bluebacon

I turned 34 today. This normally wouldn't bother me because I look like I'm in middle school, but for some reason the number 34 just hit me as a really big number -- like a really old number. I didn't care about 21, 25 or 30 or any of the other years after 30, but the minute I realized I will be hitting 34 this year, it just struck me strangely. I remember the people who were 34 back in the day when I was in high school or younger and they all seemed really old and authoritative at this age. I don't feel old or authoritative at all, did I miss some wisdom growth spurt along the way? Anyway this isn't even what I wanted to write about but I had to get that out of the way. What I really wanted to say was I was very pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed my birthday this year. I always had reservations about my birthday. You see I share my birthday with my mom so it has never really been MY day. Once we got past the children's party stage, it just bec...

The Unforgettable Gala is in 4 weeks. After being at the Opera America conference where you spend the majority of your time sitting while being constantly fed, I realize that at this rate I will never fit into my gala attire! I didn't think it would be a problem, first of all at the beginning of the year when work craziness descended upon me, I started losing weight that I was back to size 0. But by the time Tosca rolled in, I eased into the chaos quite efficiently that the size 0 didn't really stay for very long. The other thing was, I didn't think I was going to wear this particular gala outfit in the first place. The first and last time I wore it was for the Philadelphia Orchestra's Academy Ball, which was you know, quite prestigious and pretty up there in terms of high profile. I mean the last one they had this year had Hugh Jackman as a special guest. Any event that has Wolverine (who cares about Les Miserables!) in it, is high profile in my book! When I moved to...

Greetings from Vancouver and from my very first Opera America Conference! This is the elite gathering of all arts administrators who care about the continuous growth and development of the art of opera in North America. It's pretty exciting to be here and network with as many people as possible. I've been really keen on being here for months. I know it's not cheap to bring staff over to conferences so I feel very fortunate that I get to be one of the people who get to go. So there I was totally keen and eager for the opening session when my attention was totally caught off guard during the Lt. Governor's opening address. She said that as the new Lt. Governor she gets invited to a lot of arts and culture events -- the symphony, the opera, and most recently to the Victoria Choral Society's concert! She actually named the choir! And she went on to praise not only our performance and how fantastic it was, but she also praised our high school choral immersion prog...

I'm at work but distracted so I figured I'd better write down my thoughts now for the sake of my productivity. So... I survived Haydn. No, I REALLY survived Haydn. And not just the Nelson Mass but the whole concert including the contemporary pieces we performed. Up until a week ago I was still contemplating whether to back out of the concert or not because I didn't feel as prepared as I normally would a week before a performance. I had always been very diligent with choir. But this time around, I even started doubting my cramming skills. No I don't vocalize on a daily basis nor am I gung-ho on singing every day either, but I'm good with learning my music. I take my time and read through my score, follow along as I listen. And 2-3 weeks before a performance I've usually learned my music enough that I've practically memorized it. I mean not intentionally of course, but because I've studied it well over time, I get to a point where I've got it me...