Autumn In America

Ah, Autumn. It's my favorite time of year.

Spending the season here in the US. I was scheduled to be in the UK from September through the new year, but health issues have forced me to remain close to doctors. I am hoping to be able to make it to London by the second week of December.

The temperature isn't particularly cool this year. September gave the impression of a very early Autumn with temperatures dropping. But in early October, the temperature rose a bit and it has remained rather moderate... until the past 3 days. It is finally starting to feel like Autumn.

Regardless of the moderate temperatures, I have been enjoying the traditional foods of the season. I can't seem to get enough pumpkin into my system. A problem I welcome every year.

Nature naturally fluctuates. It cycles in small ways and in large, not only in temperature trends, but in every way. This year, one could say, is "the year of the mouse".

The mouse population is especially large this year. They are everywhere. The hardware stores can't seem to keep a supply of traps on hand. From a distance in the large hardware stores, you can always see a cluster of folks standing in front of the shelf that has the vermin eradication products.

I live next to an open land space, so my property has its share of this years' mousey trend. They are big, they are fat, they are brave, and they are sassy.

I am lucky in the respect that, unlike so many others this year, they have not invaded my house. This may be due to having an abundance of food sources outside. But they are everywhere on my property and completely unafraid of me; which is a little disconcerting.

They are, however, quite fearful of the hawk and owl population. I think the natural predators have been much more successful than I have been in reducing their numbers. I know this because most mornings of the week, there are fresh owl pellets on the deck to greet me. My level of joy regarding their assistance is somewhat tempered by the disgust I feel when I clean up the pellets.

Thanksgiving is much later this year and has made the month feel longer. I like that. I love Thanksgiving; a holiday that is about cooking fabulous food, eating it, and having serious leisure time for 4 days. It's all about reading, playing computer games, watching movies, and napping in front of the fire. It very well could be the smartest thing America has going for it.

On Thanksgiving Friday, I get my Christmas tree and I start listening to, and singing, Christmas music. But until then, it's Autumn. :-)

Climate Change

There is a lot of hysteria around climate change, as if it is something new and different and that we (the bad children) have brought this upon ourselves.

There has always been climate change. The alternating cooling and heating of the planet has been going on since the world came into being. The planet has been through many ice ages and tropical heatings. There is geological proof of this. We're on a cycle. Currently, we are on a warming trend from the last ice age.

Traditionally, volcanic eruptions and earthquakes are responsible for major shifts in weather activity for many years after the event.

Most recently, with the eruption of the Eyjafjallajökull volcano in Iceland in 2010 and the Japanese earthquake in 2011 that shifted the Earth's axis, we are experiencing a lot of climate differences. 

Secondary causes of climate change is industry, not the individual. If absolutely every individual on the planet did their part, it wouldn't begin to make a noticeable difference. They want to shift the responsibility onto the individual so the public will not notice that we are powerless to do anything.

But the earth's natural cycle will continue. Regardless of our actions, the planet will continue on this swing towards warming. If we are to survive, we need to learn to adapt to this natural phenomenon, not panic and blame.

Polluting... well, that's another topic and something we need to address. We CAN adapt to the heating of the planet, but the toxins produced by industry (pollution, waste, GMO's, pharmaceuticals) will likely kill us long before we do, if we don't act now.

Brighton

  I am in Brighton, England. 

  At long last I have made it over the pond and I am here to sing!

  I am here for the Brighton Early Music Festival, also known as BREMF. I am singing with a few different ensembles in an even larger number of different concerts.

  I arrived on September 15th and have rehearsed with all of my ensembles. Although the festival takes place in Brighton, the rehearsal venues vary from London to throughout Sussex and span a good part of the Southern coast.

   The festival is the second largest of its' kind and is quite spectacular. The main festival begins on Friday October 26th with the Tallis Scholars with "The Field of the Cloth of Gold - Celebrating a Great Treaty" (pg.5) 8pm at St. Bartholomew's Church and culminates with the International Baroque Players with the BREMF Singers with our "Celebrating Coronations -And a Diamond Jubilee" (pg.16) performance on Sunday November 11th, 7pm at St.George's Church.



  In one of the larger extravaganzas, we will be recreating a "1589 Florentine Intermedi" (pg 10) complete with aerial dancers at 5 and 9pm on November 3rd, 2012 at St. Bartholomew's Church.

Download the entire brochure or view it online.

The Insanity of the Chick-fil-A vs. Gay Marriage Brew-ha-ha

While I am typically not a political activist, I am aware of what is really going in the world: not the spin Big Business and the news media want me to think about. This article was long but I thought that this excerpt hit the nail on the head in a way that people should notice.

The Chick-fil-A Distraction

Thursday August 2, 2012

by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger

Editor of NaturalNews.com

The entire Chick-fil-A fiasco, you see, is a total distraction to keep your hearts and minds occupied while the banksters steal your future. While you're debating the merits of chicken sandwiches versus gay marriage, you are being depopulated with GMOs, chemtrails, vaccines and medications. Your money is being eroded by the Federal Reserve. Your rights are being stripped away by Bush, Obama and whichever globalist puppet occupies the White House next. And believe me, the global controllers don't give a hoot whether you're gay or straight. You're all getting raped, Sandusky-style, regardless of your sexual orientation.

You are all being enslaved, day by day, hour by hour, into a system of total mind control through television programming, subliminal messaging, fabricated news broadcasts and chemical poisoning. You're being inundated with fluoride, radiation, medical imaging scans and food additives. You're being programmed to behave like a robot; to emotionally respond like a five-year-old; to react in a pre-planned manner engineered by the agenda-setters.

You are being lied to about the power of your vote in the upcoming election (all the important choices are already made for you). You are being taught to live INSIDE the box while thinking you're so hip, trendy and cool that you must be outside the box. You're told you can change the world but then you're shoved into a system of runaway consumerism that traps you in a cycle of financial dependence from which you can never escape to accomplish much of anything that really matters.

You are being spoon fed this story on Chick-fil-A (and everything else) precisely because the newsmakers don't want you to have a spare moment to think about the REAL stories that matter: Vaccines are laced with stealth cancer viruses. Statin drugs cause dementia. Virtually all foods are mineral deficient. Vitamin D halts cancer. Consciousness grants you free will. You are a conscious being with unfathomable power if you would only awaken from your slumber.

While you and your neighbor bicker about Chick-fil-A, you're all being equally raked over the coals by the system, get it?

Wake up, people. Stop eating MSG and processed food chemicals. Snap out of your hypnosis and see the real world for a change. Get off those psych meds! You are a conscious, powerful being with the gift of free will. You have the power to change the world. And not by eating a stupid chicken sandwich, either. You're far more valuable than that if you'd only stop allowing yourself to be a willing pawn of the global controllers.

Get the poison out of your body. Detox. Eat superfoods. Get your brain back. And then fight for liberty. Rage against the system. I don't care if you're straight, gay, bi, tri, trans, drag, sex change, tried-it-once, "experimented in college" or whatever. Clear your head and fight for liberty. Our collective future is being crushed by the corporate-government fascist system. Time is running out for food freedom, farm freedom, free speech, internet freedom, medical freedom our Bill of Rights and much more. We don't have time to mess around with chicken sandwich distractions and moronic anti-boycotts that serve up food poisons like some sort of weird Jim Jones final chapter.

Practice authenticity. Tolerance. Liberty. Compassion. Nutrition. Clear-headed thinking. Truth-telling. Humility. Gratitude. Ethical behavior. Spirituality. Prayer. Meditation. Gardening. Creativity. Innovation. Progress. You were granted life by a Creator. You honor that by making your life one worth living.

Learn more

The Art of the Sing-Along

I receive a newsletter from a ukulele guy named Ralph Shaw. He write newsletters that are often thought provoking. I thought I would share this months offering:

The Art of the Singalong

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The last great group of singers was the World War II generation. They kept the rickety pub pianos vibrating with song and laughter well into the 1980s. But since the pubs were renovated and those cranky pianos cast out along with the battered cigarette machines and charred lampshades we turn our heads only to discover that those old songsters are mostly gone. Some survive, but the ones that do are now into their nineties and unlikely to gather for a singsong at happy hour. As each one passes away so do more memories of that generation's great moments. It was an age when every event was marked with music.

Sure, there are still a few places where one can stand around the piano with like-minded veterans of song - perhaps to croon hits by the likes of Vera Lynn, Bing Crosby or Al Jolson - but they are rare now. One example is Vancouver's Billy Bishop Legion. Their regulars still drink pints and sing songs every Friday until midnight when they all link arms for the final medley. Their pianist, Bea Blackwell, has played an almost unbroken line of weekly singalongs and annual Remembrance Days for many decades.

One obstacle to the modern singalong is that even amongst those who can or would like to sing there is no common repertoire. Let's say we had an opportunity to get together and sing - what then? How would we choose the songs? I can imagine much vying over whether to sing Rock and Roll, Rhythm and Blues, Ragtime, Rockabilly, Reggae, Religious or Rap.

The demise of the family piano is also partly to blame for the decline in singalongs. Once it was the family's entertainment system but now the piano's place has been taken over by the large, black, rectangular void known as the big-screen TV.

Thoughts of all this came very strongly to me recently when I was booked to visit the family home of a prospective client. Her brother had mentioned me to her. She told me,

"My father is going to be ninety years old and he loves to sing and I can't think of a better birthday gift than a family singalong. I hear that you lead singalongs and even do house calls."

This was a misunderstanding and I could see how she had come to this conclusion. Yes, I have been known to entertain in people's homes and yes, I do lead a monthly ukulele get-together, essentially a singalong for strummers. However, a family singalong with people I'd never met was a new idea for me. But I liked the concept and went with it.

Right away I realized that with an age difference of eighty years between oldest and youngest, deciding what to sing would be the first puzzle to solve. My solution was to suggest to my client that she create a songbook especially for the occasion. I emailed to her a number of song suggestions from my own repertoire. Armed with these songs, plus additions of her own, she came up with a selection of ditties. Hopefully they'd cover the tastes of everyone at the party. The book she made was spiral bound and had a picture of her dad on the front. She sent a copy for me to work with.

Before too long I found myself, in the hour before dinner, standing on a fireplace rug leading a boisterous family singalong. It struck me what a rare privilege this was. The ukulele had taken the place of a piano but the unique feeling that comes from a group of voices singing happily together was still there. In unison we crooned, amongst others: Blue Moon, For Me and My Gal, With a Little Help from my Friends, Rubber Duckie and a song with particular meaning for me: Edelweiss.

As we sang of the alpine flower that greets us every morning and whose snow-white petals we urge to blossom and grow forever, I found myself thinking back to past singalongs in my life. Many of the participants are no longer around but I suddenly remembered them clearly. Along with an almost painful ache of nostalgia came a barely remembered sense of tender belonging; a nearly forgotten feeling of warm togetherness that I'm sure used to be more commonplace. My memory suddenly felt sharper and richer thanks to the words and melodies of the songsmiths whose strange powers have the ability to conjure up long neglected senses and recollections.

Every November 11 we are reminded of the phrase: "Lest we forget." As we remember the lost, the brave, and the good let us also spare a thought for the humble singalong whose very presence in our lives gives us something to live for.

© Ralph Shaw 2011

Reflections on Halloween

Halloween on the Plaza 2011- Taos, New Mexico

I typically do not celebrate Halloween. It has never really interested me, even as a child. All of the hoopla of dressing up and going door to door talking to strangers and lugging around a bag of candy (which I would not be eating) seemed pointless and others' interest in it was truly perplexing to me. Everyone I knew ate candy pretty much when they wanted all the rest of the year and with Thanksgiving and Christmas coming up, they would all be getting their fill of treats everyday anyway.

As I got older, the general public interest in Halloween seemed to wain quite a bit and I didn't really give it too much thought. Then suddenly, seemingly overnight, it was an extravaganza. Seasonal stores cropped up and everywhere you looked there was much ado about the preparation for, and participation in, Halloween.

Since there was so much excitement surrounding this event, I made an attempt to join in the festivities. I am not anything, if not a true believer in celebration and frivolity. In the beginning, friends would have costume parties and for me, that was pretty fun. But everyone I knew lost interest in the work of party planning when it was so much easier to just go out and party. I tried this, but I just couldn't get into the crowd scene.

Well, over the years since I have gained a few appreciations for the historical origins of the 2 holidays that reside back to back, but I still have no interest in dressing up or eating candy. :-)

Vacation 2011

I have been in Santa Fe for exactly one week.

This is a close up of a giant bronze moose sculpture entitled, "Shoshoni Monarch" by Rebecca Tobey. I love her work. She shows at Vantana Gallery on Canyon Road.

It has been the most beautiful weather. Right away, I connected with a local Early Music soloist, quite by accident, at the seafood counter at the downtown Whole Foods. We were both eyeing the extra large shrimp and I made the obligatory "oxymoron" comment. Andre', a tenor soloist who has sung with The Santa Fe Desert Chorale (as well as many others), studied in Austria and his mother tutors people in German. He totally delightful.

I have been taking it easy and doing my best to simply relax.

I only just realised last night that I could have been blogging about my adventure: the lovely blue skies, the surprise snow and freezing temperatures on Thursday, the fantastic art. So I decided to get cracking!

A Chill Is In The Air

It's true. It's actually cold.

Not cold like Winter, but still...

My heat has kicked on everyday this year; and I literally mean, every day.

Oh, sure, we have had exactly 4 days of actual heat (over 90 degrees) since our year began. One of them occurred the first week of May. The other 3 have been separated by weeks. We have also had 4 days of truly warm (78 to 85 degrees); one in March and one in April. The other 2 each placed beside a hot day.

We have had a few days of mild (60 to 69 degrees).

Otherwise, it has been chilly to cold. And until about the second week of July, there has been virtually no sun.

I waited for the weather to change before I planted my garden. But it never really happened.

This makes 3 years in a row that there has been tons of rain, clouds, gray days and no real Summer.

Don't you just love global "warming"?

Spring Is Here?

It's hard to tell.

It's still cold and, for the third year in a row, we are having an immense amount of rain. It is dark, gloomy, and very wet.

This makes feeling the passage of time considerably harder and makes deadlines rush up on you in a startling way.

April 5th begins the rehearsals for Purcell's "Indian Queen". I am the alto soloist and I have quite a bit of music to learn. Actually, I am almost there with the learning aspect; that's never really an issue. The real issue here is memorisation. I have to memorise all of this!

I can't remember the last time I actually had to memorise my music. I know that I often do memorise, just from working intensely on a piece, but I always have the comfort of holding the music in my hands during the performance; even if I never look down at it.

My music, although incredibly familiar and becoming more and more polished, is not yet memorised.

But there is still a couple of weeks before the first rehearsal. :-)

Back to Work

Christmas has, overall, been fairly relaxing and like most people, I have not wanted to return to the impact of the daily routine. So even though I love to sing more than life itself, I wasn't necessarily thrilled that it was again time to return to having my time rigorously scheduled.

Rehearsals began for me on Monday. Fortunately, the group was pretty chill and the rehearsal went well without any stressful or tense moments. We read through several pieces, tried a few different keys and voice assignments, and have found 4 pieces that we know we would like on our next concert. I was asked to solo a Ciconia piece and I am hoping to solo (duet or trio) a couple more pieces (as yet undetermined) from the Cyprus Codex (compiled ca.1413 - 1422). I'm sure people will make proposals of pieces they'd like to do via email throughout the week and we'll read through those next Monday.

Tuesday evening, I go through the process again with another ensemble.

There is also daily voice work and practising other instruments. So much to do while the Christmas holiday continues.

Mid-Autumn

Friday November 16th, 2010

I can hardly believe that it has been 2 months since I posted last. Time gets away from me so easily.

I have been practising a lot more lately. I feel like I have really gotten into a groove with organising my practise schedule, and I am getting so much more done every day. However, in getting so much more organised, and therefore busier with my real life, my internet presence has suffered my limited on-line activities. And while I believe that a strong internet presence is important, I believe that actually living more life and reporting less is better than living less life and reporting more.

I have been investigating the Early Music scene in Europe more and continue to prepare for my extended trip there next Summer.

On Sunday November 7th, Coro had a lovely concert of the music I discussed in my last post. In addition, I performed a duet, "Qui N'a le Cuer" and a trio, "Aspre Fortune", both from the Cyprus Codex (compiled ca.1413 - 1422). I was not only extremely excited to be able to perform these 2 pieces, they, having been 2 of my favorite pieces since I first heard Ensemble P.A.N. perform them, but my own performance was extremely well received.

We will be repeating this concert on November 28th in West Marin.

Today, I have the first rehearsal for a "Messiah" performance. I will be the alto soloist.

7:30 pm

Friday, December 10th

Our Lady of Peace

Santa Clara, CA

I Have Returned!

Friday September 17th, 2010

After a couple of months away from the blog, I have returned!

The rest of my Summer was a busy one indeed. After my vacation in Santa Fe, I returned home to continue with appointments with my dentist and ENT. I had several visits with each. My teeth have been cleaned, dental work done, and I now have braces. I have had a tonsillectomy and have pretty much recovered.

Both the dental and ENT work were done to improve my appearance and general health. Both of which are important to my career.

Last week, I returned to rehearsals with Coro. I had received lovely e-mails from members of the choir while I was in the midst of all the medical and they were glad to see me upon my return. We had an excellent rehearsal.

This concert set includes:

Guillaume Dufay (August 5, 1397? – November 27, 1474)

"Missa Sine Nomine"

"Ma Belle Dame Souverainne"

"Alma Redemptoris Mater"

Johannes Ockeghem (1425-1497)

"Alma Redemptoris Mater"

"Salve Regina"

Antoine Busnois (c. 1430 – November 6, 1492)

"Votre Beaute/Vous Marchez"

3 different Kyrie's

Guillaume de Machaut (c.1300-1377)

"La Messe de Nostre Dame"

I think that I am doing a couple of pieces, as well. :-)

Keep you posted on that.

Santa Fe

Just sitting here in the library in Santa Fe, New Mexico using the internet.

It has been rather hot until today, which was beautiful, breezy, and mild. The altitude is a bit of an issue for me this time and I am taking it easy. So far I have been resting quite a bit, which of course, was the whole point.

I have been investigating art and having cocktails and will be increasing this activity over the days to come. Nothing like sitting on the porch at el Ferol and doing a little tourist watching! ;-)

They have been playing Early Music on period instruments on the sound system everyday that I have been here to the library. Very nice. Makes me wonder why they don't do that at the libraries at home.

Taverner Concert

Later today I will be performing in the Taverner "Western Wind Mass" concert set at the Berkeley Early Music Festival.

I've not been to this venue before, so I need to leave a little extra early to make sure I find parking. I've heard from fellow singers that the room in which we'll be performing is quite lovely and that the acoustics are nice. We'll have a bit of a pre-performance rehearsal and then the excitement begins.

After the concert, I'll be changing out of performance garb and traveling to another destination for a rehearsal for Friday nights' "Trecento" concert. It will be a very full day of singing.

Thursday through Saturday, the venders will be set up at First Congregational Church to offer their services and wares. I need to get a bow rehaired and I am curious to see what exciting music A-R Editions will be bringing.

Berkeley Early Music Festival

It's that time, once again, for the bi-annual Berkeley Early Music Festival. "BFX Ten", as it is being called this year, has a large selection of concerts, lectures, and vendors to explore. Musicians from various parts of the globe congregate in Berkeley every other year to perform, share information, and spread the beauty of Early Music.

I am performing in 2 different fringe concerts during the heart of the festival with Coro Ciconia. We are reprising the "Trecento" concert from April, in addition to a second concert centered around Taverner's, "Western Wind Mass".

Rehearsals for each of the 2 concerts have alternated from rehearsal to rehearsal and we have increased rehearsals the past week in preparation for the festival.

I have yet another rehearsal tomorrow before the "Western Wind" performance on Wednesday, which will be followed by a rehearsal for the "Trecento" concert. So I'll be singing a lot on Wednesday! The "Trecento" concert will be on Friday.

Trecento Concert and Day Off

Well, the concert went well.

Pedro Memelsdorff was in attendance, so there was a bit of nervousness within the group. But the group managed to pull it off. :-)

You can imagine, after a week of rehearsals, plus a pre-concert rehearsal before the actual concert, that my voice needed a little rest. So I didn't sing on Monday at all.

Monday was rainy and dreary and since my voice was exhausted, I stayed inside and loaded Logic Studio onto my computer. I recently purchased a 2T hardrive (in addition to the 3 1T's) to partition so I could have several startup drives running specific large programs. All of this, to eliminate (hopefully) any conflicts which would otherwise occur.

It took several hours to upload Logic Studio, even with 12 G of memory. But let me tell you... it totally rocks! I am SO PLEASED! I struggled with ProTools for months with its' depressing interface and magically, I was recording with Logic and its' happy interface within minutes of finishing the installation! It was amasing!

Trecento: Early Flowers of Polyphony

This afternoon is our final rehearsal for our first performance of the "Trecento" music set. This concert will be repeated at the Berkeley Early Music Festival in June 2010. We might get a few minutes of a break before the concert begins at 7pm.

Pedro Memelsdorff will be attending. The group is a little nervous since he is considered by many to be the world's foremost expert on the very music we will be performing. Many of the tunes will will perform tonight, his ensemble, Mala Punica, has recorded.

We are doing some very interesting pieces by Landini, Jacopo, Firenze, and Ciconia. There are now only 22 pieces on the concert.

My clothes are ready to be donned and I begin warming up once I finish up here. I leave in about 2 hours to head out into the unusually heavy rain to drive the 42 miles to the venue. Sometimes the rain makes for a small crowd at events and sometimes, it bring people out in droves. It will be interesting to see which it is this time.

A New Experience

I got a facial yesterday. I've never had one before and it was a very different experience. I really like the woman who gave it to me. Actually, it was because I liked her at a chance meeting that I originally scheduled it. Overall, it was rather enjoyable. She is very kind and interesting.

The only downside was the music.

Although her cd was of the "classical" variety, it was essentially "classical musics' greatest hits". You know the one. It has been produced over and over again with only minor variations regarding the pieces included. A prepackaged bundle of over played pieces for the non-musicians of the world who choose to not risk listening to anything else. After all, it might not be safe.

To make matters worse, it was played in the muzak style. Do "Air on a "G" String" or "Gymnopedie" really need the muzak treatment for non-classical music listeners to be able to safely remain in the room?

I assured her that there is plenty of beautiful Early Music that is extremely well suited for a relaxing atmosphere without offending the sensibilities of the musicians that utilise her services.

By the way, it's Wednesday and the concert is a mere 4 days away.

Concert Week

It's Sunday. Only a week until Coro's preview concert.

The week ahead will be extremely busy with the concert coming up next weekend. I have several rehearsals in preparation for it between now and next Sunday, April 11th. As I mentioned in an earlier post, there is an immense amount of music and only one short piece is somewhat easy. Not only are the individual parts challenging, but the ensemble aspect is quite a challenge all in itself.

I have also been offered, and I have accepted, an opportunity to sing with an ensemble in south bay in September. I am slated to sing Vivaldi's, "Cum Dederit" from "Nisi Dominus, RV 608" and a cantata or other large work of my choice in an all Italian concert set. Pretty awesome. I am considering Pergolesi or Scarlatti for the larger work. There are to be multiple performances of this set of Italian works around the bay area.

That invitation was very exciting.

Here is Andreas Scholl singing Vivaldi's, "Cum Dederit":

A Cool Peformance

I have had several totally awesome long term voice teachers over the years. I have had lessons with even more. There's one in particular that I want to plug in this moment:

Anna Carol Dudley.

In January, Anna Carol performed the last of her bi-annual birthday recitals. She is still performing, but she decided that the birthday recital idea had run its' course.

I just received word that Anna Carol will be performing next week. Even though this performance is in direct conflict with my own, I have to tell you about it. She will be performing as the "guest artist" in San Francisco City Chorus' performance of G.F. Handel's, "Semele". There will be another soprano performing the title role of Semele, but Anna Carol will be singing "Oh Sleep, Why Dost Thou Leave Me?".

Why?

Anna Carol sang it in the American premiere performance of "Semele" as a staged opera, in UC Berkeley's Hertz Hall in 1962.

This is what Anna Carol has to say about this exciting appearance:

- In 1962, Handel's opera, Semele, was given its premiere American performance here in Hertz Hall. After the original London performances more than 200 years earlier, Handel wrote a revised version, to be performed as an oratorio. That version had been performed in the U.S., but not the original opera version, until our performance.

I sang the role of Semele. If you want to see what I looked like, you can go to the upper foyer of Hertz Hall on the UC Berkeley campus, and face the wall which shows many pictures of faculty members (I was a graduate student's wife, not a faculty member). The first photo in the top line just to the right side of the organ shows a scene from the performance. Having been taken up to Heaven by Jove, I am high on a platform, singing "Endless, pleasure, endless love Semele enjoys above."

The San Francisco City Chorus is performing an oratorio version of Semele, next Friday, April 9, at 8 p.m. at the First Congregational Church of Berkeley, Dana and Durant. In recognition of my having sung the American opera premiere in Berkeley, I have been invited to perform a cameo role, singing "Oh sleep, why dost thou leave me." There will be a repeat performance Sunday afternoon in San Francisco, 3 p.m., Lakeside Presbyterian Church. -

This will surely prove to be a fabulous moment not to be missed!

For performance dates, times, locations, etc:

http://www.sfcitychorus.org/