S.A.C.C., R.Y.C., and O.R.S.Y.C.

Just home from Spokane where I spent time with three young choirs (the Spokane Area Children's Chorus, Ranier Youth Chorus and Oregon Repertory Singers Youth Choir) from Washington and Oregon at the Spokane Area Children Chorus' Choral Festival and conducted the first performance of SWEET ARE THE LIPS OF ALL THAT SING, written in celebration of their 25th anniversary, in the Bing (yes, Crosby) theatre.   What an extraordinary group of singers -- smart, focused and joyful!  Their work with festival conductor Judith Herrington was inspiring and she was a teaching model for all of us.  The performance of the new work was feelingful and heartfelt and brought a real resonance to the words of Oliver Wendell Holmes.

Other highlights of the weekend were seeing old friends, sipping Yaah bittersweet hot chocolate at the Chocolate Apothecary, enjoying a northwest salmon dinner alfresco on the outside patio of Anthony's in full view of the spectacular falls of the Spokane river, and experiencing their tremendous power walking across the supsension bridges just feet above the water -- a tremendous accumulation and release of energy in a surge of sound and spray.  I hear it still.

I left my heart...

The Contra Costa Children's Chorus celebrated Iris Lamanna's retirement after 27 years as Founder and Artistic Director at a gala concert Sunday in Walnut Creek, California.  As part of the celebration they sang the premiere performance of AND EVER IS NOW, the commission to honor Iris' long tenure with the chorus.  In addition, the younger choristers performed the complete EARTHSONGS.  I had the opportunity to interact with the singers in a workshop setting on Saturday and be in the audience for the concert, a beautiful and moving performance.  Iris' total commitment to the singers, their love of singing, and the audience's gratitude and pride were continually evident throughout the evening. 

Other highlights of the weekend included the B.C.I.E.A. (Best Croissant I Ever Ate) and the perfect loaf of country sourdough bread at Tartine, numerous cappuccinos at Fourbarrel, my new favorite coffeehouse, "Asian Confusion" noodles at Chef Jon Lee's, warm olives and pizza at Delfina, Indian "street food" at VIK'S Chaat corner, cheese from the Cowgirl Creamery and orange/fennel sausage from Boccalone Salumeria ("tasty salted pig parts"!) at the Ferry Building (did we do anything but eat?), a walk on the Golden Gate Bridge, a quick Sunday morning trip to Sonoma and Napa, temperatures in the upper 50's and the gorgeous scenery of the San Francisco bay area.

Saturday Afternoon at 57th Street and 7th Avenue

Saturday afternoon was warm and beautiful in New York City and the inside of Carnegie Hall was equally glorious.  What a privilege to conduct again on that stage!  New orchestrations of CLOTH OF GLORY and THE CIRCLES OF OUR LIVES were a highlight for me, on a program that also included CANTATE DOMINO, I AM IN NEED OF MUSIC and SIMPLE BOAT. It was wonderful to have students of mine from the university as part of the chorus, family and friends in from Illinois to attend the performance, and a happy reunion with long time friend Dale Reynolds who was at the piano in the orchestra.  Bravo to Joyce Flanagan, Monique Retzlaff, Ron Sayer and Steve Johns for preparing their choruses so thoroughly for this concert.  They were an exceptional chorus of alert, focused, mature and sensitive singers, whom I enjoyed in rehearsal and was proud of in concert.  Other memorable moments from the weekend were a magnificent dinner at the foot of the big Buddha at TAO, a leisurely evening in Central Park with no agenda, nouveau Mexican at Hell's Kitchen, the revival of Larry Kramer's devastating play The Normal Heart, and my niece's unexpected live appearance onstage on MTV's The Seven.  What more can you ask for?

3 Days - 14 Choirs!

This was an extraordinary week full of singing.  On Tuesday I was in Tampa for the Gulf Coast Youth Choirs' Young Voices Festival.  The festival, begun by Lynne Gackle and continued by Margie Smith, brought together seven choirs for a day of clinics and a massed choir experience, culminating in a grand evening concert.  On Thursday the Rehoboth Road Middle School singers were in town for OrlandoFest and I had the opportunity to interact with them and their director Sue Jacob in a morning workshop setting.  Saturday was the Siouxland Youth Choirs annual Kidzsing in Sioux City, Iowa, established by Shirley Leubke, the dedicated supervisor of music for the Sioux City schools, founder and director of the Siouxland Youth Choirs, and a long time friend.  The day long event culminated in a grand finale concert of 150 singers.  Today I'm on a plane to Orlando with a lot of Disney-bound Midwesterners and their children, listening to Bobby McFerrin through headphones...

Sunday in the Park

It was a glorious Easter Sunday in Central park (and atop the Highline, my new favorite green spot in New York City).  I was in town as a guest of the Wando High School choir from Mt. Pleasant, South Carolina to hear the premiere performance of SEA FEVER at Carnegie Hall.  Their performance was beautifully sung and expertly crafted by their conductor Eric Wilkinson.  What a treat to hear them in this beautiful hall!  They'll sing again tonight as part of a large choral and orchestral concert conducted by John Rutter but, alas, I am already in the Jet Blue terminal at JFK...

If you've not strolled the Highline, it's a really creative re-invention of old elevated train tracks that span nine blocks from 20th street to below 12th along the Hudson river.  Trees, grasses and spring flowers sprout in and around some of the old tracks, with lots of seating and unexpected surprises.

Another first this weekend was a visit to the Rubin museum of Tibetan art in Chelsea, a small and exquisite space filled with treasures.