I realized a while ago that I had passed the 5-year mark since I started my blog. Take a look at my very first post in May, 2007. I had just won my first job as Kurt Masur's assistant at the Orchestre National de France in Paris. I was also very much in the middle of my competition career, doing several competitions every year. I also wrote about the master classes I took (and sometimes organized myself) as well as my guest conducting which had just started to take off.

So many things have changed since then - including my hair style (!). I was then fresh off the school, now I have successfully finished two assistantships (the second one with The Cleveland Orchestra) and started as Music Director of my own orchestra. Instead of taking part in master classes I now regularly teach them. But one thing has not changed and I am very happy about it - my blog has survived for five years and has steady readership among my colleagues! I sometimes update it weekly, sometimes a month passes without a new post, but regardless, my blog gets about 200 hits per day, and 400-800 when I post new content! In a field of very limited interest I consider that a lot!

As the clock is ticking towards midnight and my own birthday is coming to an end, I wish my blog many, many more birthdays! Thanks to all my readers and conductor colleagues who make it worth writing!