| 
Read the Goober Diary Archives
March
14, 2005: Here Comes the Sun (Doo do do do)
I just had a most excellent weekend.
There are several ways to have an excellent weekend, but my favorite kind of excellent weekend is the kind that is
both fun and productive. The sun came out on Saturday, to glorious effect, and stuck around all weekend long, leaving
me pleasantly sun-kissed and stored up with enough sun juice to last me through the week (which is supposed
to be cloudy and cold).
Saturday night was the 50th Season Gala
Concert for Collegium Vocale, the choir in which I sing. We
had dress rehearsals on Thursday and Friday nights, so I was pretty tired by the time Saturday rolled around, and
I had to bake for the reception. I spent most of Saturday in the kitchen, feeling housewife-y, as I made
Jimmy Dean sausage balls, chocolate raspberry bars, and a crock pot stew for the boys to eat before the concert
(knowing I would have no time for dinner). Most of the singers in my choir have full-time jobs and children,
and they still bake for every concert. I have no idea how they do it.
The concert itself went well, I thought,
and it was really good to see Erin Freeman again (she is a contemporary of mine, and she was our conductor
when I first joined the group). We began with an a cappella hymn, sung by just the women, which transitioned
into our first piece, a setting of "There Will Be Rest," the Sara Teasdale poem I fell in love with when we
did a different setting of it two years ago. There's always a moment when you wonder whether the rehearsals are
going to have paid off or whether everyone's going to forget to breathe and blend and phrase and all the things
we've worked on, but no one forgot, and we sounded beautiful. This poem was written by a woman who suffered
from depression, and it's something I recite when I'm depressed, waiting for summer to come and make me
myself again.
There will be rest, and sure stars shining
Over the rooftops crowned with snow.
A reign of rest, serene forgetting,
The music of stillness holy and low.
I will make this world of my devising,
Out of a dream in my lonely mind,
I shall find the crystal of peace, – above me
Stars I shall find.
Our second piece was Fauré's
Cantique de Jean Racine, which I'd never heard before with orchestra. It's one of those beautiful pieces
that almost sings itself because every note is exactly where it belongs; with the soft colors of the orchestra, it was one
perfect ache all the way through. Those are the moments when choral singing feels like religion.
By the time we had taken a break for
intermission, I was starting to lose my energy and focus. If you have never sung in a choir, you probably don't
know how physically exhausting it is. Not only is singing tiring when done correctly, but we have to do it
in dress shoes, holding a black folder that grows heavier with each passing second. When I go to performances
by other choirs, my back starts to ache in sympathy by the third piece; by the end of the concert, it's almost
all I can think about, as though I myself were on that stage with a black folder. I don't think it was always
as hard for me as it is now; maybe I'm just out of shape. In any case, my back was absolutely killing me
during the entirety of the Poulenc Gloria, but I did my best to sing it well because it's one of
my favorite pieces. I don't have enough familiarity with the vast library of classical music (I know just enough
to know how much I don't know) to have a favorite composer,
but Poulenc is definitely in my top five.
The day after the concert, I had to spend
another four hours on my feet, singing, but this time I was able to do it in tennis shoes. I played for
the Hunger Walk again, something I do every year. Every year it ends up happening during a busy weekend, and
I think, "Arrrgh! I wish I didn't have to do this today!" Every year it ends up being a gorgeous, perfect day,
and I end up being really glad to spend it outdoors with my guitar. I enjoy playing fun cover songs for the runners
and walkers, and many of them clap or thank me as they go by (which makes me feel bad, actually, because
most of them are very short of breath by the time they make it up the hill to my spot). The Hunger Walk
volunteers are super nice, and they bring me water and snacks and make sure I'm having fun. There's down time
between waves of runners and walkers, so I use that time to write, and since it's always in March, I always
end up working on material for the Georgia Renaissance Festival,
which I can't believe is coming up again so soon. Joni Minstrel has two new songs to sing (provided they
make it past the peer review at dress rehearsal), I got to spend time in the sun (and my sunburn is quite
mild, considering that I totally forgot about sunscreen), and I technically did it all for charity. What better
way to spend a Sunday afternoon?
My next musical
adventure will be a gig at The Purple Onion
in Saluda, NC, which is guaranteed to bring back memories. Last time I made the drive to Saluda, Derik
had volunteered to be my roadie (we'd only been on about three dates at that point), and we got caught
in a scary blizzard. Good times! I'm expecting better weather this time out. After that, I'm off to Fredericksburg, VA
yet again for another round of wedding planning and a trip to the UMW Multicultural Fair (they didn't book
me, but I'm going anyway; I love the Multicultural Fair, and it's a good excuse to hang out with
my mom). Not much of a tour, you say? Yeah, I know. I'll do better next time.
I don't think I'm supposed to go
around telling people this, but I am now 32 years old. Crazy, huh? I'm working on making the transition to
adulthood while maintaining my quirky rock star charm, which, it must be said, has yielded mixed results
so far. I'm learning to cook, planning my wedding, keeping up with a real, grown-up budget, and keeping the house reasonably clean (well, OK, not
the last part), but I still don't feel like it's adding up to adulthood. I still mostly want to listen to
music, watch movies, and hang out with my friends. As for songwriting, well, I haven't exactly been inspired
to write about my adventures in budgeting; it's kind of been on the back burner.
One thing that was a success in terms of
pure, unmitigated fun was the 5th Annual Lindsay/Kelley Birthday Party, for which my best friends Kelley and Allison
flew in from L.A. They moved in November, and it was so nice to have them back, even for so short a time. We
threw an Oscars party this year (past party themes have included karaoke and roller skating; we do try to keep
it fresh) and were impressed by the effort our friends put into dressing for the red carpet. We gave out chocolate
Oscar statuettes, themed all the food to the movies, and drank perhaps a little too much Aviator Fuel. A good
time was had by all, and I was reassured that I had not yet reached whichever age it is at which you are supposed
to stop throwing wild parties.
For those of you who are keeping up with
my progress on my New Year's Resolutions, I can only say that I have made no new enemies and that I have lost another
three pounds, gained back two of them, and then lost one more (in true Bridget Jones fashion). Also, Derik
and I have already saved up almost enough money to pay for our honeymoon cabin, which I just booked today.
As my friend Charles always says, "Life will be good."
What’s
in my stereo at home:
What’s
in my car:
What's
in my CD player at work:
What
I'm reading:
|
