pretty memories

During choir tour, we were in Florida. In February. Awesome.

We got to see real green grass, trees with green leaves, flowering trees, daffodils, sand, surf, and seagulls - all while there was a major snowstorm back home. Pretty sweet, if you ask me. Here are a few pictures of the fun that I managed to grab in the middle of my tour managing duties:

...at Cocoa Beach, FL with my friend, Nicki

...and a rather ruffled seagull. It was very windy!

Here's a pink hibiscus in the gardens at the church below:
This is First Presbyterian Church in St. Petersburg, Florida. It's so beautiful!

home sweet home

For the past 17 days, I have either been gone on choir tour or at a choral conference. 2.5 of those days were spent at home doing laundry and packing and squeezing in meal preparation and cleaning and classes and papers and - zoom - off to a conference.

I managed to not get sick on choir tour, which was a relative miracle. Most of the choir members did get sick, which is unusual. We had fevers, coughs, head colds, runny noses, and sore throats. I was pretty fatigued at the end of tour, and didn't have time to catch up on sleep.

I rushed off to the conference early in the morning, starting off a half hour late because of a certain travel companion whom we shall call A. During the conference itself, I was extremely emotional, stressed, and frustrated with A, who is both insecure and overconfident.

Side note: self-deprecating comments annoy me, especially when they're not true or unfounded. It also annoys me when someone spends an entire 12-hour car ride talking about how he's so great at choral music when he spent most of his undergraduate work studying and performing on an unrelated instrument, and has yet to be accepted to the choral conducting master's program at any school. It also bothers me that when A was driving, he would often take both hands off the wheel to "conduct" a portion of a currently playing piece. Um, the ensemble can't see you. And if you haven't studied the score, it's really not worth trying to conduct what you've heard as it's happening. Two, you're on a busy interstate. Three, the brakes on your car are grinding. DON'T take your hands off the wheel. Pay attention. Stop bragging. And by all means, do not turn on Eminem and then try to call it something that pleases God. And don't tell me about your previous girlfriends, what you've done, and how you want to start this new relationship with some girl from choir. I don't care.

So I was stressed, emotional, angry, tired, and carrying germs from choir tour. And visiting a city with which I am relatively unfamiliar. And also the only person in the group who had been to any professional conference before.

It was a recipe for disaster and disappointment in many ways.

However, I truly enjoyed seeing Helmuth Rilling conduct Mendelssohn's Elijah, an oratorio in German. It was excellent - beautifully sung, played, and portrayed. I loved it. We also attended a gorgeous, worshipful church service planned by Anton Armstrong, director of the St. Olaf choir. We heard many wonderful choral ensembles from across the country and experienced many different styles of choirs, music, and stage interpretations. I learned how important it is to me to appear professional onstage, to practice bowing, and to have a good suit so that my behind looks as nice as my smile side. I learned what choral sounds I like, what choreography works, and how formations change the sound of an ensemble. I went to music reading sessions that broadened my knowledge of repertoire, and picked up free perusal copies at the exhibits. Ooo! And free chocolate at the exhibits. They know how to get you...

All this to say: I'm so glad I'm back home. I'm so tired, my throat is sore, and I came home early from school today so that I could nap and do homework. I feel stressed because I'm behind in school work and I can't afford to be sick. My husband has been taking care of me, and I'm so thankful for him. I love being together with him, and missed him so much these past 17 days. Thanks to God for the blessing He's given me in my husband!

thankful, and looking forward to rest

whew. I just got back from a 10-day tour with my college choir, and it went well! Most details fell into place as planned, people were friendly, and we had safe travel. Our concerts were also good, despite some less-than-perfect spaces for choral music. Sadly, though, many students got sick on our tour. There was one night when 15 of our 63 singers were sitting out - that hurts!

Our final concert was Sunday, and it went well! We sang in our college's chapel, which brought back many lovely memories for me. My parents and my husband were able to be there, and it was wonderful to look out on the audience and see faces I know and love.

This tour, I served as the Choir Manager, which means that I was the primary contact person for each of our destinations. I planned our itinerary, booked hotels, served as mediator for some other housing arrangements, managed details of our concert dress, and made sure we had adequate first aid supplies, thank you notes, and friendly "how to stay healthy" reminders. The more difficult things for me were making corrections to choir members' behavior. This is a real challenge as a peer leader, even though I am at least three years older than most of the students. I found that my height (or lack thereof) and my smallish, high-pitched voice presented a logistical challenge when I needed to speak to the whole group and direct them to do certain things. I ended up appointing some "surrogate" leaders who would follow my directions and announce things to the choir as needed. Happily, most choir members were eager to follow and do what I asked.

I enjoyed being in Florida - what a treat to see sunshine, birds, flowers, and green leaves! It was lovely to walk to the beach from some of our performance venues, wearing flip flops and summery dress clothes. I enjoyed being with my friend, Nicki, and getting to know some other choir members. It was good for me to see the inner workings of tour, and to better understand the job of the director. It's a very big thing.

All this to say, I am thankful for safety, good music, a wonderful director, and good friends. Most of all, though, I'm so grateful to be home with my husband, whom I have missed dearly these past ten days. I'm really frustrated that I'll have to leave early tomorrow morning to go to a four-day conference in Chicago. I just wish I could stay home with him!

However, this conference is a great professional opportunity for me. It's expensive, inconvenient, and means another four days without my hubby, but I'm trusting that it will be worth it. At least, I'm trying to trust!

More and more I've been thinking about what God might want for me, and I really feel peaceful about the thought that I might not have a career in music education that lasts longer than a few years. I think it seems like having this graduate degree will be good for me, but that I'm being called to motherhood. I wonder...