All my BCF Photos

Well, at least the ones that aren't too blurry are here. I really need to read the book or reset the camera or something.

BCF 2011 again, updated

You can't see the rehearsal hall/hockey rinks from the dorm so I took this from where the track begins. This is why my legs are in good shape. Going to meals breaks up the walk which goes a roundabout way.

This is the view from the front of the rinks across toward the dorms. The dorm is the leftmost white line, I think.

A few altos.

Kathy FitzGibbon conducting.

Monroe Crossing.

Julian Wachner conducting.

Some of us who sang at the Norman Rockwell Museum used the time to number the measures in our Elijah scores rather than visit the fascinating exhibit on animation.

Would you believe it was 95 outside? We were sitting directly under the air conditioning. Brrr!

These creatures fledged one by one and gathered together on the walk behind DeWindt. Being dive bombed by the parents wasn't fun.

There may be more photos but, as I said, I'm having too much fun to think about the camera. By the way, I think these are embiggenable.

BCF 2011

In case you're wondering, I haven't been taking photos this year. I don't know why. I always have my camera with me. I just don't use it. Maybe today at the Rockwell Museum tho it will be pretty hot outside. There are some interesting robot-looking things on the lawn. But maybe I'm just too comfortable?

Post BCF Week 4 2010

The audience was large and appreciative. The choir was pretty good. The tenor seemed to be straining. The soprano Mary Wilson is possibly the best for that sort of repertoire. Her Exsultate Jubilate was the finest I have ever heard - by far! No wonder Susan S and David Newman like her. I spoke to her after the concert and she said Susan wrote she had a friend in the chorus. Susan is a blog friend. My freshman year at Westminster Choir College David threw me over his shoulder and carried me up the street like a sack of potatoes on our first runout to New York then apologized because he didn't know how old I was. My world keeps shrinking.

I got a kick out of using my big "opera" voice. I never do and few have ever heard it. Anton Armstrong wanted our alto solo voices, our black mama voices. Hee.

I thought we were very privileged to have Ann Howard Jones in our audience and told her so. I met her years ago during the Long Island Choral Festival. A beautiful woman.

The four of us crazies who were the Berkshirettes and sang 8 bars of altered Motown music were very well received. Brevity is always best. As former Greenville Symphony conductor Ivan Romanenko always said, "It's better to leave the audience wanting more than to have them wondering when the program will end."

Photos are here.

Berkshire Choral Festival again

In case you're wondering, which I seriously doubt anyone is, I'm back at BCF for a week with Anton Armstrong. The week started well. He expects everything I'm used to. Then suddenly he decided he needed to change the order of the altos (and eventually everyone) to get the sound he wanted. I was stuck between two ladies who have two levels of singing. Forte and Fortissimo. And they don't really know the music and one especially can't count. ARGH!

At the third rehearsal I had to remove my hearing aids or I couldn't sing at all because I couldn't figure out which was the correct pitch. At the fourth rehearsal I was so stressed that I could barely sing at all. I was ready to quit. So I caught our section leader after and asked to move. The gal on my right knew I was unhappy and was more than willing to switch. I got the approval I needed with a warning that Armstrong might make me move back.

The fifth rehearsal was so much better. My voice was free and I was happy. I doubt the conductor will interfere. I'm sure he can see on my face that I'm much happier. I'm singing sort of behind rather than next to my favorite 2nd alto because of sight lines. I think she wants it that way. She had never heard and is "jealous" of my opera voice which we are being encouraged to use. I told her I have lots of money invested in that and she could probably get the same results if she took lessons from the right teacher. She's considerably younger than I. She won't.

So onward we go. If we will do what we've been taught, we will have a good concert. I'm less certain of this group than I was the first week however.

The concert is at 8 pm Saturday night (7 August 2010) in the Stewart Center (the new hockey rink with air and no bugs) on the Berkshire School campus in southwest Massachusetts. If you are in the neighborhood, come by. The box office is here or you can get tickets at the door, I believe.

Anton Armstrong, Conductor, St. Olaf College Choir
Mary Wilson, soprano
Dan Dressen, tenor

Poulenc – Gloria
Rutter – Te Deum
Bizet – Te Deum

BCF Week 1 2009 photos

are posted here. This was in Sheffield, MA at The Berkshire School.

Photos from the Berkshire Choral Festival weeks in Montreal and last year are here.

Sunday morning at BCF

Dawn and time to pack the car and get on the road.

The concert was inspiring.

A regret expressed last year was that we meet people we learn to love yet may never see again. I had that problem last year and was surprised, pleasantly, in Montreal. In Sheffield I met some people with whom I have sung but had never conversed and would like to continue the conversations. Yea. Many "new" and "old" friends will also attend the 4th week in 2010. I'm already excited about next year.

So now it is back to reality. I came home to a trashed shed. The raccoons figured out how to open the door. Fortunately I was almost out of birdseed so they didn't get much reward for overturning the three garbage cans. I didn't appreciate the destroyed floor lamp or the general mess they left. I'll do more damage assessment tomorrow. The doors are tied together now.

All five cats greeted me. That was nice.

Friday morning at BCF

The composer of Dear Mrs. Parks, Hannibal Lokumbe, and the arranger of several of our smaller pieces, Pamela Warrick-Smith, arrived last evening. Hannibal talked to us about his experiences which inspire his music.

Hannibal Lokumbe, Philip Brunelle and Trudy Weaver Miller.

During the rehearsal, there was a rather lengthy thunderstorm storm which killed the lights over the choir and orchestra in the shed. I'm surprised the camera caught any detail.

We moved to the audience space where we could read by the emergency lighting.

This morning we awoke to dense fog.

But the lights were fixed and we could get on with the business of preparing a concert.

Thursday at BCF

There was a nasty thunderstorm tonight which killed the lights above the choir in the shed. Exciting. That and a bit disorganization made the evening rehearsal with soloists a bit frazzling and frazzled. The mezzo soloist is awesome. The soprano and bass are longtime BCF soloists. They are great too but the mezzo sang black - if you will permit me to use that word. It was inspiring.

At this point I would be worried about the confidence of the chorus. There are some really nasty entrances. But I think it will all come together with the orchestra - unlike more classical works.

The mosquitoes are ruling the shed however. I inhaled, coughed up and swallowed one tonight. Not fun. I must have a dozen itchy places and they won't stop itching for a week or more. Ugh.

Otherwise it was a quiet day. The gals going to see the Capitol Steps tomorrow found another driver so I decided to skip the rather steep expense and watch the orchestra rehearsal instead.

Wednesday at BCF

We have now been thru all the music. Most is amazingly redundant but that is the nature of Gospel music as it is an oral tradition.

I was waiting for the van to pick me up to go to Naumkeag when a friend wandered by and took my picture with the sign that points to the Berkshire School dorms. I'm in Eipper which you can see behind me.

Some of the photos below will embiggen if you click on them. This is the house.

The view of the Berkshire Hills from the front of the house.

I have no idea what this greenery is but the leaves are HUGE. compare them to my 16 oz water bottle at the bottom of the photo.

Then back for evening rehearsal. These are altos.

And those are sopranos and Kathy doing lip trills.

Monday at BCF

We have now been thru most of the first half of the program. The remaining three will be done in sectionals tomorrow. The spirituals are all very different. Makes it fun. Then we start with the second half - Dear Mrs. Parks - which will be more than an hour long unless there are cuts. I didn't listen to it last night. Apparently it scared some folks but they didn't quit.

Today I visited the Berkshire Botanical Garden. The wet weather seems to have caused some problems there. Lots of beetle damage. Perhaps retarded some growth. There is a walk of daylilies some of which I wish I could have borrowed.

The Capitol Steps are in residence up the road in Lenox. Some of us are planning to go Friday night. Tickets are pretty expensive but nothing like Cirque du Soleil. Apparently I'm one of the few who can drive at night. I think they should buy my ticket. LOL.

Still dealing with plastic mattress but may just leave it the way it is. Since I have a private room, there is an extra blanket so I don't need the one I brought on top.

In the Berkshires in SW Massachusetts

Yes, another BCF week. The conductor is Philip Brunelle. You can read more here.

Pleasant drive today. Lots of traffic but no problems. Stopped in the Schenectady area for a short visit with Westminster Choir College classmate Lynn who provided a late lunch. She is a champion quilter. Her quilts are fascinating. It was good to catch up. Unfortunately I didn't get to meet her daughter who was napping or her husband who was at work. Someday...

There are a couple of people here who were in Montreal. Several who were in Vancouver. One gal I met here then at Westminster then here then Vancouver now here again. Some friends I haven't seen for several years. The chorus is very small - 128 or so I think they said. Back to the old days. The private room was a surprise. Lots of space to fill with stuff. LOL. Forgot the foam pad so will have to make a trip to Kmart tomorrow. Meanwhile have the blanket I brought between the plastic mattress and me.

A little frustrated because I can't access Facebook or IM for some reason. FB was ok when I arrived. Weird. I can send email from my windstream account and that is an improvement.

Am about to fall asleep. Up at 4:30 which is when I'm sometimes just falling asleep lately.

Photo posting

Photos from BCF Montreal 2009 are here.

Photos from our annual July birthdays party are here.

Roommates

It's a Shell(e)y thing...

Later Friday in Montreal

Julian Wachner has a whole new fan club. Wow! He's wonderful! The men were a disappointment but he tried.

What a banner!
The chancel of St John the Baptist, Montreal.

The organ.

The lights reminded us of pearl necklaces.

We rehearsed every evening except Wednesday when we got home in daylight. Shelly and I were surprised to see the lights in the city after Cirque.

Friday morning in Montreal

The penultimate day at BCF is always pretty busy, especially if there are plans for the evening. The day began with a choral rehearsal in Église St.-Jean-Baptiste which is a very large barn of a place. We were greeted with a huge poster outside like those advertising an exhibit at an art museum. Also saw an ad in the Metro. I doubt I will get around to posting photos maybe until I get home. It took some shuffling and last minute bleacher seats to get everyone organized but eventually I ended up where I wanted to be. The gal on my right ear is not easy to sing beside but I can deal. I'm glad I didn't have to sit next to one of the gals I sat with in Vancouver and the lady behind me ports slightly like she is used to country music. As long as I have my favorite alto on my left ear, I'm happy.

At lunchtime Shelly and I found a place called Wok and Roll and ate outside. Inexpensive, filling and good.

The afternoon brought the orchestra and soloists. The bass soloist had a bit of difficulty with the ending of one recit and the men were raggedy but otherwise it went pretty well. The conductor cut the organ from one movement and had some difficulty with the camera setup which was fixed at break. He is an organist so he knew what stops needed to be used. The orgel is a huge thing in the back gallery. I know nothing about it.

During the break two of the altos' bleacher seats collapsed because they weren't locked in place. We learned later that one woman was injured but we know nothing more. My vocal folds were so coated with mucus that I had no idea what was going to come out of my mouth. I need to work on that this afternoon so I can really sing tonight. Probably need to drink lots more water today. Which means lots more time for something else. grump.

The evening was spectacular. We rode the Metro then walked down to the river for Cirque du Soleis. That is a very interesting setup. A huge complicated tent structure that takes a week to set up. When it is removed, an usher told us they find tons of popcorn. LOL. The program was Ovo - about bugs. My favorite part was a slinky-like worm-like thing but the trampoline and wall were fascinating. I sat there with my mouth gaping like a little kid. It was fun. Bette and her mother were there so the four of us took a cab back.

Today we have dress rehearsal in the morning and the afternoon "free". Ha. The afternoon is for shoving everything back in the car except concert and travelling clothes, music, computer and the coffee pot and for going over those nasty bits of music plus, if possible, a nap. We are grateful for buses to take us to the church tonight. It is about a 20 minute walk.

After the concert a party at which we usually roast the conductor tho we did not do so in Vancouver. Wine and beer flow and there are usually lots of hugs and goodbyes till next year. In Austria the party prefaced a miserable next day for me. I'm praying that is not repeated and don't think it will but I'm wary. If it does, it could be the misery of parting again for an unknown period.

I haven't talked to anyone who is also going to Sheffield the first week tho I'll admit I haven't talked to as many people as usual this week, mostly because we don't eat together except a brief breakfast. I'm looking forward to the meals at Sheffield. They are a great time to meet ew people and reestablish old summer friendships. The meals in Austria were together but not here or in Vancouver. That to me is a disadvantage.

Don't know if I will blog later. Will try to do so when I get home tomorrow but don't hold your breath. I need to sleep sometime and haven't done much of that here.

Tuesday in Montreal - updated

There was one chorus this morning that seemed very unfamiliar but I had a marking or two so we had gone over it. Wonder where else I'm that lost.
UPDATE We ran the piece tonight. There are LOTS of places that seemed unfamiliar. Of course we have three more rehearsals but I definitely need to do some studying sometime between now and the concert. Argh.

The faculty gave a little concert after rehearsal. Those are always good and this one was especially fun. A song by Tom Lehrer and a special one by Rossini were featured. I won't say what or who in case someone reading this goes to Sheffield and they repeat them there.

Conductor Julian Wachner had an extended question and answer session after that. An amazingly talented young man. When asked if there were something he dreams of doing, he finally said that being the BSO conductor would be it.

This afternoon I set out to find the McGill bookstore. It was a bit of a walk but it was where the map said it should be. Bought a device for reading camera cards. Interesting that it was cheaper in Canadian dollars than at home. Also some blank CDs. Can now make CDs of photos for some folks.

Then I started home taking a different route. I didn't take a map but looked at it carefully, I thought, before I left. I got kind of lost and probably walked four or so miles including some hilly places. Had the iPhone with me but the battery was dying. Lasted just long enough to get me to a street that led home then died. Whew! Thanked my guardian angel profusely. Saw some interesting parts of Montreal. And didn't get any blisters tho one toe feels like it was developing one. Have had my exercise.

Meanwhile those who have read my blog for awhile know that I look for unique flowers and ducks wherever I go. Well I haven't seen any mallards yet. But I did get a photo of my favorite flower.

Monday in Montreal

Sometimes when we go back over stuff we did Saturday and yesterday it feels like I've never seen it before. Of course, when I've done something at BCF then go back to it years later I often wonder where my brain was the first time.

Our conductor Julian Wachner really is wonderful. He has all sorts of tricks to get problems cleared up. He reminds me of Brady Allred in some ways. I doubt I will ever sing Paulus again but I suspect I'll remember it if I do. And I'm learning How Lovely are the Messengers auf Deutsch.

We learned about next season. I signed up for one week in Sheffield conducted by Anton Armstrong. I've done the Poulenc Gloria. I've never done Rutter's Te Deum or Bizet's Te Deum. Haven't decided about Italy yet. I wish I had a specific person to go with and room with. If I decide against that I may go the first week to do Handel's Judas Maccabeus which I don't think I've ever sung. Our Austria conductor is doing that. The concert in Italy will be all a cappella including RVW's Mass in G. I would love to return to Montreal to work with Jane Glover but not to do Die Schöpfung (Creation). If anyone reading this is interested, email me and I'll send the rest of the schedule.

My roommate is happy. We finally have a phone, a working floor lamp and a working TV. I am going to regret the last. She watches stuff that will give me nightmares. Ugh.

Shelly and I planned to visit the Science Museum or whatever it is but we got started too late. We rode the Metro down to the waterfront and walked around a bit then came back. We found where Cirque du Soleil is. We will take the Metro down probably after rehearsal then find a cafe - there seem to be hundreds - until the performance at 8.

Evensong - updated Sun eve

Attended evensong at Christ Church Cathedral in Montreal this afternoon. All but one other person was from our group tho I couldn't see the people in the nave, if any. Church was HOT!!! For those who might be interested:

Prelude: Tierce en taille - de Grigny
Introit: O gladsome light - Bourgeois
P&R: Thomas Ebdon
Psalm: Cooper, Corfe
Hymn: 26 Te lucis, To Thee before the close of day
Mag & Nunc: Ridout
Anthem: Round me falls the night - Adam Drese
Hymn: 30 Ar Hyd Y Nos - God that madest earth and heaven
Postlude: P & F in a, BWV 543 - JSB

Sorry but I took no photos.

We have sung thru almost all Mendelssohn's Paulus (St. Paul) in 3 rehearsals. I still have some rough spots mainly due to the Deutsch. Julian Wachner has some second altos singing with the tenors now and then. Low Ds are fun. The president of Bach Choir of Pittsburgh knows the conductor and told me to say Hi for her.

Austria roommate Shelly finally got her suitcase this afternoon and is returning all my clothing. One of her friends bought a Mondsee shirt which is too small for her so Shelly gave it to me. It is too big for me but I don't care. Shelly is pretty meticulous. I'm not as you all know.

My roommate is from Singapore and is a pediatrician. She was at Vancouver with us last year and was surprised to see herself in my photos.

I'm sitting next to my favorite alto so all is well with me. So far.

Updated: Excitement! Shelly and I got VERY expensive tickets to Cirque du Soleil Thursday night. Can't wait. Neither of us has seen them live.