Earlier this month I was lucky enough to visit my parents in Austin, TX (where it was either 80 or 90 degrees, sunny every day, and there were flowers out everywhere in the city.) They took me to see the movie Quartet while I was there, which was utterly delightful. It is a movie about a home for retired musicians, and the process of putting on a gala concert there. Everyone's performance was marvelous, and the whole film was utterly charming. One of the best things about it is that many of the roles were played by retired professional musicians, not actors, and Dame Gwyneth Jones had a cameo. I heartily recommend it. You can watch the trailer here.
Today's link is Maggie Smith being interviewed. Even though she clearly is not the biggest fan of tooting her own horn, she is quite funny, charming, and honest!
Friday, March 29, 2013
Thursday, March 28, 2013
Weekend Concert/Service calendar
Hey, it's Holy Week! So the chances of great choral concerts are more slim, but there is a lot of good choral music going on this week! Feel free to leave a note telling us what crazy-awesome music is going on at your church this weekend.
And if you are on the South Shore, stop by First Parish Cohasset at 10 am on Sunday, where you can fill your needs for Handel and Sweelinck and folk and gospel all at the same place!
And if you are on the South Shore, stop by First Parish Cohasset at 10 am on Sunday, where you can fill your needs for Handel and Sweelinck and folk and gospel all at the same place!
Wednesday, March 27, 2013
Audition announcement!
This is an audition announcement for any sopranos looking for an a cappella singing opportunity during Wednesdays before noon. The Notables, a group that I used to direct, is looking for both soprano 1's and 2's. They are a tremendous amount of fun, and a really generous group of ladies - the purpose of the group is to go sing in retirement homes in the MetroWest area. Details are below!
• 16 member FUN group made up of women of all ages from the western suburbs
• Rehearsals and most of the concerts are Wednesday 9:30-11:30 am, September through May
• Approximately 16 concerts bringing music to a wide variety of independent and assisted living and nursing home venues
• Wide repertoire of songs from the early 1920’s to the 1970’s in 4, 5 and 6 part harmony, occasional kazoos and choreography
• Under professional direction; audition required
NEEDED!!!
SOPRANOS (I and II)
for a
WOMEN’S A CAPPELLA GROUP
“THE NOTABLES”
• Rehearsals and most of the concerts are Wednesday 9:30-11:30 am, September through May
• Approximately 16 concerts bringing music to a wide variety of independent and assisted living and nursing home venues
• Wide repertoire of songs from the early 1920’s to the 1970’s in 4, 5 and 6 part harmony, occasional kazoos and choreography
• Under professional direction; audition required
Interested? Find out more and come see us sing!
Contact : Alice Moylan 781-899-9397
Kay Wynant 781-894-4102
(E-mail addresses also available, just leave a comment.)
Sunday, March 24, 2013
Great job, Boston Gay Men's Chorus!
I am sticking my head back into the blogosphere to congratulate the Boston Gay Men's Chorus, who gave a tremendous concert today. I was looking around last month for a concert I could share with my college singers, and since the title of today's program was "Seize the Day!" and we sang that song last year, I thought it would be a great show to take them to. I also knew that the BGMC often has a Broadway bent, and lots of my kids like Broadway, so it seemed like a great fit. I had no idea how right I was!
I didn't think anything was going to be able to top Ricky Ian Gordon's multi-movement work Only Heaven, settings of the poetry of Langston Hughes that was arranged for the BGMC and also stunningly danced by two great dancers, Christian Bufford and Bradley Gibson. This is a work that people should absolutely look into (solo sopranos, it was originally a song cycle for you!) Kudos are also due to the Wellesley High School Select Choirs, who sang in the middle of the show. But Stephen Schwartz's work Testimony, based on words from the It Gets Better Project, was definitely the high point for me - it brought me to tears. It was written for the San Francisco Gay Men's Chorus, whose performance is in the video below. Hearing a stage full of hundreds of gay men singing full-throated and full-hearted "It gets more than better, it gets amazing and astounding" was a really powerful moment. The concert is over now, as today was the last performance, but you can hear "Testimony" below and you can go to the BGMC's next performance! I was very impressed at their professionalism and quality; they really assembled a program that perfectly played to their strengths and had a powerful emotional impact. Bravo, guys!
I didn't think anything was going to be able to top Ricky Ian Gordon's multi-movement work Only Heaven, settings of the poetry of Langston Hughes that was arranged for the BGMC and also stunningly danced by two great dancers, Christian Bufford and Bradley Gibson. This is a work that people should absolutely look into (solo sopranos, it was originally a song cycle for you!) Kudos are also due to the Wellesley High School Select Choirs, who sang in the middle of the show. But Stephen Schwartz's work Testimony, based on words from the It Gets Better Project, was definitely the high point for me - it brought me to tears. It was written for the San Francisco Gay Men's Chorus, whose performance is in the video below. Hearing a stage full of hundreds of gay men singing full-throated and full-hearted "It gets more than better, it gets amazing and astounding" was a really powerful moment. The concert is over now, as today was the last performance, but you can hear "Testimony" below and you can go to the BGMC's next performance! I was very impressed at their professionalism and quality; they really assembled a program that perfectly played to their strengths and had a powerful emotional impact. Bravo, guys!
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