Singing for my supper

Disclaimer #1:  I have never shopped Black Friday and have no intention of joining the throngs (hate crowds and typically there are so few real bargains it's not worth it) Disclaimer #2: I don't think stores "need" to be open on a national holiday like Thanksgiving Disclaimer #3: Even as a committed  shopper, I'm finding the national devotion to the God of Retail disconcerting and would greatly prefer a real "day off" where it wasn't even *possible* to do stuff. Disclaimer #4:  If the stories of employer pressure to work on holidays are true, I deplore that behaviour lock, stock and barrel. OPTING to work on a holiday is one thing; being blackmailed into with the threat of losing your job if you don't is another. Those out of the way, I admit I'm bemused and baffled by the outrage in some quarters.  A program on NPR yesterday featured scores of distraught callers phoning in to discuss the subject (prompting this blog post).  A few respon...

We didn't go far out of town, but one of the beauties of Scotland is that from the major cities you can be away from the city and into rural countryside in a matter of minutes. Callander/Killin used to be one of my favorite "get away from it all" spots when I was working in Scotland and living with the family in Glasgow, and - thanks to the glorious weather (we're still marvelling at the 50+-degree temperatures and true sunshine that we had for 95% of our visit!) and a cousin with a car, we had a magical day out on this trip, including not only a quick stop by my former haunts, but also getting to see a couple of the minor lochs, a very castle-y castle and a celebrity Highland Cow - all within an hour's drive of central Glasgow. Bliss. Loch Earn Even in the depths of midwinter, the countryside is staggeringly beautiful. FWIW, this was about 3pm - may have been warm, but the sun still goes down early in the frozen north.... Doune Castle Edinburgh Castl...

(PSA: this post probably ought to come with a tilt-shift alert!! The camera I was using recreates the effect of these adjustable focal-plane lenses digitally and since I love it I may have... uh... indulged a little..... :) Duddingston Village (from Arthur's Seat) Towards the Lothian Coast (from Arthur's Seat) Duddingston Loch (from Arthur's Seat) Edinburgh from the Castle same view without the TS effect You can always find a muckle coo if you look... The Forth Railway Bridge

A well-timed nudge expressing pleasure that I'd "finally posted again" (!) reminded me I hadn't yet posted my annual roundup for the year. Somehow while working on that I was also moved to experiment with a "new year, new look" for the blog so apologies for any glitches - work in progress! So, without further ado: In 2010 ..... I finally caught up on about 5 years of British television I'd managed to miss; this project started out merely as entertainment, but quickly became something much more artistically important and, in a way, prompted the theme of dramatic exploration that drove my performing year. We started the year with North & South and were bowled over by this amazing production - it would be hard to overstate what a tremendous artistic "reboot" it prompted (it even warranted its own blog entry ). Impressed as we were, we decided to give some of Richard Armitage's other productions a try which led us first back to S...

Nul points for me on the blogging front this month, I think. Student juries and recitals, a delicious string of Messiah performances, Christmas preparations and a feast of food and family (groovy alliteration, huh?!) have kept me good and busy. It's been an unexpectedly joyful season this year, which was a lovely boost - good music and good people do a lot to restore one's faith in humanity, and I had ample supplies of both this month. Looking forward to adventures in January with a family trip to the UK, and a new production of Mozart's Marriage of Figaro starting rehearsals in February, giving us much to be excited about - hopefully this time I'll have enough energy at the end of the day to write about it! In the meantime, the happiest New Year to readers: 2010 has seen things start to look up again after such difficult times for so many in 2009 - keeping fingers crossed that 2011 continues the trend!

I've thought long and hard about what to write at the turn of this particular New Year, following one of the hardest years in a long time. Just about everybody I know has kicked gloomy, broody, unpredictable and unkind 2009 out the door with considerable relish, and is passing on hopes for a better 2010. While I heartily agree, I hesitate to repeat the same message yet again so I'll just take this opportunity to wish everybody a VERY Happy New Year with renewed commitment to face whatever challenges come our way. And leave you with a slideshow of images from 2009 ... a reminder to myself that perhaps it wasn't all bad.

(Note the fake nose and black fingernails!!!) It's been another crazy month! Every year I think that I will be more organized and less frantic throughout the autumn months, and every year I am proved wrong. Hansel and Gretel finished up well - it was challenging to put together a new role on the tight rehearsal schedule we had, but the outcome was good and I'm tremendously glad to have done it. I miss my lovely colleagues! (was it ever thus as a singer - you get to know people so well and then... on to the next thing...). The "next thing" at the moment being auditions, and then the usual string of Messiah performances (this year with one of my favorite conductors and ensembles, which is always a real pleasure). I wasn't expecting that many auditions this year given how many companies have pulled in their horns but I've been surprised! Perhaps not as many as in some years past, but plenty to keep me busy, brushing up repertoire and keeping the energy goin...

All my good intentions to blog regularly in recent weeks have clearly travelled the proverbial road. Oh well. The concerts last weekend were a wonderful experience. Following a satisfying week of intensive rehearsals, the performances were moving and deeply rewarding as a performer, and it was a wonderful week at so many levels. Alas, I brought home more than the warm glow of a job well done, as I was laid flat by a bad upper respiratory infection almost as soon as I crossed my own threshold, and this week was basically crossed off the calendar even though it included my daughter's 11th birthday. I wound up on antibiotics and cancelled almost all commitments (except the birthday, which was thankfully a very happy one) until Friday when, fully recovered or not, I simply had to get out to teach my long-suffering students (finals and recital week coming up), attend a long evening meeting/rehearsal for my daughter's dance troupe (final rehearsal before they perform in NY at the R...

It feels like the entire world is "on hold" just now. Even the ground is frozen solid as subzero temperatures sweep across the Northern Hemisphere (thankfully, we're merely in the teens rather than below zero, but it's still jolly cold for this part of the world!). The economy is caught in its mudlocked matrix which shows no signs of moving terribly quickly, and the rest of the world is responding to that with a profound wave of... wait and see. Call us again after the election/the holidays/the stock market report/the weather storm/the inaugration/fill in the blank. Oh, it's understandable, but for somebody like me who likes to go and DO things and take action this societally-imposed straightjacket is starting to feel mighty restrictive. Then again, we're still on hiatus from the colleges, and without the imposed deadlines of a semester schedule, we always tend to curl up and hibernate during this particular break. The holidays are over, but there's sti...

Three auditions. End of semester recitals and exams. Sick kid. Holiday concerts (husband's, child's, students' and my own) No matter how carefully I prepare for the two weeks after Thanksgiving, they always catch me by surprise. To my delight, two more auditions came in for this period (the third one was scheduled weeks ago); this is historically ALWAYS the busy time, but so many companies have changed their plans for this year I wasn't really expecting much, so these are great news (even if one of them is at 10.30 in the morning!) The wrench in the works, starting today, is the sick daughter, but - for once! - she played it smart and stayed home, warm and quiet so here's hoping she'll recover quickly and won't need time off school this week. Just crossing all fingers I don't catch it. Every parent hates seeing their kid sick, but because her sniffles so often seem to coincide with my busy times (why IS that?!)when I must do everything in my power ...

Well fed, well loved and deeply grateful. Happy Thanksgiving!