Leaving My Handprint

We're just home from two weeks in the southwest, with both dogs in tow -- Santa Fe, Sedona, Flagstaff, the Grand Canyon, Las Vegas and Albuquerque.  Fantastic scenery, memorable hikes to Bell rock and the Amhitaba Stuppa in Sedona, bubbling away in Caesar's spa and having the "head to toes" treatment at 10,000 Waves Asian-style spa in Santa Fe, beautiful weather, great food.  One of the most memorable moments was a visit with scuptor/poet friend Bill Worrell in his Santa Fe home (pinon fire in the kiva fireplace) and leaving behind a handprint in red.  The archways in Worrell's adobe home are adorned not with traditional southwestern floral designs but the painted handprints of friends.  Scott and I joined Brooks and Dunn and other notables with our hands at the apex of the kitchen lintel.  See my gallery for the evidence!

Springtime in New York

It was a beautiful few days in New York City over the weekend, with clear skies and sunny spring weather!  The Heritage Festival brought children, middle and high school singers to Riverside Church for the two day festival.  A musical highlight was the final performance on Saturday by Stuart Younse's Primi Voci from the Connecticut Children's Chorus at the Hartt School.  Their exquisite singing of my complete EARTHSONGS was one of the best performances I've heard.  Simply gorgeous!  Enjoyed a fantastic dinner with friends at Apiary in the East Village, good Blue Bottle and Stumptown coffees, a walk in the park and on the Highline, and a challenging cab ride to JFK today trying to avoid the 30,000 cyclists in town for the five-borough ride.

Chattanooga Girls Choir

A quick trip to Chattanooga over the weekend brought me together with the Chattanooga Girls Choir for a day of workshops and an "informance" for parents and friends.  Special thanks to director LuAnn Holden and her dedicated staff and Charles Collins' Chattanooga Girls Leadership Academy singers.  So great to hear them sing my HOLD FAST YOUR DREAMS, FOR SPACIOUS SKIES, and learn YO LE CANTO TODO EL DIA on the spot. And yes, I saw the Choo Choo!

Home Concerts

The University of Central Florida choirs sang two recent concerts in Orlando and Leesburg to bring to an end the spring semester.  The program was an ecclectic one centered around the theme of Singing Our Journeys -- literal jouneys to other lands, cultures and traditions, and symbolic journeys of life and spirit. Bravo to all of the singers and my colleague Kelly Miller, conductor of the Women's Chorus and coordinator of music education, for two brilliant evenings of shared singing.

Twin Premieres

The Exsultate chorale in Venice, Florida sang the premiere performance Sunday of two works they commissioned on texts by Wendell Berry.  A TIMBERED CHOIR and THE PEACE OF WILD THINGS were grouped with THE WHEEL, WE CLASP THE HANDS, and THE CIRCLES OF OUR LIVES to form a cycle of pieces, all on Berry texts. Each work was preceded by the reading of the poem, two of them recordings of Berry himself.  I find his words profound and elegant, with a great love for the land, the circles of generations, and the wheel of time connecting us all.  It was evident that the singers were connected to this awareness, as well.  Many thanks to all singers, board members and supporters who were invested in this special weekend, especially conductor Steve Johns and Tom Olshewsky, who conceived the idea, and pianist Mary Jeanne Moorman, whose sensitive playing shaped the performance.