More information on those projects to come... UNTIL THEN...have a great week and a great December. God only knows when I'll write another journal. Be sure to take the time to pray this advent and to prepare yourself for the birth of Christ. It's so easy to become caught up in all of the Holiday chaos, that it's necessary for us to take time to ourselves and to reflect upon the true meaning of this holiday... Presents. Just kidding. Thanks for reading. Keep on listening. |