Tuesday recap
May. 24th, 2006 12:12 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
billeylerYou'd think we'd be tired of driving after the 16 hours on the road for the Denver trip back and forth. But no, I wanted to go to the NM Gay Men's Chorus concert for the last night of the series, which happened to be in Santa Fe. An hour's drive each way. Ah, well!
Tuesday was my day of 100 projects at work, most of which I plowed through successfully. More and more I'm having to try to read my boss' mind to figure out what he might want for some of these on-demand reports. Sometimes I even get it right.
Danny and I had our usual pleasant dinner at Mannies, him with his safe Club Sandwich, half of which he takes home for next-day lunch, and me with a verging-on-healthy Greek salad. I think the fried pita bread spoiled the benefits of all the lettuce in the salad though. Back from Denver, I've been been hovering between 205 and 207, which is a bit demoralizing. I'm SURE I eat much less than I did 10 years ago, and surely the occasional bag of potato chips can't be that bad!
We headed up to see our poor little chorus perform for the 25th anniverary. I know the director had hoped to have an orchestra for this milestone concert series, but I can see that it just didn't happen. Joe McCanna pounded way on the piano as per usual...an extremely talented pianist and artist, but he's not an orchestra.
The two Mozart pieces were hugely different. The chorus performed the first piece "The Magic Carpet Cantata" with vocal "do-do-dooos" which was fun and entertaining. The second Mozart piece was his final work he did before he died..."Freimaurerkantate, K. 623". THAT was all in German and was mostly a piece for Harry and Paul (Tenor and Bass) solos, with the chorus not doing much at all. It was a bit long and dreary, and even having the translation in the program didn't make it enjoyable.
There was a 3rd Mozart piece that Carl K was supposed to solo in, but apparently that was an unmitigated disaster and was cut.
Since they cut the 3rd Mozart, there was no intermission, so they plowed into the Pop portion of the concert, bring back lots of tunes sung over the years:
[snip]
For the second half of the concert, conductors from the chorus's past have been asked to select works. Some of the conductors will also be able to return and conduct their selections. Works include the romantic "Sometimes I Wish," the nostalgic "Shenandoah," the heroic "Make Them Hear You," the comic "Mythic New Mexico" and "Don't Fence Me in." Also included are "The Longest Time" by Billy Joel, "Life Story" with words by Tennessee Williams, and a group of staged pop songs: "Calendar Boy," "Standing on the Corner," and "Please, Me. Postman." NMGMC's first conductor Bill Boyer will be represented with "Rhythm of Life" from the musical "Sweet Charity."
[endsnip]
"Marry Us" was also in there, too...and Sam Poarch directed 4 of the songs, which was nice...he was director from 1998 to 2001, right when the chorus was transistioning from men and women into a real gay men's chorus.
This was a VERY fun part of the concert, and made it all worthwhile. I knew 7 of the songs they sung, and a couple of them made me weepy, like the rich version of "Shenandoah" they did.
Paul called all audience chorus members up to the stage to finish off the concert with "Everything Possible"...and I got up to sing with a couple of other singers that weren't singing this term.
There is a sad part of this...there were only 12 singers, and no matter how hard we all try, we can't get our numbers up. I think between the 3 concerts, there were only 150 or so that went...how low is that!
In the reception after, I met Roger B, a friend of a friend from DC who just moved to the RainbowVisions retirement area in Santa Fe. We've corresponded briefly, but it was nice to meet him...a sweet little guy about 70. Apparently he danced with Lambda Squares once upon a time, but I have no memory of it in the few times I've called there.
The drive back was lovely and quiet...the stars were shining away in only the way they do in the high dry desert...
And this morning, I actually walked the 1.2 miles to work...how good is that!
Tuesday was my day of 100 projects at work, most of which I plowed through successfully. More and more I'm having to try to read my boss' mind to figure out what he might want for some of these on-demand reports. Sometimes I even get it right.
Danny and I had our usual pleasant dinner at Mannies, him with his safe Club Sandwich, half of which he takes home for next-day lunch, and me with a verging-on-healthy Greek salad. I think the fried pita bread spoiled the benefits of all the lettuce in the salad though. Back from Denver, I've been been hovering between 205 and 207, which is a bit demoralizing. I'm SURE I eat much less than I did 10 years ago, and surely the occasional bag of potato chips can't be that bad!
We headed up to see our poor little chorus perform for the 25th anniverary. I know the director had hoped to have an orchestra for this milestone concert series, but I can see that it just didn't happen. Joe McCanna pounded way on the piano as per usual...an extremely talented pianist and artist, but he's not an orchestra.
The two Mozart pieces were hugely different. The chorus performed the first piece "The Magic Carpet Cantata" with vocal "do-do-dooos" which was fun and entertaining. The second Mozart piece was his final work he did before he died..."Freimaurerkantate, K. 623". THAT was all in German and was mostly a piece for Harry and Paul (Tenor and Bass) solos, with the chorus not doing much at all. It was a bit long and dreary, and even having the translation in the program didn't make it enjoyable.
There was a 3rd Mozart piece that Carl K was supposed to solo in, but apparently that was an unmitigated disaster and was cut.
Since they cut the 3rd Mozart, there was no intermission, so they plowed into the Pop portion of the concert, bring back lots of tunes sung over the years:
[snip]
For the second half of the concert, conductors from the chorus's past have been asked to select works. Some of the conductors will also be able to return and conduct their selections. Works include the romantic "Sometimes I Wish," the nostalgic "Shenandoah," the heroic "Make Them Hear You," the comic "Mythic New Mexico" and "Don't Fence Me in." Also included are "The Longest Time" by Billy Joel, "Life Story" with words by Tennessee Williams, and a group of staged pop songs: "Calendar Boy," "Standing on the Corner," and "Please, Me. Postman." NMGMC's first conductor Bill Boyer will be represented with "Rhythm of Life" from the musical "Sweet Charity."
[endsnip]
"Marry Us" was also in there, too...and Sam Poarch directed 4 of the songs, which was nice...he was director from 1998 to 2001, right when the chorus was transistioning from men and women into a real gay men's chorus.
This was a VERY fun part of the concert, and made it all worthwhile. I knew 7 of the songs they sung, and a couple of them made me weepy, like the rich version of "Shenandoah" they did.
Paul called all audience chorus members up to the stage to finish off the concert with "Everything Possible"...and I got up to sing with a couple of other singers that weren't singing this term.
There is a sad part of this...there were only 12 singers, and no matter how hard we all try, we can't get our numbers up. I think between the 3 concerts, there were only 150 or so that went...how low is that!
In the reception after, I met Roger B, a friend of a friend from DC who just moved to the RainbowVisions retirement area in Santa Fe. We've corresponded briefly, but it was nice to meet him...a sweet little guy about 70. Apparently he danced with Lambda Squares once upon a time, but I have no memory of it in the few times I've called there.
The drive back was lovely and quiet...the stars were shining away in only the way they do in the high dry desert...
And this morning, I actually walked the 1.2 miles to work...how good is that!
