Starting out with the young miller

                                                         

MY SCHUBERT ADVENTURE

Franz Schubert (1797-1828)


My name is Jared Winn-Taryor. I am Fifteen. I live in Emeryville, California. I attend Berkeley Highschool.

I started singing the summer of 2011 as one of the many students of the Young Musicians Choral Orchestra ( formerly known as the Young Musicians Program). I have been under the tutelage of James Meredith for three years now and still currently am.

During my second year of working with James he assigned me Danksagung an den Bach, the fourth song of the Die Schöne Müllerin cycle by Schubert. Coincidentally it was also the fourth song assigned to me to learn and sing.

For me to better understand Danksagung an den Bach. James had given a CD by Christopheren Nomura of the the whole cycle for me to listen to so that I could know the story of the wandering miller's assistant. I immediately fell in love with the music and after I had listened to it multiple times. I had asked James if I could learn the entire cycle of twenty songs.

I have sung Danksagung several times in public, including in a masterclass with the famous collaborative pianist, Martin Katz. So I have gotten some mileage out of this song.

Now both of us are taking on the challenge and overall joy of learning the whole cycle. Without any prior training in the German language, I will be learning the words for each song, both the pronunciation and meaning. It is our plan to learn five songs every year of high school so that when I am a graduating senior I will be able to sing the whole Die Schöne Müllerin cycle.

I am writing this blog for myself and for others so that they will know my adventure learning and studying Schubert's Music. Since the young miller in this story could easily have been my age I will to grow up with him through song.