Europe

So I need to update you about my music opportunities. After dropping out of the music program at Biola, I was sad, and decided to do a search on the internet to find community choirs in and around my town. I wanted to find a group that would challenge me musically without being too hard. I found a choir through a college called "Chorale Bel Canto".

They mostly do classical music, and I had to audition with an aria--from opera or oratorio. Since at the time, I knew from their website that the next concert was featuring Bach, I decided to do the Bach aria I'd done at my recital. (Less work on my part! didn't have to learn anything new.) Well, the director was very kind, and I like him--he invited me to sit in on the rehearsal to see if I liked it, then I could sing for him. Everything went well, and I joined the choir that night. We had our first concert at the end of March, and it focused on Baroque music--hard! Kicked my butt, in a good way. Now we are working on Mozart's Mass in C Minor, which is very beautiful music, and even more challenging than the Bach. But I am loving it.

Oh, and I keep forgetting to tell you that I got to sing on Easter Sunday. The choir participates in a sunrise service at Rose Hills Cemetary here in CA(it's the biggest cemetary I've ever seen, miles and miles), and I was asked to sing the solo: the spiritual "Were you there?" at the very beginning of the service. It was cool-- dark, so I couldn't see all the people, but they told us later that there were about 1500 people there. Cool!! I wasn't really nervous b/c I couldn't SEE anyone, heehee. The service was beautiful; reverent and sacred. Hard to explain, but there's something about celebrating the resurrection of Christ around the same time of day as the disciples and women first saw Him.

Ok, now I get to the reason for this post. The choir is going to Europe this summer and I get to go too!!!!!! I am elated! Never gotten to do anything like this before in my life. The price is very good, and we are touring Austria and Hungary, singing the Mozart music. Didn't want to mention anything sooner, as there were a lot of variables: had to get permission from work and make sure we had the $$. (Tax returns and earned income credit are great!) I'm also thankful my husband is willing to live without me for 16 days (8/1-8/16). That'll be the hard part--being separated from my boys. But it is the opportunity of a lifetime. Now onto passport and electric outlet converters, whoohoo! :o)