Suzy Q Homemaker

I was giddy when the adult choir sight-read through this piece during rehearsal several weeks ago.  Not just because it’s a really pretty work of music, but Jamie and I are fans of  ”The Vicar of Dibley.”  If you’re supernerds like us, you’ll have this stuck in your head for a week.  You can thank me later.

Also, I could not stop weeping once the music started.

I’m so proud of my little conductor.  Look how enthusiastic his cues are!

I’m going to post videos this week of yesterday’s Choir Camp Sunday service.  The morning was full of many tears and much laughter as I had a rare opportunity to sit in the sanctuary and watch our two oldest children sing their little hearts out.  Most of the laughter came while watching Aiden.  As you can see in this video, he is…a mess.  Oh, he loves to perform, there’s no doubt about that, but I do believe we need to have a little talk with him about “stage presence”.  I’ve already begun praying for the Junior Choir assistants this fall.  He’ll be graduating into the big kid choir.  Just imagine this, but with a choir robe and a cross necklace:

Musically, I haven’t done much for myself over the past few years.  The St. John choir keeps me busy because we have a regular concert series to prepare for every year, occasional out-of-town performances, and there’s always Sunday services.  But he last time I had a solo recital seems like forever ago.

When I was asked to be a part of a summer choir under the direction of Joseph Jennings, I knew I couldn’t pass up the opportunity.  Don’t know who Joseph Jennings is?  How about the world-famous choir Chanticleer?  Well, Joseph Jennings was their musical director for twenty-something years and is now back in the CSRA.

I always find it helpful to occasionally work with other choral directors, to learn their style and develop a musical relationship with them.  Jennings is unique.  He works us hard during rehearsal but never fails to surprise us with off-color jokes or sudden outbursts of “YES LAWD.”  I am in love with all his quirks so far.

The music that we’re to perform at the end of July is challenging, most of which I had never done before.  The two pieces that scare me the most are Harvey’s “I Love the Lord” and an arrangement of Purcell’s “Hear My Prayer O Lord.”  During Monday night’s rehearsal, Jennings asked me to be in the soli chorus for the Harvey piece, so I’ve got some learning to do.  That piece is incredibly dissonant and there are some ethereal, rhythmically difficult lines that I have to sing practically out of the blue.

I’ve definitely got my work cut out for me, so I’m looking forward to this project.

Another project in the works is an all Fauré concert with a couple of musician friends.  Our hope is to have it ready by the end of August or early September.  I love art songs, and so should you.

As we were climbing into bed last night, I said,

“I’m looking forward to going to bed tomorrow night.”

It’s an exhausting time of year for musicians everywhere.  We have cantatas to sing, concerts to rehearse, and our own families to take care of.  I only had one additional gig outside of the St. John Christmas Eve service, so I consider myself lucky.  Instrumentalists are never as lucky as singers, but that’s why they get paid the big bucks, right?

I never really know what’s in store for the Christmas Eve service until a couple of weeks before the big day, but I do know that it usually involves these things:

• A solo of some sort
• A chance to wear a diva dress
• A late and highly stressful dress rehearsal that runs well into the night of Christmas Eve Eve

This year is not much different, though I’m forgoing the diva dress because I’m performing a duet instead of a solo.  I am certainly not disappointed since only one of my diva dresses fit right now anyway.  Approximately three months of sick children and the subsequent eating of too much takeout have done a number on my already sagging postpartum waistline.  I have hopes of reclaiming my body, God willing, but I’m resorting to yoga pants and avoiding mirrors/photo opportunities.

I don’t know why I think that the final dress will be less stressful than previous years.  We didn’t have a major piece to learn this year, so I was really hoping that we would actually get out of rehearsal on time last night; rehearsal was scheduled to last until 9:30 p.m. but we didn’t leave until 10:00.  I owe that in part to the chamber choir rehearsal not going as well as it could have at 5:45, so we stayed “after school” to pound out the Poulenc “O Magnum Mysterium”.  Of course, at this point, everyone was exhausted and grumpy, ready to get home, and pretty much tired of being around one another.  It sounded ok, though, and I think that with some rethinking of formation, it’ll come out nicely.

Today, as I look forward to the Lessons & Carols, I also look forward to being a wreck at the end of the night.  I look forward to carrying our sleeping children into the house at 1:00 a.m.  I look forward to removing my makeup, donning some snuggly pajamas, and crashing into a dreamless sleep.

The best part about a Methodist Christmas Eve service that ends at midnight?

SLEEPING IN.