Friday cat post!

Oomi crouches in a fort made out of a blanket and a footstool.

Ah, the days when I crouched in forts made of blankets. *is nostalgic* There were some epic forts with large pillows, various pieces of furniture, and I think we even had light sources inside so we could read. Oomi is clearly a tyro at the fort-building thing; I look forward to future efforts. Perhaps involving boxes?

Audition for Cantilena!

So, one of the groups I direct is Cantilena. They are a women's chorus based in Arlington, and I am having a great time directing them. They are a sharp group with a great sound and a wonderful sense of humor (thankfully!) and I am able to have them do all kinds of crazy music. This spring our concert falls on Mother's Day, so we are doing all sorts of music about mothers, from Durufle's "Tota Pulchra Es" to Irving Fine's "Caroline Million" (which is about a mother with filicidal impulses) to Eric Whitacre's beautiful "Seal Lullaby" to Zae Munn's "The Stove" ("One day my mother took a sledgehammer and pounded the kitchen stove into bits.") And let's not forget a brand new commission by local composer and friend Mike Veloso (a setting of poetry by not-quite-as-local writer, liturgist and friend Rachel Barenblat.)

Doesn't that look like fun? Wouldn't you like to sing with us? Wouldn't you especially like to sing with us if you are a high soprano? Well, we are having one more day of auditions, this coming Monday evening, and we would love to collect a few more voices. We are open to hearing all voice parts, but we are especially looking for high sopranos. So pass this around and come on down!

Weekend Concert Calendar, 1/21/09

Well, this is getting up slightly later than usual...but since I don't have anything for Friday, that shouldn't greatly affect your plans!

Saturday:

9:30 am - 2:00 pm: Boston Secession Choral Workshop. For more information, click here.

4:00 pm: Voices Rising; "Where the Heart Is" - music about the idea of home; Congregational Church of Needham.

7:00 pm: Convivium Musicum; "Counter Reformation: Musical Responses to a Crisis of Faith"; Cambridge Friends Meeting House.

8:00 pm: Halalisa Singers; "Bound for Glory: Songs of the Journey"; First Parish Unitarian Universalist, Lexington.

Sunday:

3:00 pm: Halalisa Singers; "Bound for Glory: Songs of the Journey"; First Church Unitarian, Littleton.

5:00 pm: King's Chapel Concert Series (featuring the King's Chapel Choir); "A Celebration of Psalms"; King's Chapel, Boston. (Includes three world premieres!)

5:30 pm: Convivium Musicum; "Counter Reformation: Musical Responses to a Crisis of Faith"; St. Stephen's Church, Providence, RI.

Did I miss anything? Leave it in the comments!

Friday cat post!

Oomi decides to...impersonate the Virgin Mary?

Monday link

This past weekend, both Frederica von Stade and Chanticleer were on A Prairie Home Companion. Check them out!

I recommend in particular the clips at 5:00 and 29:00. You might need to be Minnesotan to truly appreciate the first one.

Hat tip to friend HH!

Friday cat post!

Oomi climbs down a wall. She is a shiny, shiny kitty!


I had trouble understanding the architecture in this picture. This is taken in my brother's basement; this is a portion of wall that is covered with carpet. It meets the ceiling but there's a 6 inch or so ledge at the top, where Oomi likes to perch. After the wall stops at the top then there's the ledge (and then there's insulation and cement.)

Weekend Concert Calendar, 1/14/09

Here it is, your weekend concert calendar! There is lots of stuff for you to enjoy this MLK weekend.

Friday:

8:00 pm: Cornell University Glee Club; classical and contemporary men's choral music; Old South Church, Boston.

8:00 pm: Exsultemus; "Lamentations: settings of the Lamentations of Jeremiah from England, France, Italy, and Mexico"; Union Church of Waban, Newton.

8:00 pm: Cantata Singers; Duruflé's Requiem, and works by Harbison and Schütz; First Church Cambridge.

8:00 pm: Lexington Pops Chorus; Schubert's Mass in G, selections from Fiddler on the Roof, and more; Hancock Church, Lexington.

Saturday:

7:30 pm: Cambridge Multicultural Arts Center presents the Harlem Gospel Choir; "Joyful Noise Gospel Concert," celebrating the life of Dr. Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr.; Sanders Theatre, Cambridge.

8:00 pm: Exsultemus; "Lamentations: settings of the Lamentations of Jeremiah from England, France, Italy, and Mexico"; University Lutheran Church, Harvard Square, Cambridge.

8:00 pm: Coro Stella Maris; "Fairest Isle; Music of Purcell and Britten"; Grace Episcopal Church, Salem.

8:00 pm: Lexington Pops Chorus; Schubert's Mass in G, selections from Fiddler on the Roof, and more; Hancock Church, Lexington.

Sunday:

3:00 pm: Boston Commmunity Choir; Celebrating the life of Dr. Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr.; Ahavath Torah Congregation, Stoughton.

3:00 pm: Coro Stella Maris; "Fairest Isle; Music of Purcell and Britten"; St. John's Episcopal Church, Gloucester.

3:00 pm: Exsultemus; "Lamentations: settings of the Lamentations of Jeremiah from England, France, Italy, and Mexico"; First Lutheran Church, Boston.

4:00 pm: Convivium Musicum; "Counter Reformation: Musical Responses to a Crisis of Faith"; St. Paul's Episcopal Church, Brookline.

Monday:

7:00 pm: Boston Children's Chorus; "From a Child's Mind: The 7th Annual Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Tribute Concert"; NEC's Jordan Hall, Boston.

Did I miss anything? Leave it in the comments!

Monday link

According to Wikipedia, a "flash mob" is: "a large group of people who assemble suddenly in a public place, perform an unusual action for a brief time, then quickly disperse." If you look on YouTube, you can find a number of flash mobs that revolve around dance routines in public (train stations are a favorite.) One of the more famous is the T-Mobile publicity stunt in the Liverpool street station, although Wikipedia says that the term "flash mob" does not properly refer to publicity stunts staged by corporations.

Well, opera has finally jumped on the bandwagon! Hat tip to my uncle for the link.

Friday cat post!

Look at the demure little kitty in front of the heater.



But wait, what's that on her coat? Let's go in closer.



Pine needles! A smoking gun!

Weekend Concert Calendar, 1/7/10

I have only ONE thing for you this weekend. Which is sad for you, but after December, it's rather a relief for me.

Besides, sometimes life is easier with fewer choices! ALL the readers of this blog can go to this one concert! You can all sit together. Oh, except how will you recognize each other? OK, everyone wear a rainbow-colored hat. Got it? Good!

Sunday:

2:00 pm: Cappella Clausura; "A Chantar: The Greek Connection"; Forsyth Chapel, Forest Hills Cemetery, Jamaica Plain.

Audition time!

It's a new year, and that means auditions!

Cantilena, my own group, is holding auditions for the next two Mondays. Come join us for rehearsal; auditions will be held afterwards. I'll do a brief range check, a pitch-matching exercise, a little sight-reading, and then we'll have you sing either the selection of your choice or "America the Beautiful." More details on our website! We are looking especially for high sopranos or low altos.

I have also received a special request from a friend who sings with Chorus pro Musica to post about their auditions. They have added another audition date, Saturday January 9. Auditions are by appointment between 1 and 4 pm, and there are openings for all voice parts except soprano. Auditions will be at Old South Church in Boston. Information on how to schedule an audition, and what the audition will entail can be found at their website.

For more information, check out the Greater Boston Choral Consortium's audition page, or the Boston Globe's online calendar (check the classical music listings.)

New Year's cat post!

Last week, someone was knocking all the ornaments off my brother and sister-in-law's tree.

"What are you looking at me like that for? You think I did this?"


"I can't believe you would just leap to conclusions like that. All I would ever do is sit peacefully under the tree. See? Hmph."

Happy Boxing Day

The Sunday before Christmas, which is the big holiday music service at my church, was snowed out. (No worries - the choir will sing their planned Bach Cantata selections in late January, although I am sad that the bell choir didn't get to perform, and am not sure if we can reschedule that.) However our Christmas Eve service went ahead as planned and was of course quite lovely. But I did find myself thinking in the middle of the service of some people I care about for whom the holidays are an unhappy or stressful time (whether owing to a recent death of a beloved family member or great difficulties interacting with their families or other reasons) and that they might have a great deal of difficulty relating to the completely magical and unrelentingly positive attitude of our service.

Well, yesterday what to my wondering eyes should appear but Jay Smooth's latest video offering. If you are not particularly happy this holiday season, Jay Smooth has got your back with "In Defense of Humbug."

Christmas cat post!

Merry Christmas!

Before my brother and sister-in-law left for Austin (where our family is celebrating Christmas this year) my brother took several photos of "Oomi at the holidays." Here is the first one; more to follow next week.

In this first shot, it appears that someone has knocked a number of ornaments off the tree. Hm. I wonder if there are any clues as to the identity of the criminal in this photo...

Monday link

Have you been following NBC's show "The Sing-Off"? It started last week, with shows on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. And tonight is the grand finale, at 8/7c.

I haven't been following myself, but with eight excellent a cappella groups competing together on national TV, what's not to like, really? And since we live in the digital age, I am fully intending to get caught up after Christmas, when I have a bit of a breather. You can do the same; NBC will be offering the videos of the episodes on its site until 1/8/10.

Friday cat post!

Continued from last week, we have the second installment of "Oomi's love affair with the heater." Here she is warming her little paws. Just like the poor little Match girl. Or not.

Weekend Concert Calendar, 12/17/09

Ah, the last big performance weekend of the year!

I would like to highlight the fact that Cappella Clausura, one of my groups (although I'm not singing with them this year due to scheduling difficulties) is coming to my church, First Parish Cohasset, for a big huge concert at 4 pm on Sunday. If you are anywhere in the area, please come and check out some beautiful Baroque and Renaissance music, as well as dancers, giant puppets, and costumes!

Friday:

7:30 pm: First Parish Congregational Wakefield; Annual Messiah Sing; First Parish Congregational, Wakefield.

8:00 pm: Masterworks Chorale; Annual Messiah Sing; Cary Hall, Lexington.

8:00 pm: Chorus pro Musica; Annual Holiday Concert; Old South Church, Copley Sq., Boston.

8:00 pm: The Oriana Consort; “New Songs for Midwinter," choral music for Advent and Nativity from the 16th, 17th, 18th, 20th, and 21st centuries; First Lutheran Church, Boston.

8:00 pm: Boston Gay Men's Chorus; "Our Home for the Holidays"; Jordan Hall, New England Conservatory, Boston.

Saturday:

2:00 pm: Concord Women's Chorus; "In the Glow of the Moon"; Trinity Episcopal Church, Concord.

8:00 pm: Masterworks Chorale; Annual Messiah Sing; Cary Hall, Lexington.

8:00 pm: Boston Gay Men's Chorus; "Our Home for the Holidays"; Jordan Hall, New England Conservatory, Boston.

8:00 pm: Back Bay Chorale; "A Venetian Christmas"; Marsh Chapel, Boston University, Boston.

8:00 pm: The Boston Camerata, in collaboration with the SHARQ Arabic Music Ensemble; "A Mediterranean Christmas"; First Parish Church, Newbury.

8:00 pm: Blue Heron Renaissance Choir; "Christmas in Medieval England"; First Church Congregational, Cambridge.

Sunday:

2:00 pm: Friends of the Performing Arts in Concord (FOPAC); 4th Annual Messiah Sing; 51 Walden, Concord.

3:00 pm: Back Bay Chorale; "A Venetian Christmas"; Marsh Chapel, Boston University, Boston.

3:00 pm: Nashoba Valley Chorale; Handel's Messiah; St. Anne's Church, Littleton.

3:00 pm: The Boston Camerata, in collaboration with the SHARQ Arabic Music Ensemble; "A Mediterranean Christmas"; First Lutheran Church, Boston.

3:30 pm: Assabet Valley Mastersingers; Annual Messiah Sing; First Congregational Church, Shrewsbury.

4:00 pm: Cappella Clausura; "Gloria: A Renaissance Christmas"; First Parish Cohasset. Features Creationdance, giant puppets, and costumes! I'm hosting!

4:00 pm: Youth Pro Musica; Annual Winter Concert; First Unitarian Society in Newton.

4:00 pm: Pilgrim Festival Chorus; Messiah sing; Church of the Pilgrimage, Plymouth.

4:00 pm: Youth pro Musica; Annual Winter Concert, including Vivaldi's Gloria; First Unitarian Society in Newton, West Newton.

5:00 pm: Harvard Unitarian Church; Annual Messiah Sing; Harvard Unitarian Church in Harvard, MA.

7:30 pm: Belmont Open Sings; Messiah Sing; Payson Park Church, Belmont. (Weather make-up date is 12/21.)

8:00 pm: Boston Gay Men's Chorus; "Our Home for the Holidays"; Jordan Hall, New England Conservatory, Boston.

Did I miss anything? Leave it in the comments!

Monday link

As usual, the Muppets set the standard, this time in Christmas carols. Hat-tip to MLR.

Also, the Tufts Beelzebubs are competing on NBC's "The Sing-Off." Check out the Boston Globe's article on them. And may the best group win!

Mid-year auditions

Many choruses have auditions mid-year, but most are in January (like Cantilena! And some others.) Chorus Pro Musica is holding theirs on Monday, Dec. 21, so be aware if you are interested in auditioning for their spring season.

Caturday cat post!

The week was too hectic - everything is a day late this week!

Oomi is caught mid-stretch. Notice the key strategic positioning in front of the heater.