It's been a while

Hoo whee. I just noticed that it has been over a year since I last posted to this blog. It's not that I haven't had anything to blog about, quite the contrary. Just too busy and distracted to actually sit down and do it.

So, since last January, some stuff has been going on. First, we moved. To the UK. Again. Magnus was headhunted for a job with Urenco, a company that enriches and sells uranium. This time we are outside, but fairly close to London, in Buckinghamshire. We've been here for about 6 months now (since early August) and things are settling in. It's a beautiful area, quiet with lots of nature around. We have an orchard in our back yard: 5 apple trees, 1 each of plum, pear and cherry trees and blackberries too. We are close enough to London to take day trips, but we haven't done many. Weekends have been spent settling into the house.

The Boy is enjoying school, especially since he got a place at the local school, St Paul's Church of England Combined School in Wooburn Green. He went to a school in High Wycombe (Beechview), which is a 15 minute drive from home, because there were no spots available at closer schools. Long story. He is participating in a lot of activities: Fencing, Tech Club, Cub Scouts, Film Club, and Karate. He has made several friends and is doing well academically.

On the poetry scene - I had 3 reviews of collections in issue no. 40.2 of Star*Line: Jackalope Girl Learns to Speak, Field Guide to the End of the World, and An Assortment of Sky Things. They are in Alphabetical order on the linked page.
I also had another poem published in Star*Line 40.3 "Rocket Fuel".
And The Boy had a poem published in Star*Line 40.4 as well:

The Big Bang
where our imaginations began
and the fluid of time
flows.

Brilliant, isn't it?

I have a concert coming up in Germany: The 20th anniversary concert of the Women's Schola Choir Hildegardensis of Dillenburg. I've been singing as their soloist, primarily on the program of music by Hildegard von Bingen since their inception. We'll be singing some Hildegard, plus Cesar Franck, Frank Martin, Heinrich Schütz, P.F. Böddecker and others. It will be so lovely to sing with the group, Joachim Dreher (the church musician there) and in Dillenburg. Who knows when I'll ever do it again!

I've hooked up with the local church and there are some gems of musicians hidden away there. A retired professional accompanist has been helping me prepare for the concert in Dillenburg and we are having fun just singing all sorts of things and thinking about what we could perform in a recital. We might do a joint recital with a wonderful baritone, Craig Turpie, who is also a member of the church.

I have a few singing pupils already, just by word of mouth, but hopefully I'll be able to get a few more in the coming months.

Singing: American Cathedral Choir

Way back in June, when we found out we would be moving to Paris, I wrote to the Choir Director at the American Cathedral here, because it had occurred to me that I could sing with a top-notch choir again on a regular basis. At that time, I thought we would be in Paris in September already. Ha! We finally showed up in Paris at the end of November and didn't even make it to a church service until late January.

I know a member of the choir, Bill Ickes, who had also encouraged me to join the choir and he wasn't there the first two times we attended services, but the next time he was and he introduced me to the choir director, Zachary Ullery. By that time, it was already close to Easter and so we agreed that I would be in touch after Easter so he could hear me. It took me a little longer to get in touch because I was super busy preparing to sing Mozart's Requiem in Dillenburg and I was traveling every weekend in April.

Finally, 2 Sundays ago (May 2013) we were at church and so Bill reintroduced me to Zach. He didn't appear to remember me, but we made arrangements to meet prior to the choir's regular rehearsal in 2 week's time. That was last Thursday. I appeared at the appointed hour, wondering how to get inside the church. Luckily, some construction workers and people who looked like they belonged to the church staff or similar came out and let me inside. Zach took me through some vocaleses and had me sight-read a few things, including Anglican Chant. Oh no! I hadn't done Anglican Chant since my days at Christ the King in Frankfurt and while I know how it works, I was never very masterful at sight-reading it. Well, it went pretty well despite that, and so did the other sight-reading he had me do. I was relatively pleased, because for me, it's a matter of practice, and I've been woefully out of practice sight-reading in the last few years.

He invited me to join the rehearsal by way of continuing the audition. I met the other
members during the break (complete with red wine, baguette, cheese and sausage!) and they were excited to hear I'd likely be around for a couple of years. I guess some people show up and are only staying in Paris for a few months.

I must have passed the test because Zach said I could join them on Sunday (Pentecost). We sang Tallis' "If ye Love Me", Gibbons' "Song 44" and Grayston Ives' "Listen Sweet Dove". Lovely music. My two closest Mom-friends, Francesca and Elisabetta, came and sat with Magnus while Dante went to Sunday School. The choir sits in the (unsuprisingly uncomfortable) choir stalls at the front of the nave and we get all gussied up in cassocks and surpluses!

All in all it was a lovely experience and I will enjoy singing with them on a regular basis. Next week is a big celebration instating the new Dean and Rector, Lucinda Laird and in two weeks the choir sings Evensong! Yippee! I love Evensong.

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Raggio-di-Sol on YouTube

The small vocal ensemble that I sing with here in Hannover, Germany (Raggio-di-Sol or "Ray of Sun") has several clips from concerts over the years up on YouTube. You can find the Raggio-di-Sol Channel here. There are a couple with me singing solo:

"Gott der Herr ist Sonn' und Schild" (Part 2) J. S. Bach

"Sfogava con le stelle" Claudio Monteverdi

Hopefully, more coming...

Interview = Fame!

I'm overdue to post about various recent events, but I would like to briefly mention, while it's fresh and new, that it's official - I am now famous - I have been interviewed! A friend, colleague and former fellow student in Bremen, Astrid Nielsch, writes a monthly Newsletter in which she regularly interviews people she knows who do cool things. And imagine - she thinks I do cool things! She herself does extremely cool things of an incredibly varied nature - Harper, web-designer, artist, photographer, gardener, etc. Her Newsletter is always interesting to read, even if it's not about me. ;-)

Here's the interview:

Asni Multimedia Art & Design Newsletter

Actually, it just occurred to me that this is the second interview that's been published about me. The first one wasn't available on the web though, that one was ostensibly about my mother and as an off-shoot of that, me. It was for the alumni of the high school my mother went to in Armstrong, Iowa. I don't imagine that it was very widespread, but still. I shouldn't discount it. But this! This is now out there in the ether for the world to read if it should so choose!

Raggio di Sol

Last Autumn I joined a vocal ensemble - Raggio di Sol. A choir if you will. There are 8 of us and a colleague, someone I sang with in a production of L'Incoronazione di Poppea, Alfredo Ihl, who directs and sings. I joined for two reasons: because Alfredo asked if I would, and because I decided it wouldn't be a bad idea to begin singing again on a regular basis (even if it's not paid). I love singing choral music, especially in a small group, in which I mostly get to sing by myself on the soprano line. :-)

Anyway, we are preparing for a benefit concert (benefitting the earthquake victims in Chile - from last year) and will be singing absolutely wonderful music by Monteverdi, Tallis, Hammerschmidt, Gastoldi and many more. I'll tell you more about the concert when it gets nearer and report on it once it's happened.

This weekend we will be rehearsing all weekend and performing at the church we rehearse at, doing the music for their service Sunday morning at 10am. If you are in Hannover or anywhere near here, please feel free to drop in and listen! We're at the Lukaskirche, Dessauerstr. 2, Hannover. If you're not near here, well then, don't worry, perhaps I'll post a recording (if Alfredo and the others don't mind).

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La Voix Liberée - Masterclass in Paris

Last week I was in Paris. I really could have been anywhere for all I saw of Paris, but it was nonetheless the wonderful to be there.

I was there for 5 days of Masterclasses with Carol Baggott-Forte, a singing teacher from Canada. I've talked about her and her work in previous posts, here and here. She works with voices in the same manner as my beloved, late mentor Cornelius L. Reid (no not the baseball player!).

We convened in the Canadian Student House on the campus Cité Universitaire in south Paris. They had a nice big room with a grand piano. Unfortunately, it was colder than the dickens, because we had to keep the loud, rattling heater off during lessons. But I digress. There were several people I knew from other classes Carol has given in various European cities (Brighton, Lyon and Frankfurt), it's one big family. We are trying to bring more people into the family, but it is slow going. I was especially pleased that my friend Alexa from Toronto made the trip over. We had fun and formed a nice mutual admiration society together with Thomas from Hamburg.

I had 5 lessons in 5 days. Hoo boy! Are we getting into some tough stuff with my voice. It's a really good thing too, because it's starting to cause problems. I'm confident we are on the right path and that my voice will sort itself out. I will get a couple more lessons while Carol is here in Hannover, so we can continue the work. I would really like to go to Canada and have lessons for 2 weeks straight. Will have to consider that.

It was also incredibly worthwhile listening to Carol teach and I learned some new tricks for my own pupils. Unfortunately, most of the participants in Paris were advanced singers or singers familiar with the work and with a high degree of musical experience and musicality. A lot of it doesn't apply to my own students at the moment and I'd love to pick Carol's brain or hear her work with a beginner with a limited amount of talent. Now that would be interesting.

While I was in Paris I stayed with my good friend and Prosperity Girl Sue and her husband Xavier. It was so kind of them to let me crash at their place, eat their food and take off everyday for most of the day. Of course Xavier had to work and Sue had things to do during the day too, so it wasn't so tragic, but still. They were very tolerant. I had a great time with them. We watched the inauguration together and cried together! :-)

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