Mission Accomplished!

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We have been without internet service for several days now.  Sorry for the involuntary silence...

Saturday, December 12, 2009

Well, I got a good amount of work done. The whole beginning of the concert has changed. Unfortunately, there was no efficient way of fixing that track by when it is needed so I had to completely scratch it. We will be singing this intro a capella, which should work out fine since I originally conceived it as such. The harmonies sound pretty good and Matt will add a nice touch with the triangle and chimes.

When the girls got here we started to run through the program. We did the first part twice addressing notes after each song the first time around. Unfortunately, we only got through the second part once. We agreed to get together at Ten East at 10:30 am so we can run through the second part one more time. The show does not start ‘till 12:30 pm, so we should be OK.

Jill is not doing very well and this is the first day I have sung anything in a week, so it will be interesting to see how things work out tomorrow.

Sunday, December 13, 2009

We were at Ten East by 10:30 am and got everything set up in pretty much thirty minutes. Dan had joined us at home earlier to help load up. THANKS DAN AND THANKS HONEY! We left everything ready the night before, so the loading went fast and smooth in the morning, while yours truly got all dolled up for the show.

Amy was the first to arrive and then Paige with Lisa. It started to rain cats and dogs but not until we had all the gear indoors. Using the Dan’s new photo floods as lighting was very creative and worked like a charm.

Jill arrived at about noon. Poor thing, her voice was gone! I had already warmed up the girls and we were running the second act when she got there. So, we started trying different things with the Lloyd Webber “Pie Jesu” that she and Paige were singing. Her voice started to get better as she sung so we decided we would decide during the intermission what would be done.

Unfortunately, we had to scratch the Gounod “Ave Maria” which tessitura was about a whole step higher. No way her voice was going to be able to hit those notes.

About a week before, I had discussed with the girls an article I had read in “Classical Singer.” One of the points addressed was the fact that performers should not expect a performance to go as planned ‘cause it never does. And, if they do, they are setting themselves up for a lot of trouble. I can’t emphasize enough how true this is.

In the gazillion years I have been on stage, I have never, ever seen a show go exactly as planned. And, expecting it to, is, to say the least, very unrealistic. Your mind set has to be flexible, expect the unexpected, and be able to go with the flow in a professional manner, because you never know what brick is going to hit you on the head!

So, if your mind is ready for the possibilities, you can adjust much easier. And that is what we did. We adjusted the program accordingly. And, even though, we had a couple of little bumps on the road, it went really well. We sounded very good, the choreographies were charming and people really enjoyed the performance.

By “O Holy Night” I could hear a lot of people sniffling, so much so that I had to look towards the wall at the end of the room ‘cause my throat was getting twisted into a knot! But, we made it through, and got a standing ovation by those present. What could be better than sharing that which you love with those who you love? Music can speak words that words seldom can…

Oh, make a note in your calendars as we have been invited back for another show in the spring.  Good job ladies!