Musical Journey with CSO

Posted on May 7, 2016 by Alisa

Last Sunday, I attended the May concert by the Cornell Symphony Orchestra. The concert was free of admissions, but the musical experience was priceless. When I got to the concert, I took a quick look at the programme and I was nicely surprised at the number of chemistry major members in the orchestra. I recognized more than four names from laboratory classes that I have taken with them together. It was very cool to see some of my friends up on the stage and I am glad that I was there to support their hard work.

It was very interesting how the first piece, Fanfare for Sam by David Ludwig, started as if the members were casually tuning to a note, but the conductor seamlessly continued on with rest of the piece. It was fresh and this was my first time seeing the technique performed on stage. My favorite movement was Vivacissimo in Symphony No. 2 by Jean Sibelius. The music was beautifully expressed by the players and the conductor highlighted the delicate melodies and bases in harmony.

Having been a part of wind ensembles and orchestras in the past, I enjoyed listening for each instrument throughout the concert. One thing I appreciate about the orchestra conformation is how the wind and brass instrument players often have solos since there are only a few people playing each instrument. With trained ears, I could hear individual person’s playing and could tell that they were very talented and putting lots of effort into their parts.

The music very much calmed me down and I truly enjoyed seeing the CSO concert. In freshmen year, I decided to audition for the Cornell Marching Band instead of the CSO. Listening to this concert made me wish that I had also tried out for CSO as well. If I were to learn a new orchestra instrument, I would like to learn to play the cello or horn in the future.

Stress Olympics

Posted on April 16, 2016 by Alisa

Stressed? Since we are in midst of second round of prelims and nearing finals season, the stress level of students have been increasing constantly. Cornell students often feel like they are competing in the Stress Olympics. In a conversation between friends, a common phrase that we hear is “Oh, I’m so tired. I only slept for x hours last night.” Then the friend usually agrees about being tired and gives another reason why they are also equally or more tired, and so on. For this week’s Rose Café, we invited Sarah Rubenstein-Gillis and Andrea Gerding to talk about how to manage stress.

I thought the suggestion of making a pre-work routine was a great idea to help condition the brain for working more effectively. I will try making a pre-work routine of making tea, and doing a couple of stretches. Also, chunking work sounds like a good idea to feel a daily sense of accomplishment. I have used a planner ever since middle school and I continue to use it to keep track of due dates, meetings, and events. Something new that they suggested during the café was putting non-work things in the planner, such as “having lunch with friend.” I’m not sure if my planner would get too full if I start putting non-work related things in my planner, but I’ll keep it in mind in the future.

Thinking of sleep as if it is work seems like a great strategy to make sure that you can an adequate amount of sleep every night. If we have work, we make sure that we get to our job by that time and work until the shift is over. Similarly, we should go to sleep for 8 hours at a designated time. Overall, the talk was interesting and gave some great tips on time management and sleep. Near the end of the discussion, the meditation session was very relaxing and I might consider taking a meditation class next semester.

Soil and Carbon

Posted on April 13, 2016 by Alisa

At rose café last week, we invited a special guest, Dr. Dawit Solomon, from the School of Integrative Plant Science. I went into the discussion without much prior knowledge about soils, but coming out I felt that I had learned many new facts. We first defined the differences between soil and dirt. Soil contains nutrient where plants grow. Soil first starts as a rock and through a long process with 12 steps, a rock becomes nutritious soil medium for plants and animals. Soil is a vital source of foundation, habitat, and climate regulation. Black colored soil indicates nutrition and yellow colored plant means nutrition deficiency.

Recently, climate change has been occurring due to rapid increase in greenhouse gas since 1950. Although most people worry about air pollution from cars when they hear climate change, soil has x4 more carbon than vegetation and atmosphere. So there will be a significant impact on carbon level from soil. I didn’t realize that soil contained so much carbon until this discussion; I wonder how carbon is bound to soil. Degrading soil may release much more carbon to atmosphere so we must preserve soil.

Dr. Solomon said that he studies soil by looking at oxygen and carbon levels in maps and studies at protein level. He and his team developed Abyssinia phosphorus fertilizer from cow bones to put back carbon into soil. Phosphorous is needed for stability. From the talk I learned that it is important to keep soil rich of carbon to enhance food security and productivity. Overall, the talk was quite content heavy so it was a little hard to follow, but it was interesting nevertheless. I look forward to learning more in the future about soil science.

Juggling the Life between an Athlete and a Student

Posted on March 30, 2016 by Alisa

In the midst of midterm craze right before spring break, Rose House invited a special guest to the rose café series. Silviu Tanasoiu is the Savitt-Weiss Head Coach of Men’s Tennis at Cornell. I was initially interested because I used to play on the tennis team in high school. During his talk, coach Tanasoiu reminded us of some of the most important things to remember as students.

I was first surprised that there are only 6 spots for the Cornell Men’s Tennis. This means that there are only 48 current Ivy League players in the world. I’m sure the players know that this is a very unique opportunity and they should be proud of holding their spots. Additionally, coach Tanasoiu stated that the chances for becoming successful is a sum of small details such as warmups and attitudes during practices. Similar to other occupations and life challenges, we do not suddenly become the world’s best tennis player after a single event. It takes many enduring practices and time management to arrive at the point.

The talk made me realize once again that it must be extremely challenging to be an athlete in college, as you are trying to juggle practices, tournaments, course work, exams, social life, etc. Although the players may be very tired from practices and weekends are unavailable because of matches, their tasks do not disappear at the end of the day. As students in college, it is crucial to be organized with a structured schedule and staying in control. But it’s also important to always be grateful and be nice to yourself. Do not fall in the trap of expectations. In sum, the talk was very motivational and reminded everyone to respect others and themselves as well.

Did I Survive or Go Extinct?

Posted on March 6, 2016 by Alisa

Today I discovered a gem in Ithaca: Museum of the Earth. This was my first time at the museum, I was impressed with the abundance of exhibition and quality of the facility. The rose scholars received a geologic time tour of the museum. To make things interesting, the tour guide gave each of us a fossil to follow during the tour. I received a brachiopod fossil, shown below.

It looks similar to a clam at first, but the shell symmetry is different when closely observed. I learned that the Phylum Brachiopoda existed over 500 million years ago. Considering that Homo Sapiens have appeared on Earth only about 5 million years ago, it’s clear that the brachiopods have a much longer history. Although they were very abundant in prehistoric periods, they now reside mainly in deep or cold water, away from larger predators.

I recognized some of the scientific names because I studied the taxonomy extensively during my biology class. Anyone else remember the mnemonic Dumb Kings Play Chess On Fine Green Sand? (Domain, Kingdom, Phylum, Class, Order, Family, Genus, Species) It was fun to connect what I learned from textbooks to actual fossils on display. When studying them, I often wondered why scientists came up with so many difficult to memorize names, but when I actually see the diverse shapes and uniqueness of each specie, I can understand why taxonomy has developed to be so complex. The tour gave me a better sense of what species appeared and went extinct over the broad time period. I hope that future discoveries can fill in the gaps and expand our understanding of the fascinating history of the Earth.

Guess which Instrument?

Posted on February 27, 2016 by Alisa

This is a picture of Lorenzo Coppola playing his basset clarinet, or called “clarinet d’amour.” The instrument is similar to a normal clarinet but longer, which allows greater range of notes (4 octaves!) and the mute in the bell softens the sound.

The Freiburg Baroque Orchestra had traveled from Germany and they performed an All-Mozart program at Cornell. I had previously played baroque music with my flute in high school ensemble band, so I was pretty excited about the event. I was interested in how they would play Mozart pieces using baroque style instruments, but it was surprising to hear the similarity in the music even though different instruments were used. It was very impressive that the orchestra could play the whole program without a conductor, which suggests that they are always listening to each other to adjust the tempo and balance. After closely watching the musicians, I could tell that each of them were highly talented and had practiced together for a long time, from their seamless finger movements. They made the beautiful music seem so effortless, but I know that it takes a lifetime of perseverance to reach the level of perfection that they presented tonight. It was my first time seeing a live opera performance; I was actually not expecting an opera performance, because when I read the word “baritone” in the description, I immediately thought of the baritone instrument. However, the performances were spectacular and I was glad that they provided translations of the songs that I could follow and understand.

I had a lot of fun listening to Mozart music and seeing the different types of baroque style instruments. For example, the flute had a wooden body and the French horn did not have any keys so the musician constantly changed the tube length of the horn in order to play different notes. The concert was above and beyond of what I had expected and I hope there are similar opportunities in the future. Thank you to Sara for taking us there and encouraging us to meet and talk to each other!

({V-Day})

Posted on February 27, 2016 by Alisa

Last weekend under an eerie night sky, the rose residents went up to Bailey Hall to watch The Vagina Monologues. It was my first time attending the show but I had been interested in going because a friend recommended to go see it. At first, I was not sure what to expect from this show. I was expecting it to be informative and perhaps formal since the topics that were discussed were serious issues. On the contrary, the cast delivered their lines in a way that was often humorous and informative. There were shorts that were intense and powerful, while there were also countless funny references that kept the audience captivated.

The topics relating to vagina is rarely raised in public because people find it either awkward or offensive to discuss openly. This show was an eye opening experience where I saw and heard the casts freely talk about a variety of issues that females and/or minority groups face every day. My favorite part of the show was when the cast retold real stories of women, because it raised public consciousness while also keeping the identity of the women safe.

Overall, this was an excellent show that I would recommend to any of my friends. I will be back next year with my friends for more laughter! A big thank you to the staff and cast for making this possible!

Night sky while walking to Bailey Hall

The cast and staff

Never Stop Adventuring

Posted on February 13, 2016 by Alisa

Tonight a group of rose residents had a unique opportunity to attend the Banff mountain film festival world tour at Bailey Hall. I had not heard of this event prior to Rose house announcements, so I wasn’t sure what to expect from this event, other than that it was about natural geographic films. I was interested in this event because I enjoy scenery, traveling, and photography.

When we arrived at Bailey, there were so much more audience than I had expected. The auditorium was almost full! It was clear that everyone was pumped about this event. As we waited for the show to start, one of the photos caught my eye: the sparkling sky blue waters of Lake Louise with snowy Rocky Mountains in the background. I had seen that famous scene in real life when I used to live in Canada. It brought back a lot of memories and the high definition photo made it feel like I was standing in front of the lake.

Of the 8 films that they showed, the most memorable film for me was Denali, A tribute to man’s best friend. This film captured the life story of a dog with his owner who was diagnosed with colorectal cancer. In the video, a quote “People could learn a lot from dogs” was stated. I agree with this because I truly learn a lot from my own pets. Dogs are very loyal to their best friends and they enthusiastically greet you every time they see you. I am often surprised by how much my dog can comprehend of what I say or feel. He taught me the importance of being there for someone when they need you. The film can be watched here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P2zQbsEGh_Q

Most of the films had scenes where the camera was far away at a high location, capturing the members and mountains or snow in the background. I wondered how they were able to accomplish such a difficult task. Overall, the event was an awesome experience and I enjoyed watching and experiencing the different types of landscapes ranging from the snowy mountain peaks to rampaging rivers. And I hope one day to be able to travel like those in the film and I will also make a film or many pictures to keep memories.

Check: 112. Go ice skating at Lynah Rink (161 Things Every Cornellian Should Do)

Posted on January 31, 2016 by Alisa

Today many of the rose house residents and their friends started their first weekend of 2016 spring semester with a blast at the Lynah Rink. This was my first time skating at Cornell and I was very excited to go skating again. I lived in Canada for a couple of years when I was younger and took some skating lessons and I’ve always enjoyed skating since then.
I remember whenever I had night marching band practice in the Alumni field, we passed by the Lynah Rink and often saw the hockey team practicing hard. Cornell has an awesome hockey team and I am honored to have skated in the same place as where all the championships and countless training happened.

Rose at Lynah

Putting skates on took some time but when I got on the ice, time flew by! I made new friends with my hall mates and had a great time skating with them. Overall, I felt that the skating was a successful event where many of the Rose residents got to meet and got to know each other. Events such as these will help build a stronger and friendlier community.
Going ice skating at Lynah Rink is in the list of ‘161 Things Every Cornellian Should Do’ and I am happy to have crossed this off the list. I will try to do at least 100 things on this list before I graduate in 2 years and I hope in the future Rose House continues to have some of the listed activities. I am thankful that Cornell offers so much opportunities and fun activities like this for students and the public.

Rose Scholars Spring 2016

Explore, challenge, connect

Author Archives: Alisa