Monday, July 25 (Bergen to Stavanger, Norway)

Made it to the pier to board the Flagrutten, and found the last pair of window seats.  Are now cruising the rather flat west coastline past rocky formations and scrubby trees, accented sometimes by a bright brick red house.  Cloudy, getting brighter on the way to Stavanger.
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Paul napped, I explored the windy deck, and then both of us went up for the sunniest part.  Rocky coasts are now covered with bright green grassy fields.
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12:00 noon- moment of silence for the Oslo victims.  The boat turned off its engine and we sat rocking in the water for a full minute.
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12:10- arriving in Stavanger with its oil rigs, drills and countless white houses.  We walked the tight cobblestone streets (pedestrians only) to the tourist information office, where we got directions to our hostel and information on our hike tomorrow.  We found cheap Thai food near the harbor and ate pepper beef and chicken fried rice outside while watching people.  Paul also calls feeding time for me "killing the monster."  The leftover food mixed with extra rice was enough for dinner for only 180 Nkr.  We started toward Mosvangen Vandrerhjem hostel, which is on a lake that resembles Calhoun.  The students who attend a nearby Bible college cook and run the place in the summers.  It was a long walk even if we did get a little turned around.  We played Nuts while waiting for our 4:00 check-in and settled in our small room and headed back into town.  We found ourselves in a large crowd of 75,000 in the city center for the memorial Parade of Flowers.

People were carrying their offerings: a potted orchid, a dozen roses, a single Gerbera daisy, hand-picked garden flowers, gladiolas.  We waited a half hour or so for a Norwegian ceremony in which the tragedy was honored-- First Aid responders and some of the students/parents on the island led a processional around the city.  We didn't join the parade, but sat near the harbor for our dinner and walked through Gamle (Old) Stavanger.  Cobblestone walkways pass between rows of late 18th-century white-washed wooden houses with beautiful window boxes and flowering gardens.

Searching for beer in a liquor or grocery store was fruitless: everywhere had closed early and all of Stavanger was sitting in restaurants or in the square with a snack and enjoying each other's company.  We bit the bullet (it had to be done at some point) and chose a pleasant cafe.  Our beer cost 14 dollars.  Each.  Besides a drunk guy almost falling on our table, it was a very pleasant evening.  We walked back and continued the Nuts war.  Preikestolen tomorrow!

Sunday, July 24 (Bergen, Norway)

Another early morning.  The Tveiten family is leaving for Stavanger to visit their new granddaughter.  She is 5 days old and still without a name!  We left our host gift and a card with the message that their English is 'very good.'  Else had asked us to put in writing that comment we made the night before.

Got into Bergen and walked to Nordnes, the point opposite Bryggen.  There were lovely rows of sycamores dripping from the rain and beautiful homes on the harbor.  We played with my camera settings to capture the view of the ocean and suburbs beyond.  We bought apples, crackers, chocolate, and brown Norwegian cheese at the Bunnpris grocery store for 50 Nkr (ten bucks), then made our way to Troldhaugen.  Edvard Grieg lived and worked there for much of his adult life and where now is a great museum.  The walk after riding the Metro took about 20 minutes, and it was HOT.  We made it in time to look through the exhibit a bit and then attended a lunchtime concert of Grieg's piano music.
-Norwegian nationalist, much loved and sought after during his lifetime.
-Had a lucky stuffed troll and a little metal frog that he kept for good luck.  He said goodnight to them both every night.
-His baton looked like a magic wand.
-He was tiny, and married his equally tiny first cousin.

The exhibit was very good; I bought two postcards, ice cream, and we sat in the cafe while we figured out our finances and plans moving forward.  We walked back in the light rain, checked into our hostel, and played Nuts.  The Bergen hostel has a neat vibe- lots of young travelers from all over (Sweden, Russia, France, South America), young families, and a spirit of sharing.  People were watching TV, making food, spread out on the work tables with maps, and exchanging tips.  We checked into Beds #1 and #2, a little white bunk-bed in the company of twenty others in the large economy dorm.  We were given linens- a pillowcase, top sheet, and duvet covers.

Amund made dinner for us at his place, and after considering a traditional Norwegian meal, klub (potato dumplings with cheese sauce) he settled for lasagna, bread, salad, and beer.  We stayed for 3 or so hours and talked all about the bombing/shooting, Norwegian politics, and life in America.  When you are made to explain certain systems and technicalities of American living it is easier to see the oddities (especially the two party system, TV ads for politicians).  Norwegians are happy, for the most part, with their system, paying high taxes in exchange for healthcare, comfortable retirement, education, student living stipends, and high minimum wage for public service jobs.

The experience of walking into a hostel room of 50 beds, which may or may not have sleeping people in them, is quite strange.  There are some lights that stay on on the edges of the room and all the bedding is stark white.  The morning is a more negative feeling, especially if you are the inexperienced hostilians who need to leave by 7:00 am.

Saturday, July 23 (Bergen, Norway)

I'm sure you've heard about the attacks in Norway.  We are staying with Audun's aunt and uncle and cousin in Fana, outside of Bergen.  The bomb went off in Oslo almost right after we got on the train out of the airport, and I am amazed that we didn't get stopped somewhere along our journey.  We had no idea anything had happened, actually, until Silje picked us up at the train station.  We took buses around the city center, which was closed for some other construction reasons, and then made it on our train to Bergen.  She had been sure we wouldn't have gotten out of Oslo. 

There is constant news coverage on TV and the Norwegian king, who is really respected, just gave a statement to his people.  They are so sad and cant believe what happened, especially the young people who were tricked into approaching this guy disguised as a British police officer.  We had porridge on the porch tonight with our hosts and they told us what they know and what they learned on the news today.  Yesterday they thought maybe 17 kids had been killed.  Now it is more than 90, and he pursued them at close range while the police were more than busy with the explosion in Oslo.  Like we know, Norway is the country to stay away from violence and not to think extremist thoughts.  Its been so interesting to be here and to have conversations with people about what has happened.  For a while they thought it was a group of people, perhaps Al Queda, who organized the attacks (planning them for maybe 8 years since we got involved in agriculture and started stockpiling powerful fertilizers to create his bomb(s).

We are in Bergen and spent a lovely slow day exploring Bryggen, Bergen Castle, the Fish Market, and hiking Ulrikken, one of the seven mountains surrounding the city.  Our practice with Norwegian (Paul with much more experience than me) has been thwarted a little bit in Bergen, because they pronounce everything very differently.  Tomorrow we pack up and drop off our stuff at the Bergen YMCA, where we stay tomorrow night.  We are hoping to go to Edvard Grieg's house and hear a concert around lunchtime, and then visit the tourist office for some information about our Monday morning ferry.  There is a funicular, too, that will give us a similar view as our hike today.  Amand, Audun's cousin, was our tour guide. 

We are safe and away from Oslo for now, but we are wondering what the city will be like when we visit next week.  It is sad here.

Friday, July 22 (Oslo to Bergen, Norway)

We landed at 12:40 and spent a while waiting for my luggage.  There wasn't much English spoken at the airport, but we found our way to pick up train tickets and asked someone to help us find the correct platform.  Oslo Center was closed to thorough-traffic, so we boarded a train, two buses, and a final train to take us to Bergen, starting at 3:15.  These train trips were a breeze compared to my last experiences through the Czech Republic and Hungary.  Paul and I make a good travel team.  A man who was sitting in our assigned seats on the final train became quite the companion as we headed west.  Otto commented on the scenery, taught some English words, and explained the types of trees.  We passed gorgeous mountainside, forest, fjord, and lake, every glance a postcard.  Otto surprised us with some Pepsi and a Norwegian KitKat bar.  Rolling into Bergen at 10:30, it was still light out, the puffy clouds illuminated in the purple and orange light.

Silje, Audun's cousin, picked us up and told us there had been a terrorist attack in downtown Oslo that afternoon.  A second attack on an island off the coast of Norway happened later that day.  The Norwegian national news was spilling when we reached Else and Asborn's house in Fana, just outside Bergen.  Adorable, bright, cheery, and with a beautiful Norwegian dinner waiting for us, smør brød (butter bread).  Bread, cheese, meats, cucumber, eggs, tomato, jam, curried salad, coffee, tea, and juice.  During dinner we talked of the attacks and made plans for tomorrow.

Wednesday, July 6

Yesterday I had the morning off so I went to yoga, got a mighty big cappuccino, and then bought some Oregon cherries from the Farmers Market.  It is finally heating up to the temperatures the Old Guard seem to remember.

Paul and I had a glorious dinner last night at the Davis hotel.  I did not remember to take pictures of our delicious food- Paella Risotto, fresh salads, and BLT sliders.  We basically planned our time in Bergen.  Anna has been connecting us with her friends and future relatives in Oslo, Bergen, and Grimstad to help us keep our trip under budget (which is, let's face it, just as cheap as possible).

Our itinerary is as follows:

July 21- flight to Oslo through Minneapolis
July 22-25- Bergen
July 25 Stavanger (Pulpit Rock)
July 26-28 Grimstad
July 28-31 Oslo
July 31-August 3- Oslo to Trondheim roadtrip and camping in
August 3-6 Trondheim (August 6- Anna and Audun's Trondheim blessing ceremony)
August 7-11 Hepso cabin
August 11- flight back to Minneapolis through Iceland

There is definitely some room (especially around the trip to Trondheim) for some flexibility, so I've been researching Stavanger or around the Hardangerfjord to see if we can squeeze out another day there, as well as the surrounds of Oslo and Lillehammer.  I'm thinking there will be an extra day to have an adventure (fjord kayaking, anyone?).  I'm also partial to the relatively cheap options to rent a motorboat for a half day and hang out in the most beautiful scenery around!

Most of our departures will take place on the morning of the final day listed, taking advantage of the extensive bus and train schedules.  I've been trying to purchase some minipris (which is simply a word for advanced tickets) online, but unbelievably, the entire summer of rides from Lavprisekspressen (www.lavprisekspressen.no) seems to be sold out.  Anna tells me that Nor-Way Bussekspress (www.nor-way.no) guarantees a bus, and if not they will send another, so there doesn't seem to be much worry in waiting, even until we get there.  I'm using the Lonely Planet guidebook for this trip, and I'm finally used to the layout (I'm a Fodor's girl, but there are no exclusively Norwegian guidebooks, only "Essential Scandinavia").

On the Bergen expedition short-list of ideas:
Kayak Fjord Expeditions out of VOSS: either tours or rentals
Husmannsplassen or Brekkedalen hikes out of STALHEIM
Fruit farms and beautiful hikes out of OYSTESE or ULVIK
Hardanger Fjord and Nature Center, fjord mini-cruises in EIDFJORD

I just know that small villages and cities are going to be my cup of tea, and thus far our itinerary is full of larger cities and cosmopolitan areas.  The next step is renting a car.  Paul and I are rather excited that we'll see three more paydays before our trip (and one to replenish us while we are in Norway).

Today was rehearsal for Matthew Halls' St. Cecilia program: Purcell, Handel, and Britten.  I'm curious to learn more about Britten's piece, as the ode was written for him by W.H. Auden (not only for him, but potentially about him, too).

My audition is tomorrow at 2:30 pm for Kathy and Peter.  Let's hope I'm in good voice.  The cum sancto spiritu needs to be at =110!

Monday, July 4

Butte to Butte- success!  Tim, Christine, Paul and I took a 6:30 shuttle to the startline and got lined up for the race that begins with a mile hill, a mile down, and then four straight.  It was clear I had recently run a half marathon, but it was a great experience and one that we think should become a tradition.  I finished with 8:46 splits.

Steelhead- for dinner and appetizers, we went to Steelhead Brewery.  We were literally offered special brownies from a guy walking down the busy street.  He came right up to our table and made the pitch.  We thought it might be funny to buy the entire batch and swap them with the brownies on the dessert table in the dining hall.

Sneakers- Robert Redford movie.  David and Dara Scholz introduced us to the greatness.

Fireworks- the Eugene Em's baseball stadium had quite the show, and we were able to watch their show along with the Springfield and Eugene fireworks; for a little while they were all at the same time!

Saturday, July 2

I am registered for the Auqafina Butte to Butte 10K run!  The first mile is uphill, the second mile is downhill, and the last 4 are flat.  It sounds pretty great.  The first runner in several categories to make it up the first hill gets the title of King or Queen of the Hill.  So far Christine Howlett, Nathan Leaf, Tim Westerhaus and Paul are also going to register.  I bet more from the choir would be a part of it too.

It will be July 4th at 8:00 am.  We could be done and back before a 10 am rehearsal, don't you think?

Today we have a Cecilian odes rehearsal with Kathy and Peter, then a substantial afternoon off before Jeanne D'Arc's performance.  Last night we were made to stay through 10pm while we waited for the freaking curtain call to be choreographed and practiced.  Paul and I walked back and grabbed ice cream at the 7-11 (Seben Auf) and crashed.

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The performance of Jeanne D'Arc was tonight- pretty full house, somewhat better cues and conducting, and a powerful response from the audience.

Friday, July 1

Today we went to the King Estate Winery in the mountains of Eugene.  The nearly off afternoon afforded us enough time to have a nice lunch.  The Scholz's drove us with Tim through the beautiful country edges of Eugene and up into some of the nearby buttes and hills.  There were new colorful batches of calves in the hilly fields, pretty houses tucked away, and the most beautiful weather we've had yet.

We drove up through rows of very young grapes with many hawks flying overhead (employed to be natural pest killers).  Lavender and cypress trees started appearing as we edged up the drive, and it was like driving into a French country club.  Paul and I started a $5.00 wine tasting and had their famous Pinot Gris, a Riesling, Rose, two Pinot Noirs, and a rich Syrah.  We walked around outside a bit before having a wonderful lunch with wonderful and new friends.

We stayed as long as we could before racing back to get me to my 3:30 call time for Cantata 149 (the hunting cantata) written for St. Michael's Feast Day- Sept. 29.  St. Michael Cantatas seem to be the theme this summer.

Before that I went to a Bikram Yoga class, which I thought I was familiar with until we started.  OY!!!!!

I went with my soprano friend Jane from Australia who has been to Bikram classes all over the world and they are always the same 26 poses in the same order with the same pieces of rest and dialogue.  She told me that it costs some $15,000 to get certified to teach this type of yoga.  You have to check into this San Deigo hotel for about 2 months and learn from the franchise in a certain way.  I'd say brand name yoga is kind of an oxymoron.

-carpeted studio (SICK)

-known as the original hot yoga

-totally scripted class; the teacher stood on a mirrored box and said things like "Push more, push further, push hard, push now" (push replaced with kick, lock, go, etc) "put your total head on your completely knee," and "Complete relax."  The ESL syntax of  the yoga class was kind of distracting and I wasn't sure if the teacher had trouble putting a sentence together or not.

-The teacher would call out to you by name what you needed to fix or do better; non of this loving flow yoga crap, apparently.  Jane and I got called out quite a bit.  Jane was in a class where a student threw a water bottle at a teacher (who responded, "I know, right?"

-To fit in you have to wear Speedo-like shorts, and a sports bra.

It was completely different than any yoga class I've ever been to, but I also felt much better afterward than any, too- in Jane's words "I feel like I could eat the whole world for breakfast" (cute accent not included).  It was $20.00 for an unlimited 10-day pass, which was very worth it.  I think I'll be back- while I'm in Eugene at least.

Wednesday, June 29

The morning started late with a little breakfast and some time sitting at Starbucks.

We got on the very random topic of teaching cursive writing to elementary students.  My opinion: the more penmanship (writing or printing) the better, because the computer has made fine motor skills (like gripping and directing a freaking pencil) to go out the window.  I have fourth graders who write like they are 2 years old.  Na' kidding.

Today we read Matthew Halls' Cecilia program: Handel, Britten, and Purcell odes to St. Cecilia.  I have sung the Britten before and finally it felt like I could lead with confidence on the a cappella style and vowel shapes.  Yay!  I am always curious to figure out a conductor's seating philosophy.  Kathy switches up our seats just about every rehearsal and changes her mind often about how she can find the right sound.

I walked all over God's green earth today.  I needed to return the Minnesota Beatle Project of VEGA productions grant and get it coordinated with my school, so that took me to the OBF office which has a permanent headquarters on the U of O campus.  Dave Goudy set me up with a computer, printer, and scanner so I could get the grant finished up.  It is of course due tomorrow.  It was so interesting to listen to the requests of special musicians, midnight runs to the airport, and the types of projects the office needed to work on: hotel rooms, daily pay, sick soloists, wine lists, sponsorships, etc.  I sent off the grant for a few final touches from my secretary and am hoping that my school will be the recipients of as many of these as $3500.00 can buy.

   

Tuesday, June 28

It is rainy and a bit chilly today.

We got coffee on the way to rehearsal at the Hult Center and had our first go around with Marin Alsop, the conductor for Jeanne D'Arc this weekend.  I think it really will be a fantastic performance; I like the score the more we sing it.  There are elements of circus/carnival music, French folk song, Gregorian chant, and American jazz, not to mention all the French impressionism/chromaticism.  The hardest part is the Prologue (described as a big mud pile).  I am curious to hear from our Jeanne.  In the recording I have she doesn't seem to sing much at all- only passionately dramatic text (understandable).  We were wondering last night if the composer of "Bring a Torch Jeanette Isabella" is an ironic coincidence or a cruel joke.

Honegger was a huge movie score composer, and so much of the opera (it's actually called an oratorio) has that "cinematic" quality.

Off for rehearsal with the wise one!  I might get off for a run along the Willamette this afternoon; I have from 3:00-7:30 off today.  First afternoon off in a long time!

Projects: 

talk to David and Dara about an afternoon at the coast

movie night

Bach boutique- CHECK

cheese balls

late birthday drinks/dinner

write grant- CHECK

I am FOR SURE getting one of these beautiful machines when the updates come out in August.

Monday, June 27

We just ran up a mountain!  A butte!

On to my 3:15 rehearsal and 4:30 performance of Bach's Cantata 19.

Then, a 7:30-10:00 rehearsal of Jeanne d'Arc.

ABCs of the Bach Festival and Eugene, OR

A is for Allergies
B is for Bicycles, Bobblehead, Butte to Butte
C is for Cheese Balls
D is for David and Dara
E is for Eating
F is for Fourth of July
G
H is for "Heurtibeuse"
I is for Ivy
J is for "Jeanne"
K is for Kathy Romey
L
M is for Microbrews
N
O
P is for Peters and Pauls
Q
R is for Running, Rose Garden
S is for Starbucks, Seben Auf
T is for Trains, 10Ks
U
V is for Venezuelans
W is for Willamette River
X
Y is for Yoga
Z

Sunday, June 26

Today is our final dress rehearsal and performance of the Brahms Requiem, which is unique because it doesn't use the traditional Latin texts (Dies Irae, Lux Aeterna, etc.).  Brahms uses unique texts from around the Bible, more rare because it is not for the dead but for the consolation of the living.  The text is about comforting the mourner rather than about the passage of the dead.  We have an awesome soprano who sings the solo in the 5th movement- written after the death of his mother.  The soloist repeats "I will see you again."

Warming up before rehearsal

Paul in front of Beall Hall, Music Building

To greet us yesterday in our 3 hour rehearsal, Mr. Rilling greeted us in Spanish and told us that we would begin with the 4th movement.  Our visiting choir from Caracas, Venezuela had to help us find the correct page.  We chuckled because we understood what it must have been like to sit through a rehearsal in a language where you can only pick up the Italian terms.  Rilling can run rehearsal in several languages, and included bilingually throughout the rehearsal.

Rilling uses the timpani as a distinct and individual instrument, not something that stays in the background as a beat keeper.  He uses it to its limits in the second movement, "all flesh is as grass."

After rehearsal we walked through the Saturday farmers market.  Jewelry, ceramics, woods, local artists, and produce.  We saw some hilarious croquet sets guaranteed to bring out the "inner Neanderthal."  The mallets were very rustic pieces of mossy, crooked, and knobby logs.

...

Before each movement today Mr. Rilling went through the significance of each movement.  Did you know...
1.  Rilling disagrees with the musicologists who call Brahms a man without the church.  The harp closes the 1st and 7th movements in a upward swell, signifying the resurrection.
2.  The baritone soloist in the 3rd movement represents a minister, and the choir the congregation.
3.  Death seems to shadow each movement threateningly except for the 4th- "How lovely is Thy dwelling place" (Psalm 84)
4.  The text of the 6th movement (Hebrews 13, 14) is the same as the final movement of Handel's Messiah
5.  Monteverdi's Orfeo uses three trombones as the gate keepers of the otherworld.  Brahms uses the same instrumentation as the text speaks of the "place we cannot know about."

My score is now full of little hearts.

...

Update: Emerald City
Yesterday Paul and I went running to the Eugene Rose Garden and along the Willamette River, lined by some of the biggest trees I've ever seen!  They look like white pine needles until you get close enough to see they are more cedarlike.

The allergies are exactly as they promise- terrible.  I raided the Safeway store the other day to purchase Allegra (better than Zyrtec I think), Visine-A, and nose spray.  Used all together I feel relief, but when the meds run out I am itching and sneezing furiously.

Eugene is loud- college town, lots of traffic, almost constant train noise from the tracks not far from here, and the construction from downstairs- jackhammering, pounding, saws, and trucks moving all over.  It begins around 6 am, when the light also pours in.  It's pretty hard to oversleep here.  I feel like I am in "The Girl from 14G" when I was awakened by vocalizing at 7:00 am the other morning.  Hopefully a running routine will settle in- right now there is an uncomfortable rhythm of constant eating; our days are wake up, eat, sing, eat, sing, eat, sing, drink and eat, sleep, repeat.  We get free board at the cafeteria and many of us groan when we realize that "it's time to eat again..."

Paul's pouf

The concert this afternoon was absolutely mind-blowing.  Movement 2 in particular- "all flesh is as grass" was overwhelming with the sheer sound and emotion.  Mr. Rilling is wonderful during performance, and cares for each entrance and each section.

Some photos of the Patron Dinner tonight:

Saturday, June 25

Today we have our second orchestra rehearsal with Mr. Rilling.

Soprano Madeline and Soprano Marie getting ready for rehearsal.

We are seated in 6 rows above the orchestra.  You can only get there from a rickety backstage staircase.  I sit in the front row, and can see the players below me really well.

I have found it fascinating to watch what I'm learning is a family affair within the orchestra.  Rahel Rilling is concert mistress and married to David, principal cello player.  Sarah Rilling plays 2nd viola.  Paul calls them all "German hotties."  Kathy grew up with OBF in her summers with her father as festival director.  From what I understand, Kathy was an au pair for the family after college as she learned German and started studying choral music.

Mr. Rilling told us his favorite measure in the entire Requiem, a simple series of quarter notes that leads to the final swell in the seventh movement (m. 139).

Rillingisms:
-his smile changes his whole face
-and likewise, this intense glare that is meant to achieve dramatic moments
-he blinks on each important downbeat
-he wears Nike golf shirts

Yo Yo.

Tonight was our opening concert in Silva Concert Hall of Eugene.

The space!  Apparently it was built with the festival in mind.  It is a 2500 seat, four tiered hall with green curves that outline each level.  The walls have a basket-weaving pattern which Dara says is to honor the Native American design of this area.

The music!  Tonight we sing Bach's Magnificat; the opening work of our summer's theme "Honoring Women."  Outside of the five choral movements, there are are a series of solos, a duet, and a women's trio.  I'd say my favorite movement to sing is the first movement "Magnificat" with (a theme that reappears at the final "Gloria").  It is the definition of the Baroque style I have had to soak up in these short few days.  Detached, light, and without vibrato.  This way of singing is actually quite nice on my voice, and I haven't been having too many issues since getting major allergy drugs.  Listen to the final movement from a previous recording by Helmuth Rilling's singers- you get a great idea of his style.

The players!  Parts of the OBF orchestra joined us for the Magnificat, a group which includes members of Helmuth Rilling's family, members of the Minnesota Orchestra, and members of other fine orchestras around the country.  It is quite something to hear this music from those people who play it best.  A violinist from Minnesota said that he takes two weeks without pay to come out every summer because it's such a wonderful experience.  They played an unrecorded work, Golijov's "Azul," in essence a cello concerto, which had a 30 minute setup and featured full orchestra.  The music was also scored for accordion, electronic mixer (which seemed to sample and play back or distort some of the sounds it was also recording), and a series of probably 50-60 percussion instruments: ethnic drums, shakers, a two-sided mesh frame full of jingle bells, bird whistles, and things that chattered like squirrels and flapped like hawks' wings.  The music created incredible atmospheric colors and had was built on scale harmonies.  At one point every string instrument was playing without bowing, fast, slow, and in between on the same note.  The effect was more visual than aural- it felt like I was watching water.  And the cellist...

Yo Yo!  I was starstruck for the first time yesterday before rehearsal.  He was exactly as I pictured him, gentle and charismatic and gracious.  Members from Schola Cantorum were yanking him around, getting pictures with their arms tight around him.  Cellists from the orchestra were standing close.  He had moments with friends he held by the shoulders.  It wasn't a mob of autographs and photos, but it was clear that the guy in the blue button up was a big deal.  During the performance he greeted multiple people in the orchestra, giving the concert-mistress double kisses on the cheek instead of a standard hand shake.  He played with ferocity and beauty and love of the art.  At one point he looked all around the orchestra, during that water-bowing part, almost as if to say "come on!"  We stood in the back of the hall and watched the sold out show.

But wait!  After we left to beat the rush, the wild applause died down and after a few minutes no one was coming out.  Paul and I rushed into the main floor doors to find him just beginning his encore.  My first OBF concert ended fittingly with Bach.  The slow Sarabande from the 6th cello suite in D.  The dance was intimate and graceful.  The huge audience completely silent, instrumentalists heads bowed, and me feeling so fortunate, watching.

Going to the Emerald City!

Paul and I found out some EXCITING news in the last few weeks.  We are both going to Eugene,Oregon!  Paul found out on a Tuesday night before choir and I on the next Friday.  An email came from our new friend, Dave Goudy from Oregon, with the invitation.  We haven't stopped talking about it since.

June 20-July 10

-Yo Yo Ma will be there, performing in the opening concert

-Could it be?  Everyone talks about it, the possible final season of Helmuth Rilling, conductor

-Paul and I are in separate choirs, which will be a great experience to meet people and sing different stuff.

-I will be singing Bach Cantatas 19, 50, 79, 80; Magnificat in D
-Beethoven Symphony No. 9 (Ode to Joy)

-Brahms Requiem

-Honegger Jeanne d'Arc au bucher

-Handel Ode on St. Cecilia's Day

-Britten Hymn to St. Cecilia

-I am in a section with 15 other sopranos.  The entire ensemble is 54 voices.

Paul and my to do list.

-learn names of people in our sections

-4th of July celebration with at least one other choir member

-ride bikes

-do a HR impression

-buy an OBF poster

-go running

-get a compliment from an audience member

-go to the farmers' market

-talk to an old lady or gentleman

Our friends Chris Aspaas and Brian Ohnsorg have given us some insiders' tips for packing.

-bike lock

-allergy meds (and extra allergy meds)

-concert blacks that are cool (in two ways)

Besides my pictures and lists, I have to say that I haven't been so excited about something in a really long time.  On the night I received my acceptance email, I needed to run 3 miles (30 indoor laps, puke) on the track and ended up grinning from ear to ear for much of the run (which would be terrible in any other circumstances).  I have been craving the experience of being in a commited ensemble with corporate goals (do I sound like DCA yet?) of unity and community and creating inspired music since I left Nordic.  I direct an ensemble and sing in another and I continually want more than the musical values and notes.  I didn't know how correct DCA was until I left his direction and started off on my own.  The agreement of singers to go after beauty together is quite rare. 

The countdown to OBF begins.  70 days!

Am I bummed...

that I wasn't able to go to the gym tonight because my car literally got stuck on a flat surface covered with inches of blowing snow?  Nope- only with the fact that I now know that I need new tires.  Need.

Monday Monday...

Meatloaf. 

Out of the Frying Pan (and into the Fire)

Beef, bread crumbs, onions, garlic, egg, vinegar, tomato sauce, Worchestershire, horseradish, carrots, celery, salt, and pepper.  I had it all in my pantry and waiting to be used!  I hand-mixed the loaf and set it in the fridge until Paul and I got back from the gym. 

Much later on, when the cooking time had gone about 50 minutes, I got up from reading and decided to check things out.  Good thing I did.

The living room looked a bit smokey, and when I peeked into the oven, I saw the overflowing pan of meatloaf dripping onto the bottom of the stove.  These were no ordinary drips of ketchup sauce or celery juice.  I am sure this was the grease and oil of the wonderful ground beef from my parents' purchase of a 1/8 cow.  How am I sure?  Because with each drip, the 400 degree oven set a burst of orange flame to light on the floor of the oven.  Nice.

Calm Paul and I turned the oven off and shoved a cookie sheet under there for the remainder of the hour-long cycle.  I remember all too well the time I ate rather raw meatloaf.  Not doin' that again.

But I might do this...muffin meatloaf?!  Cute!  Find it at

"Help! I have a Fire in my Kitchen"'s award-winning blog.

Oregon Bach Festival Resources

Below is the German reading excerpt for an audition to OBF.

Zwar ist solche Herzensstube wohl kein schöner Fürstensaal,

sondern eine finstre Grube;

doch sobald dein Gnadenstrahl in dieselbe nur wird blinken,

wird sie voller Sonnen dünken.

See all the details here.  The audition also includes the performance of these three vocalises.  Each is sung with specific and varied dynamics, articulation, vowels, and range.

Paul and I recorded our auditions last weekend.  We completed the whole process quite late in the game (most auditions are received in November).  Unbelievably, we received not a YES, not a NO, but a MAYBE.  Have you ever heard of such a thing, musicians?  It is a first for me.  They are finalizing their roster and will let us know if we can be included.  It's good news!

Summer 2011?

 

You know what they say about the perks of teaching...