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 getting the music into my body 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. :-)

Self-Marketing

After having had a few days off in a row, I spent my Sunday in San Francisco learning how to market myself.

I knew that I didn't have much of a clue regarding the how-to's of marketing a human being. I knew that marketing was extremely important and I assumed that the truly famous hired firms to manage that aspect of their careers. One of the many important things that I didn't know is that even when you aren't famous, there is still an immense amount of marketing to be done, and if you don't have enough money to hire a firm, you have to do it all yourself.

Self-marketing is a full time job all by itself.

By the time I was half-way through the day, I began to wonder how it would be possible to actually do all that was required to successfully market myself, while practising, going to rehearsals, arranging music, composing music, recording music, being in 5 performing ensembles, and sleeping.

I'm not sure it is.

But I can see how good marketing can pretty much make a career. So, I am going to select the key items and see what happens.

Coro Ciconia Concert

I had a lot of rehearsals and concerts over the past 10 days.

I increased my obligations this month by adding another singing ensemble. It is an Early Music ensemble. Our Autumn concert was Sunday night (night before last).

It was a fortunate that we were using a huge hall that doesn't have installed seating, because we had more than a full house and had to bring in more seating. The room is mostly wood and very lovely for singing. The house lighting was off and we sang by candlelight.

Our program included works by Josquin des Pres (1440-1521), Johannes Ciconia (1373-1411), Francesco Landini (1325-1397), Vincenzo da Rimini (14th century), Guillaume Dufay (1397-1474), Jacopo da Bologna (ca, 1355-1370), and 2 selections from the Llibre Vermell de Montserrat (ca.1399).

Unexpected Busy-ness

I had no idea that that this week would become so terribly busy for me.

I now have 2 church jobs. Crazy, right? You bet.

I thought I was only marginally booked for music obligations, but apparently, I am very booked. I have more than the 2 church jobs on my plate.

From Oct 25th to Nov. 3rd, I have 6 performances and 10 rehearsals and it's not even Advent or Christmas yet.

Oi vey!