Wow, what a week. I realized yesterday that I hadn’t written any posts since sending out my newsletter on Monday. Although one finish line (the end of the BSF year) had passed, this was concert week, with performances last night and tonight. Thursday afternoon and basically all day Friday were consumed with making food for the reception last night; Tuesday and Thursday night were rehearsals, and then I rushed to get to the venue yesterday in time to set up my cupcake stands and put out my food.
How on earth I ever, ever was able to do the reception setup as well is beyond me. As it was, I was having somewhat of a panic attack as I put together the stands. They always take longer than I think. And even though I did remember to bring my camera, I never used it.
The performance went well, I think. But I was once again reminded how much my enjoyment and participation in an event depends on my preparation. (Have you already heard that from me about a million times? Yes, I know.) For the first two concerts of the season I really invested some time, money and effort into preparation. I paid last fall for a lesson with a good pianist to work on “Song of the Open Road,” a very difficult piece that worried me quite a bit. Then for our Christmas concert I paid for a download of John Rutter’s Gloria from a website that has the individual part you select sung on top of an actual performance. (I just went online to get the link but couldn’t find it, instead getting a much more extensive catalog of works available at a site called PartsPredominant, which I think I’ll probably use next time I need the extra help.) Use of this material replaces just listening to a regular performance or sitting at the piano and plunking out your part. (I sometimes sit at the piano and play my part while I have a practice music track running, but the problem with doing that is my poor piano skills—I usually can’t keep up with the track.) For the second two concerts, though, I just wasn’t as involved. I missed rehearsals. I didn’t make myself practice much at home, even though I knew perfectly well that once I get going on a practice session I enjoy it. I did okay last night, with the exception of the final piece, a selection from the opera La Traviata. There was some la-la-la going on, I’m afraid. Maybe before tonight I’ll get a better grasp of the words. Hey, we have pieces in French, Italian, and Latin! Give me a break!
Ho-kay. I should have the video up on Monday. We had a small-ish but enthusiastic crowd last night and will probably have a bigger one tonight. I think every single person there came to the reception, which was truly lovely. Since our theme was “The Greatest Choral Show on Earth,” the coordinator had a circus theme, with popcorn, peanuts, little animal figurines, and other special touches. The quality of the decorating has gone up exponentially under her leadership. I’m hoping she’ll be willing to keep on doing this next year.
By the way—are you looking for something to do tonight? If you live anywhere near Bethany Lutheran Church you should definitely plan to come at 7:30. You can buy tickets online or just get them at the door. We always do better on Saturday night—Friday night you get a party, Saturday you get a better performance.
Hope to see you there!