Saturday, September 30, 2006

exegesis and choir and chores, oh my

It's one of those days were there is a little bit of everything. So perhaps I'll just make a list rather than trying to write prose:

-did (and am doing) laundry
-had friends over for breakfast ... waffles and Spolumbo sausages... Yummy!
-the inevitable tidying up that goes with having people over (why is it that clutter or a spot on the floor can go unnoticed until 20 minutes before company arrives?!)
-worked on exegesis for a bit - am starting to itch to get into word studies and whatnot...I guess I'm on the right track!
-am setting up (with MUCH help from Gordon) my new computer...which we named "Skookumchuck" as our first two computers have been "Tofino" and "Uclulet" ...
-we're off to run a few errands and then head out to Langley to have dinner with Gordon's folks and then we're on to Abbotfords for Abendmusik Vespers (if you live in Vancouver, you can catch us SUNDAY NIGHT @ 8pm at Knox United on Balaclava @ 41st)

Off and running!

Monday, September 25, 2006

people can sing

People can sing. It's true.

Many of them have been told at some point in time that they can't, but MOST of them actually can. And even the ones that truly can't can join in a group.

And so I don't understand why we would ever gather together to "SING" and then let some people at the front just play the music and do the singing while we mumble along.

It just doesn't make any sense to me.

So if I'm at the front of a room that you're in, and it's time to sing...I mean that it's time for YOU to sing. I'll sing with you...maybe help you find your way a bit, and on rare occasions, sing something that will decorate what the whole room is doing...

Nah, you'll just have to be there to understand.

This weekend 400 people were in a room and there were instruments and singers at the front...but they were only there to accompany the 400 person choir. And you know what? They SANG. And they sang songs they knew, and songs they didn't know, and they learned new things and they sang unison and they sang in parts. A capella and with full band...which by the way was two guitars, a piano, a djembe, a violin, a viola da gamba, a trombone and a french horn. Yes. I'm not making this up.

We sang old hymns and new hymns, old texts with new tunes, and new texts with old tunes. We sang songs from South Africa, England, US and Canada...some written by famous people, and some written by not-so-well-known folks.

It was a weekend of working for me, and I'm pretty tired, but I also feel an overwhelming sense of loving my job.

This is a unique job in a unique community ... I'm just hoping I can say that at several points throughout my career.

Monday, September 11, 2006

a bouquet of sharpened pencils...


There is something about a new school year that causes me to long for Staples or Office Depot. However, when you keep taking one class at a time, you can't really justify a "school supplies" shopping spree. Maybe a new pen or notebook. Definitely the required textbooks. After that, you're done. Put the organizational materials back on the shelf. And the box of highlighters.
Go home and look on your shelf of such things from years gone by. Pens, highlighters, underliners, post-its, etc. No pencils as they seem to disappear during the teaching of piano lessons and the rehearsing of choral music. Aha! Add pencils to the allowable list.

Anyway. This is that week of life when I have to constantly check my schedule as to where I'm supposed to be. This is that week during which I have a suspense-like curiosity as to whether I've double-booked any students, made an impossible transition, or just made a thoughtless commitment that will turn my life upside down.

I think I'm safe on all three counts, but ask me in a week.

I like the new beginning part of weeks like this. New class: Exegesis. New community: Regent...still Regent, but new because the old people have gone and the new people have come. New student schedule: Thursday from noon to 9:30 and just an hour and a half on Fridays. New music: Abendmusik AND CCC.

(sidebar: Did I mention that I get to sing another project with the Canadian Chamber Choir?!?! Oh my. I think this passed without mention. Yes. October 13-21 I will be in Manitoba with 17 others from across Canada to sing and sing and sing. We'll be in residence in Gretna for a few days and then have concerts in Winkler, Brandon, Steinbach and Winnipeg. I'm VERY excited to sing with them again. The three projects I've done with them have been fantastic and have always left me exhausted but very enthusiastic about music-making. More to come on that later!)

So yes. A 'new' year is beginning.

Happy new year!