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December 23, 2006 Almost
there!
 Christmas
is right around the corner which means I am still working! I
will be singing Christmas eve and Christmas morning, but if all goes
as planned (as opposed to my last entry), I will be in Manhattan in
time for diner with the family on Christmas night. Phew.
CANTUS
gave a couple of great performances at home this week, entitled
Christmas
with CANTUS featuring CANTUS, as well as
MPR host
Brian Newhouse wish
CANTUS
Artistic Director Erick Lichte (pictured stage right).
It was the same program that was recorded last month for
international broadcast (see entry for Nov 27th) and was received
quite well by an audience of many regulars and a few newbies
including Ms. Mary Dayton. She was present for the
announcement of some big CANTUS news. Of the famous
Dayton
department store family, Ms. Dayton gave a
substantial sum to Westminster Presbyterian Church where CANTUS
rehearses (and also gives annual concerts, including Christmas
with CANTUS) to fund a tour next season to
CAMEROON
in west Africa. There is certain to be plenty more on this
trip in the coming months as more details are solidified, but I must
say a HUGE thank you to the entire Dayton family for what is sure to
be a life changing experience.
 Now
that CANTUS is on break for the next couple of weeks I am looking
forward to some vacation! I will be traveling back to NY, both
Manhattan and the Burgh, and then on to Boston for New Year's with
my oldest sister. Good times are sure to be had...especially
the hours spent learning a new program of CANTUS music to be
performed inMarch with poet
Robert Bly.
Again, more on that in future updates from the road...This entry includes a photo from Christmas with CANTUS as
well as a photo of the wall clock (of
Blood wood
and
Ebony) that rounded out
my Christmas woodworking for my family. I hope my brother
enjoys it or years to come; one day somewhere besides a Manhattan
studio!
Dec 21, 2006 Shop SNAFU...
 I
had been lucky until this point. Everything I had built worked
as planned. No SNAFU's, until today, my birthday. Of
course, when else. Just to prove the importance of a perfect
glue joint, three of four candlestick holders snapped in half, at
the glue joint, when I was putting in the final screw that holds
everything together for the long haul. Seriously, these are
the 9tth and 10th set of these I have made and of course wood karma
catches up to me four days before Christmas (they are Christmas
presents!), on my birthday, when I don't have that many more free
hours to remedy the problem before I leave for NY. Ugh.
Ok, since you know I write most of these entries after the fact I
should let you in on the secret. I was able to open the glue
joints completely, send then over the jointer for a quick 1/64th
touch up, re-glue (with some tricky clamping as the pieces were
already turned and oiled) and all is well. SNAFU averted in a
matter of a few hours.
 Paul,
the shop owner, told me it was about time I had something like this
happen as "...it happens to everyone, you are lucky it was only
candlestick bases that were fixed without much headache." I
guess, though the cut on my hand from the chisel I accidentally
dropped (and caught by the wrong end) combined with the fact that
birthdays are supposed to be fun didn't give me much solace.
C'est la vie, happy birthday to me. This entry includes a few
pics of the candlestick holders and segmented bowls of
Pau Ferro
and
Ebony
that will soon be Christmas presents.
Check out
these galleries for more woodworking photos.
December 13, 2006 This isn't
NYC
 We
in da country my friend. CANTUS takes a moment to pose with
Bemidji MN's
mascot, the first statue of its sort in the United States, Mr. Paul
Bunyan and his sidekick Blue, the ox. Need I say more?
I find myself reminded of a book my mother gave to me and my
siblings as we left home; Dr. Seuss' Oh, the Places you'll go.
You weren't joking were you?
December 10, 2006 Is it hot
or is it just me?
 Everyone
thinks "Oh, you get to go to Florida in December, how nice!"
Sure, if it was vacation it would be wonderful. However, this
past week the
CANTUS
spent in Florida was anything but a vacation! From the
"renovated"
Hotel
Jacaranda (don't let the website fool you) in
Avon Park to the only day we were beach front being ruined by 50
mile an hour wind pelting us with sand as we walked into the hotel,
this trip to Florida was by no means a vacation. In fact, it
was quite the opposite. Don't get me wrong, it is great to not
being in freezing temperatures, but then again it was mild in
Florida as well. Which leads to the neither clever, nor unique
comment we hear so often "Did you bring this cold weather with you
from MN?" First off, it is 60 degrees...it isn't cold, and
second, no, we didn't, unless of course we have some crazy power to
control the jet stream.
 On
a happier note, I was able to reconnect with an old college friend
whom I haven't seen in about 5 years. Angela and I met when I
was a senior in high school singing at Plattsburgh State, and the
following summer she was my counselor for freshman orientation.
I don't think she liked the fact that some "pre-fresh' got under her
skin and actually became a friend! None the less, it was
wonderful to see her and catch up. That was the nice side of
the trip; a stop in the mountains of
western
North Carolina. If you never have been I
recommend you go, it is beautiful! This week's photos show the nice
welcome we had in Daytona Beach, as well as the beautiful view out
our hotel in Daytona Beach...it is 630am and you can already see how
the wind is affecting the palms.
December 5, 2006 Holy singing
batman!
No photos this week, just a recap, day
by day, since Monday the 27th of November. Tuesday,
final CANTUS rehearsal for CANTUS and Carols with the SPCO.
Wednesday, record some music theater stuff for
auditions/dress rehearsal with
the St.
Paul Chamber Orchestra...
Thursday, performance #1 with SPCO (finally nailed my solos),
find out I need to re-record the MT pieces.
Friday, re-record MT pieces with a different pianist because
my usual wasn't available, performance #2 with SPCO (still improved
upon my solos!), get the stamp of approval on the recordings.
Saturday, edit and send the recordings (don't worry, by edit
I mean clean up/normalize, not digitally remake my abilities!),
performance #3 with SPCO. SLEEP!
Sunday, on a flight to NY, in a suit, by 7 am, audition
for the
Metropolitan Opera at 1pm, dinner with grad
school friends 6pm (I miss you guys again!).
Monday, buy baby formula for my sister before visiting with
Nicholas, audition for
Seattle
Opera
4pm, best 20 oz. strip steak of my life and dirty martini with my
brother and brother-in-law 9pm. Sleep 12am.
Today, rise 5am, fly back to MN late for organizational
meeting, 4.5 hour rehearsal for tour, go home, write blog,
sleepzzzzzzzzzz.......
November 27, 2006 Back
on the wagon, literally.
 Following
the quick trip to NY for thanksgiving, I returned to be a part of
CANTUS'
annual
Away in a
Manger
concert at the Harriet Island Pavilion in St. Paul. A
wonderful event full of CANTUS, sing alongs, roasted marshmallows,
hot chocolate and horse drawn sleigh (well, wagons this year because
of the lack of snow) rides, it is a twin cities favorite, one night
only event. Unfortunately, we had to turn people away this
year and hope they return next year...better yet, buy a ticket ahead
of time! It was a great success, with a highlight that
featured the entire audience, led by CANTUS, in a parody on The
Twelve Days of Christmas. Then came Sunday morning, bright
and early at St. Michael's Church in Stillwater MN where I sang
The People that Walked in Darkness from Handel's Messiah
for the second of two services that I sometimes join for some 1099
work. Early to bed for me after the long weekend in order to
prep for today's recording of Christmas with CANTUS, produced by
American
Public Media for distribution WORLDWIDE!
 That's
right, CANTUS will be heard worldwide this holiday season courtesy
of a program headed by the
European Broadcasting Union.
It is scheduled to play in 27 countries on Christmas day!
A huge thank you to Brad Althoff, producer, and Brian
Newhouse, host for their consideration of CANTUS for this position.
It was a pleasure to work with you again, and look forward to doing
it again this next year. This is the third year CANTUS has
recorded
Christmas
with CANTUS, though it is the first year it is
being distributed beyond the US. You must check your local
listings for show times in your area. Also, check
MPR,
or your local station, for our broadcast of CANTUS and Carols
with the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra which will air after we sing it
next week. This weeks photos include the stage setup for Away
in a Manger and a shot of Brian Newhouse and Studio M where we
record at MPR just before we started singing for the world.
Thanksgiving 2006 Welcome
Nicholas!
 What
a wonderful trip it was to NY this year for a quick thanksgiving
break from CANTUS. There was much to give thanks for this
year; continued health (or at least a successful healing of my
foot!), full-time work as a singer, a few successful solo
engagements, happiness at home, and the most exciting part, the
welcoming of a happy, healthy, first, nephew into my life.
Congratulations to my sister and her husband on this happy occasion
and welcome, Nicholas Lorenzo, to our family. Born the night
of our Trio Mediaeval rehearsal (see entry below), I was ecstatic to
see him over the holiday. He is super cute, with a full head
of hair, strong limbs and strong bowels. Hahaha! I look
forward to watching him grow in the years to come, as well as
welcoming more children into the family. Of course, as is
always the case with a first grandchild, the hoopla is astounding!
My parents were able to be with her during on the day of delivery as
well as the weeks following to help out and enjoy the moment for
themselves. My father took on the role of granddad, just as he
did with us, holding Nicholas on his chest for a guaranteed instant
nap, and my mother helping my sister with all things motherly.
It was a wonderful time for our whole family to be together, albeit
only one day. Next stop, Christmas.
November 12, 2006 What a way
to end the week.
 Following
an 8 hour drive back from KS yesterday,
CANTUS
met
Trio
Mediaeval for a short rehearsal to prepare for
this evenings performance. This wonderful trio of sopranos
from Oslo Norway (with whom we share
American
management company)
are known internationally for their uncanny blend of medieval,
contemporary and traditional Norwegian music. CANTUS is proud
to have them on our home concert series this year, and was happy see
that the newspaper agreed!
Read a
review of tonight's performance here.
Thank you, Anna, Linn and Torrun, for being such wonderful
collaborators and warm guests. It was a pleasure!
Hopefully we can do it again soon on your side of the water! I
should take this moment to break the news about CANTUS' management.
In the past few months, change has been underway and CANTUS is now
represented by Alliance Artists Management, owned by the two men who
managed us previously at Herbert Barrett. This move comes amid
changes in the mission of Herbert Barrett and has been greeted
amiably by all parties involved. In other news, tonight I
became an uncle! Nicholas Lorenzo Ratesic has joined the world
and I congratulate my sister Julie and her husband Marko on this
wonderful occasion.
November 9, 2006 Tour gets an A+
 Oh
to have all CANTUS tours be as wonderful as this current one.
Beginning in
Lincoln,
NE with a wonderful matinee concert for an
assn called
Abendmusik,
from which we received a very warm reception. It is always a
pleasure to do a performance in a beautiful church that supports our
sound like few theaters can. A quick drive down I-39 and we
found ourselves in
Lawrence
KS, home to the
University of Kansas (KU)
and the
Lied
Center for the Arts which presents one of the
most prestigious chamber music series in the country. A
wonderfully warm theater (considering it holds more than 2000 seats)
is the centerpiece of this modern performing center and singing in
there brought back thoughts of being on an opera stage.
 I
was fortunate to be the soloist on "The Wreck of the Edmund
Fitzgerald" on the night of this performance and have included a
link to
the show review here.
It isn't everyday that a young singer gets such a nice
nod from an elite venue. (Can you sense the warm fuzzies?)
The photo to the right shows the only downside to this stay.
Two days in a row we had ed outreaches that started before the sun
came up. I don't know what these school districts are thinking
having choir at 645 in the morning, but much to our surprise, the
kids are used to it. So much so that they proved some of the
most talented groups that CANTUS has come in throughout this
country!
Read an
article on our residence here. Way to go
kids, and thank you, thank you, thank you, to the hundreds of you
who came to the performance spewing your energy upon us as if we
were rock stars!
October 31, 2006 I was
humbled.
Last week, I wrote that my foot seemed
normal and the muscles seemed unharmed from immobilization, but I
was sorely (no pun intended!) wrong. Today was my first day of
physical therapy, and beside the awkward limp I have developed, I
was completely humbled by my inability to do the most mundane of
tasks. When asked if I could stand on one foot (the bad one) I
stumbled. When asked if I could rise to toes on the bad foot I
couldn't even move. My old dance teachers would be sorely
disappointed as was I. I have my assignments that should aid
my recovery and since I am writing this after the fact (shhh, that
is my secret), can say that I have worked the intrinsic toe muscles
back into shape, can raise to my toes without aid, and have nearly
rid myself of that annoying limp. I am feeling the itch to get
back into a dance studio and continue this positive physical
progression regaining some of what I have lost since grad school
when the dance ceased and the voice picked up. I guess time
will tell if I do so. Tour starts again next week.
October 26, 2006 I am
whole again.
 Today
marked the 8 week point in my foot recovery and, lucky me, all is
well. The cast came off and I am on my way to being back to
normal. I was glad to see that the last week spent walking in
the full cast began the muscular recovery and reduced atrophy.
In fact, your can't even tell my leg was immobilized for two months.
However, I am sure when I see a physical therapist things will
change and I will find the weakness that has developed. I have
included two scanned images of x-rays, the first from the initial
break and the second from today-clinically healed.
Because of the angle of the first x-ray, it seems as if the break
was not all the way through, but trust me, the other x-rays (which I
didn't get copies of) proved otherwise. My orthopedic doctor
assured me that in another few months, the remnants of marking on
the bone, visible in the second x-ray, will heal and one would never
know the better should me foot be x-rayed in the future. I am
grateful to all that helped me the last two months as I was able to
beat the odds and heal this strange break without need of surgery.
October 16, 2006 The
hike begins
Following a wonderful performance last
night in
Cranston
RI,
CANTUS
began the 24 hour drive back home. It is too bad we showed up
in Stroudsburg PA at midnight, because the
Poconos
are beautiful this time of year!
Tour finished up with a story of student engagement and familiar
faces. First, in small Albany OH, 35 students banded together
in an extracurricular choir called "The Tone Definites," directed
voluntarily by college student Ken Oehlers, went through quite the
effort to have us perform. These students spent the summer and
fall holding fund-raisers and writing grants and did the
exemplary...came up with CANTUS' performance fee. Although,
CANTUS agreed to the contract at less than our typical amount, the
fact that they RAISED this money on their own did not go
unappreciated or unnoticed by myself and others. Following a
quick stop in mid-Ohio for an ed outreach CANTUS headed east for a
show in Cranston RI. We arrived Friday afternoon and had a
much welcome 40 hour break! I headed into Boston for an
evening of fun with some friends from college as well as my sister
and then spent the night and next day with my sister. Days
like that are one of the random (and infrequent!) pleasures of tour.
Back to RI Sunday morning CANTUS was greeted with a very nice modern
church which supported our sound wonderfully. In the audience
were two old friends of mine which is always a pleasure...check out
the
Coast
Gaurd Band for more info on Lisa Taylor, and
if you are a single guy at Brown U, let me know and I will give you
Lauren's phone number! Thanks to both of you for coming.
The van keeps bouncing along I-80...16 more hours and I will again
fall into my very own bed.
October 10, 2006 There she
is, Miss America
Next stop,
Sandusky
OH, home to
Cedar
Point (one of the country's best amusement
parks) and
1963 Miss
America, Jacqueline Mayer. Who knew
CANTUS
had friends in such high places, but sure enough, Ms. Mayer was one
of our hosts for the last two days here in Sandusky. I can't
say the connection is completely random as Jackie's sister Beth is
one of CANTUS' biggest supporters throughout the years. This
is however the first time I had met Jackie and it was a real
pleasure. She treated CANTUS like kings from the welcome
baskets in our hotel when we arrived to the limo service all day of
the concert. (Though I have to admit, it was a little strange to get
out of a limo, but my self, to go into the drug store for new crutch
feet.) Check out her website, she has an amazing story of
triumph; the result of overcoming a severe stroke when she was only
28 years old. A truly beautiful woman whose love for life was
evident the moment she walked in the room. Thank you for all
the help Jackie!
The show last night in Sandusky was great. Nearly a standing
room only audience were quick to their feet for a wonderful ovation
at the end of the show; a wonderful cap to a wonderful stop on tour.
October 8, 2006 Bad day to be
in Detroit
 By
now we all know the
Yankees
were defeated by the
Tigers.
Though I am a Yankee fan, I don't mind them loosing; it keeps the
spirit of the game alive. However, last night, on tour in
Detroit, the Tiger fans were being downright harsh to Yankee fans
following their victory at
Comerica
Park. I guess Yankee fans would do the
same, but it was definitely a strange feeling to keep my mouth shut
so that I didn't get my crutched leg tossed around by rambunctious
fans!
Obviously, tour has brought us to Detroit for a few shows at the
Detroit
Institute for the Arts, a beautiful museum in
the cultural district of Detroit, and unique setting for
CANTUS.
On Friday night we had two 45 minute shows in the
Rivera
Court (pictured above) and this morning we
sang for "Brunch with Bach" held in the
Kresge
Court
(partially pictured below). Both were beautiful venues, albeit
strange venues, for CANTUS and the audience proved much appreciative
of our work.
 Possibly
the most interesting moment for me took place when I was riding the
people mover (an elevated computer driven train that encircles
downtown) checking out the sights. There are tons of beautiful
old building in Detroit, many falling victim to urban decay, but
beautiful none the less. The
Old
Maritime Church
on the water front between Detroit and Windsor Canada (across the
river) made famous in the song "The
wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald" by
Gordon
Lightfoot. CANTUS sings an
arrangement of this piece this season, and yours truly sings the
solo. It was very interesting to have sung this piece many
times and then see the church I sing about that housed the services
to remember the fallen sailors decades ago. It was a moment
when one feels like just a little speck of dust in history.
September 30, 2006 PC pooh
 Yeah,
it has been a while because I was frustrated last update I was
working on that was lost when again my .jpg's freaked out and I lost
the update. C'est la vie.
In the last two weeks much has happened! A tour of the
MN Iron
Range and culminating show in Minneapolis; the
result of a large grant provided to
CANTUS
from the
National
Endowment for the Arts. CANTUS teamed up
with the MN powerhouse chorus
Vocal
Essence and gave a successful effort for a
wonderful grant program.
Eight
grants, entitled American Masterpieces: Choral Music,
were awarded around the country so of course CANTUS was excited.
Hopefully CANTUS' effort was sufficient to expand our reputation
with the NEA...we welcome any more projects they come up with!
That tour ended following a few day residency for CANTUS at
Austin Peay State University
in Clarksville, TN. (Think of the Monkey's song "Take the last
train to Clarksville and I'll meet you at the station...)
Great times were had by all, especially CANTUS.
 It
was one of the best organized and successful Men's vocal festival
that I have been a part of during my tenure with CANTUS...which
considering we do a few of these every year IS giving great kudos!
A huge thank you to Karen Kenaston-French who put the whole event
together after hearing CANTUS sing last year.
Also turned out the second bowl (the larger of the two) for the
stack laminated bowl blank I build before I broke my foot. It
really turned out beautifully and I will try and get some photos
updated on the other side of this site. Follow the link at the
top of this page to "Woodworking home" and check out "recent
projects." Photos should be up in a few days.
And in the last news, I find out Wednesday what has been going on
under this cast. 6 weeks and two casts later I hope things are
looking good and I can start transitioning to a walking cast...that
would really make shows easier!
September 18, 2006 Remember
loosing your baby teeth?
Well, I ask because I have had some
strange feelings in my foot that reminded me of loosing my baby
teeth. For some odd reason, I vividly remember the feeling and
sound of those last few nerves and other fibrous things breaking,
and the tooth coming free. I also remember the feeling of
accidentally bumping a tooth that was ready to go, and that
immediate prick of pain. I have had both these feelings in my
foot as of recent! There have been two or three mornings when
I woke, stretched and inadvertently got both those feelings in my
"immobilized" foot. Bad? I don't know. It
has been a few days since I last felt this, so I am not too worried.
Actually, the foot has been holding up well the last few days as I
began shows again. It almost feels like a complete foot again!
Today marks a quick day off after
CANTUS'
first weekend of performances. Saturday night we sang as
special guests of
The Great
Northern Union, and yesterday sang our full
touring program at in Forrest Lake IA, home of
Waldorff
College to a nice little crowd of 400 that
included many students-always a great sign!
The Great Northern Union (GNU) is a group of about 70 guys from
their 20's through retirement who definitely do their thing well!
I can't say I am the biggest fan of barbershop (it starts to sound
the same to me quickly), but can say that I am was thoroughly
entertained during their segments of the show. These guys LOVE
what they do, and own every minute of it! Way to go guys, it
was fun.
Check out
CANTUS' touring and home schedule here!
There are 50+ shows on the road as well as some great home concerts,
and collaborations with other great artists from Minnesota to
Norway. Check it all out!
September 5, 2006 The drama
continues
 In
a strange twist of karma and great luck, the last two weeks haven't
failed to continue the drama that started in Idaho. On
Saturday the 26th of August, my body once again reminded me
that it isn't 18 years old anymore by succumbing to my aggressive
nature on the water. I was water skiing Friday night when I
fractured
the head of my left 5th metatarsal.
Feeling very little pain, if any, I continued to jet-ski for two
hours Saturday morning during which the pain slowly built up, until
finally even my thick head understood it was time to stop.
 By
then, I had broken the bone and now live on crutches. Tomorrow
marks my third doctor appointment, with the Orthopedic specialist
who will again x-ray my foot, get rid of this bulky cast and replace
it with the appropriate cast. Though a walking cast would be
great, after some research into Chronic Non-Union, I am completely
in favor of whatever cast reduces the risk of such a chronic
problem...being on crutches for 2 months is a small price to pay for
a lifetime of normal foot function!
Ironically, had my car not broken down a few weeks ago, and had I
not therefore bought a car that was an automatic transmission, I
would really be hard up to get around these days!
August 24, 2006 The end of
summer photos
Here is another thing
I was working on when I deleted my files earlier this month.
It is another little photo gallery (STILL NOT the real photo
galleries that you will find under media on the left hand navigation
bar). Included are pics from
CAMP
CANTUS, my drive TO Idaho (not to be confused
with my drive HOME from Idaho which is a whole different story that
is recapped in the
story of
idaho, some shots from Idaho, as well as the
completed photos of those decks and steps I was working on.
Check back soon as the "real" photo galleries will be up and running
on both sides of this site.
August 23, 2006 The Story of Idaho
As promised,
here it is! The
story of how I feel in love with Idaho and why, despite two car
breakdowns, 9 years of leaving my friends to go away for the summer,
and one girlfriend, I still go! Read it and enjoy.
August 22, 2006 Summer is
great
Summer is great, but my ability to
keep up with a site is not. I have been working on many things
since I last told you I would rewrite a few stories. Soon the
photo galleries on both sides of the site will be up and running as
well as newly edited photos throughout the site (now that I finally
got Photoshop). I am also nearing completion of the Story of
Idaho: How I fell in love with the Teton Valley, and should have it
posted in the coming days.
I have been all over the place the last few weeks, and now am back
in MN rehearsing for the new season. What does that mean?
That means I actually have the time to finish projects rather than
just work on them! Till then...
August 7, 2006 Karma is a
horrible thing.
Yes, it has been nearly a month since
I made an entry. Today, karma had its way with me for two
reasons. 1-It taught me a lesson about how to save files for a
website and 2-It taught me not to spend two weeks working on updates
without uploading said updates. That's right, today I lost the
last two weeks of work by being ignorant to my abilities as a
website administrator. I accidentally deleted my entire
website from Front Page, the program I use to keep this site.
Luckily, I was able to download the site as it stood from my July
13th entry. I guess I should feel lucky that this lesson
didn't come at the expense of my entire site, rather just a few
photo galleries and stories. Honestly, I almost cried.
So, here is what I am going to do. I am going to redo the last
two weeks of work and hopefully have it up tomorrow. I really
was excited about these updates, so I feel the urge to get it back.
Clock is ticking, let's see if I can pull it off!
July 13, 2006 I keep a website
don't I?
Back again after a little unplanned
hiatus. I don't know what happened...recording ended, I took a
quick road trip, a trip back home, and finished another sweaty
project for the ol' grunt laborer in me. Unfortunately, if I
delve into any one of these topics this will become the longest
entry ever and I don't like that idea.
Instead
check out this basic photo gallery with
commentary by the photographer...me.
June 22, 2006 Almost
done!
 So
here we are, 40 hours later and only a few things to go! Today
we record Introit and Casey at the Bat and then voila,
we are done! YEAH! I even have some voice left in
reserves, a rare but welcome break at this point. Some of the
pieces have been long...topping out at 54 takes a piece for two
pieces...then again, the finished product will prove worth the time
and hassle. It has been a fun week despite all the time and
stress. Crazy to think that all this work is being done on the
one little machine in this photo. Congrats to Apple for
putting out the Mini, a tiny little computer with enough power to
take down more than 100 gigs of high end music files in 4 days, edit
them over a year and produce a recording whose technical prowess
matches that of any large studio.
Too many funny stories to put into this entry, but the photo sure
shows one of the highlights! I love coming to
this theater because of its rich
history. BB King is one of just many luminaries (including
CANTUS of course!) who have graced the stage and signed the all of
memories. Some of the other highlights include the musical
Rent (original touring cast), Restoration Jazz from New
Orleans, and the legendary classical pianist Andre Watts,
an alumnus of my alma mater The Peabody Institute. As we rap
up today and get ready to have a party, I can only think of how fast
the years pass. It seems like only yesterday that I did my
first recording with CANTUS, which, in fact, was four years ago.
Crazy to think that I have only been out of school for two years and
have already made four CDs with this group. Thanks to CANTUS
for the opportunity to be a full time working musician before I was
even out of my masters degree program! I hope my work
continues to pay off for years to come. next on my list of
to-do's is another quick trip to Plattsburgh for some more water
skiing, this time with the entire family and some relatives as well.
Good times for the 4th of July! See you after the skiing is
done.
June 18, 2006 Time to
sing...a lot!
 Today
I drove to
Sioux
Falls SD, a quaint little town (though the
largest "city" in SD) to begin recording
CANTUS'
latest project. The CD, which is still untitled is meant to
represent a CANTUS concert. Past recordings have been very
thematic...Deep
River is all African American Spirituals in
the original concert arrangements,
Comfort
and Joy Volumes I and II are all
Christmas works, and so the story goes through CANTUS' discography.
In another few weeks two recordings will be released, a second live
album and the past year's recording project (keep in mind there is a
lag of nearly a year between recording and post production release)
Ship of my Heart, a collection of Sea Songs tracing the
journey of a young man leaving for a difficult voyage and returning
safely to his loved ones. Here is hoping that one of these
recordings will make its way to the Grammy Awards for small
ensemble!
 So,
more about this year's project. There is no one theme for the
disk. It is a collection of many people's favorites from the
past few years of touring rep. There are TONS of highlights on
this disk...so many so that it could possibly be called a greatest
hits album! I really can't wait to get going this week (though
it will be a tough week...four days straight, ten hours a day
singing, singing, and more singing). For those who have seen a
CANTUS concert in the past few years will recognize one of the
favorites Flight, a piece for 9
boomwhackers which I am sure will be on of the
favorites for fans when this disk is released! You can tell
from the pictures that despite the long hours, there is plenty of
down time while John, our engineer and editor of
Stereophile Magazine, saves, sets level and
all that other stuff that I prefer to leave to his expertise!
More later this week as we get going.
June 16, 2006 A
check mark on the "to do" list
 Yesterday
I finished four projects...phew. It has been a long couple of
weeks getting up bright and early, putting in some hours of work,
going to rehearsal for our recording this coming week and then again
returning to more woodworking at night. Yet, in the end, it is
always worth it. One of the best parts is that the folks I am
working for actually enjoy the product! Above left is a desk
of Maple, Ebony highlights and a (very heavy!) piece of granite
inlaid in the maple top. A caveat, inlaying granite is much
harder than inlaying Ebony!
The other projects were more along the lines of what I can do in my
sleep...the deck pictured replaced an old rotted one the looked
exactly the same, but was built in the worst possible1960's
Minnesota Building Code.
I have seen so many home with decks like this old
one, where the floor joists of the house cantilever out of the wall
and form a 4-6 foot deck...horrible!!!!!! What do you do when
the deck rots (and they ALL do!)? You have to go through twice
the work to replace the deck with something free standing because
even putting up a ledger is WAY to much work. Despite the
hardships the customer is very happy...so much so that I also did
another deck down on the lake front, sheet rocked his garage, and
when I return from recording and some water skiing for the 4th of
July I will replace a long set of steps that run down to the dock
that is in the water. I love when you can get more than one
project from just one lead!
June 11, 2006 A
FAIRYTALE STORY
Tonight, at 10:50pm eastern time, a
long time family friend,
John Lloyd
Young, won the
Tony Award
for Best Leading Actor in a Musical for his
portrayal of
Frankie
Valli in the hit
Broadway
musical Jersey Boys. I had the privilege
of seeing the show when I was visiting family in NY this past
thanksgiving weekend and was blown away. This young man, John,
had been in NY for years, doing some shows here and there but still
waiting for his big break. Well, I would say this is the big
break! Not only did he land the role of a lifetime, but he has
been absolutely taking Broadway by storm with his performance and
this is now verified by tonight's award. I highly recommend
reading his
blog
as it tells an amazing tale of struggle, success, and absolute
humble appreciation for his work. Congratulations John, you
are an inspiration to me. GO SEE THE SHOW!
June 10, 2006 Almost
done!
 Tonight
CANTUS
had our second to last show of the year. I know I said in a
previous entry that the touring season was over and both are true.
The official touring season IS over, but we always have a few
stragglers for the summer months. Tonight we were in beautiful
Hudson WI,
on the banks of the St. Croix River (just east of the mighty
Mississippi which runs through downtown Minneapolis) at the
Phipps
Center for the Arts. It was a beautiful
little hall of about 300 seats that were filled to the brim with
energetic folks who gave a very warm reception.
In other news, CANTUS has spent the last week rehearsing and
continues rehearsing this coming week for another recording project.
This yet untitled disk with be very much like a CANTUS concert in
that there is no one particular them to the repertoire.
Instead we are making a disk of many favorites that audiences always
ask for and now they shall receive! We leave next Sunday
evening for Sioux Falls SD where we record at the
Washington
Pavilion for Arts and Science. There
will be plenty more on that in the coming weeks!
June 5, 2006 ...and I've been
working like a dog...
 Well,
today marked the 6th 14+ hour day of work in a row, and I feel
great! The pic shows one of the projects I have been working
on. A writing desk of granite, inlaid in some maple, on a
maple base with ebony inlay and trim. Good stuff. More
pics when it is completed in the coming week or so. This is
definitely the nicest piece I have turned out and I must thank my
new mentor, Paul Nelson, for his knowledge and the use of his shop!
I am also churning out a few decks this month...nothing extravagant
but nice none the less. And of course there is rehearsal each
day for
CANTUS'
upcoming recording session (beginning two weeks from yesterday).
Needless to say, having set deadlines of that recording for the desk
and deck projects the next two weeks will continue to be grueling
but with great prize at the end! More soon!
May 30, 2006 Vacation is over
 Well,
really it isn't over quite yet, but mine is. We start
rehearsals on Monday for our next recording. Two weeks of
rehearsal, five days of recording and then wait a year...next thing
you know you have another disk in hand.
I went home to visit my family and friends back in Plattsburgh this
past week. It was great fun all around though the highlight
was definitely surprising my father with a
new boat.
In his 35+ years of boating this is only his second new boat (his
first was the first boat he ever bought in the early 70's!). I
was honestly shocked at how easy it was to keep it a secret from
him. He didn't even question the fact that I spent 20 hours
building a new floor in the old boat, or the numerous times I took
his truck to "run errands" (more like drive to Vermont and buy the
boat!)
 It
was one of the better memorial days I have had in a long time.
Ironically the water was still only 46 degrees (exemplified by the
sweaters and jackets in the first photo) but that didn't stop my
brother and I from getting in and breaking in the new boat.
Water skiing might be my favorite thing in this world. Many
may think it is singing, but if I could somehow work out a career as
a water skier you would never hear this voice again!
May 19, 2006 Strategery, the final
installment
 Today
was the final day of meetings and to all our surprise, we finished
hours ahead of schedule. What a great feeling after so much
discussion about all sorts of topics, but also a little dangerous
for 11 young men to have an entire evening and night free with no
work the following day in a place
such as this!
As you can see by the photos, I took the time
to explore my inner native as well as snap a bunch of photos testing
the capabilities of my camera. Two loons, one sunset and one
lake later I realized that this camera is much better than those
ones you throw away after one use! I hate that we have to wait
an entire year before getting back to this lovely setting.
Till then...
May 18, 2006 Strategery Day
2, More of the same
 Well,
nothing too exciting today, something inherent in a trip meant for
little more than 8 hours of daily meetings.
However, at the end of the day,
CANTUS
is able to relax and I took the opportunity to snap some shots of
the outside of the lodge described in my previous entry. Above
is a shot from the rear of the lodge, on the lake, looking back at
the main house. To the right is the front side of the main
house. On the left you can see the skyway described below.
The part that comes to the ground in the middle of the skyway is the
movie theater and smoking room.
May 17, 2006
Strategery Day 1, Welcome to the Lodge
 Today
CANTUS
made the drive to a private lodge owned by a friend of CANTUS for
our annual meetings. This place is truly amazing, nestled on a
beautiful little lake north of Webster WI, about 2.5 hours from the
twin cities. The owner is a big game hunter, and whether or
not one agrees with such an activity, the trophies and construction
of this lodge are truly breathtaking.
The Lodge (as it is called) sleeps more
than 30 people in nearly 20 bedrooms, has 10 televisions including
the 6 seat movie theater, a skyway to the caretakers home, more than
4000 square feet of decks, three bars, one smoking room, a tennis
court, basketball court, docks for 5 boats, nearly 100 species of
animal trophies, 2 conference rooms...the list goes on. I
couldn't say for sure, but using an educated guess I would say there
is 15,000 square feet of lodge on about 10 acres. Nice, real
nice. The included photos show part of the main room, with
some of the trophies, as well as one of the scariest trophies, of a
Hippo, from Namibia.
May 12, 2006 CANTUS comes
through strong!
This morning a review came out in the
Pioneer Press, the St. Pail newspaper, and I can't think of a better
review for CANTUS. The St. Paul Chamber Orchestra is
definitely one of the most formidable chamber orchestras in the
world, so the final sentence of the review really brings it home for
CANTUS.
Read the
review here.
May 11, 2005 Kare 11
comes through strong!
 As
promised in previous updates,
here
is the complete
Kare 11
(NBC affiliate) extra on
CANTUS
and our newest commission from American composer
Lee Hoiby
entitled Private First Class Jesse Givens. Read some of the
updates below to find out more about the piece and the process
through which we went to get this piece, and this extra up and
running. A HUGE thank you to Boyd Huppert, the correspondent
with Kare 11 who did the story, and I if I may, did it quite well!
Thank you Boyd, this was a great experience.
Here is a
link to the Minnesota Public Radio extra on
the piece as well.
In other news, tonight was the first of three performances with the
S.P.C.O.
of some Mozart, Holst and a set of a capella CANTUS as well.
The performance was great, it was a packed house, and CANTUS even
pulled off a standing ovation from many at intermission!
May 9, 2006
Lot's of stuff, but no pictures, sorry.
Saint Paul
Chamber Orchestra,
Minnesota
Public Radio,
Singer
Spotlight; a good amount of work has gone by
in the last few days. Today we had rehearsals with the
S.P.C.O.
and the guest conductor John Stögard from Finland which went
wonderfully. More of that tomorrow including an open dress
rehearsal tomorrow night.
The shows,
which are already sold out (YEAH!) are Thursday, Friday, and
Saturday evenings with a "Friends of CANTUS" event following the
Friday show...good times to be had by all. Following
rehearsals today, CANTUS was the featured guest for the annual
meeting of the
Coleman
Foundation members who have left, or plan to
leave, gifts to
MPR in the wills. Truly a fascinating
event. I was really intrigued by how unique and lucky
Minnesota is to have perhaps the BEST public radio in the country.
NY, Boston, LA...none of these cities have full time public news,
classical and popular radio all run out of one public company.
Congratulations to MPR on all their success and a large thank you to
them for their continued support of CANTUS. And finally in
this installment of "Updates from the Road" is a link to the
CANTUS
website where you can find a transcription and a mp3 or
this
month's singer spotlight on ME! I am
really looking forward to this weekend and especially to the end of
the month vacation that I will spend back at home in
Plattsburgh, NY doing some water skiing,
helping out around the house and finally putting some hours in on
those arias that have been lurking in the wings as the top of my
voice worked itself out! Till then....
May 7, 2006
The children always smile.
 This
year,
CANTUS
invited
Angelica
Cantanti (based in Bloomington, MN: the "third
twin city") on board as an educational partner. What does that
mean? Well, it means that earlier this year we had a day
long workshop with all 300 young boys and girls (and young men and
women for the older group!) followed by a performance in the
evening. That was a few months ago. Today, we took part
in their final performance of the year and thank god for the
children smiling because this was NOT a "gig" for CANTUS.
Heck, our names weren't even the program, but that is ok, because
the kids love it and what better way to teach than by example.
Angelica Cantanti is really quite an amazing group providing
choral/arts experience weekly for hundreds of kids a year.
 Considering
the group has been around for 25 years, I am willing to bet they
have a few thousand alumni, many of whom have nothing to do with the
professional vocal world, but, they do frequent CANTUS concerts,
love music and know what joy it can bring to one's life. I
know my job depends upon this kids in the future!
The sort of reaction from today makes me realize how important
(despite my sometimes less than excited attitude towards being a
teacher) CANTUS' education mission can be to the children. I
am looking forward to this summer, when CANTUS will hold the first
ever
CAMP
CANTUS, a week long singing/arts camp in the
twin cities. Here's hoping that it is a huge success!
Sign your
child up today!
May 5, 2006
Razor or Razr, that is confusing.
Today I spent a few hours in the amazing workshop of Mr. Paul
Nelson, a true master craftsman. This shop is out of control,
there is NOTHING that one could need for building anything out of
wood that isn't in there! Luckily, after two years of letting
him give me a hard time and me annoying him, he has agreed to teach
me and let me use his shop in the process.
Of course, that isn't very funny. But what he said was!
I bought a
Razr phone
yesterday and had it with me when I went to his house. It
rang, I answered it and he asked what the hell that skinny thing
was. When I told him, "My new phone, the Razr phone" he looked
puzzled. He grabbed it, looked around and asked, "But where is
the razor, I thought there was a razor on this thing?" "Are
you joking? Yo, this is called the Razr, but there is not
actually a razor on it," I responded with a huge laugh. He was
honestly convinced by the ads on TV that this phone contained a
razor. He actually said he and a friend had joked that this
phone was all we needed...now people can drive, talk and shave at
the same time. Gotta love technology and folks who don't care
to become involved with it!
May 2, 2006
A new twist on a common theme.
 It
is no secret that my
voice is
low. I can't remember the last time that
I had a concert and someone didn't make some comment about it.
I have heard everything from "You must sing tenor" to "Hi Tom (in a
very cheap yet funny attempt to make their voice low)." I have
begun to almost expect such comments and normally just say thanks,
or, as of recently, make the joke, "It pays the bills."
Then comes last night's performance in
Sioux
Falls, SD at the
Washington
Pavilion for Arts and Science, a home away
from home for
CANTUS.
This show marked our 5 performance at the hall (third just this
year) as well as two full CD recording sessions which also took
place in their beautiful great hall. Joining CANTUS on stage
for a quick performance on Mozart's Ave Verum Corpus was the
West
Central High School chorus from Hartford, SD
(as part of CANTUS' continued education mission). One student,
Ms. Kylie Schultz made a comment that stopped me in my tracks and
led to one of the best laughs I have had lately. "I heart your
voice." Those exact words. Not, "I love your voice" or
"I really like your voice," but "I heart your voice." This
proves two things: I am, like, totally not update to date on my
lingo and the internet has truly changed the vernacular of those who
use it "chatting." Regardless of all this, I really
appreciated the comment and thank her for the great laugh...and for
their part of a wonderful performance!
April 29, 2006
Yin and Yang, well, sorta.
 Home
again after what was essentially the
last tour
of the season just in time to do some more
home concerts, and a
series
with the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra before the
much anticipated may break! On our last stop of the tour, in
Ames IA,
I realized that tour is somewhat like Yin and Yang except that two
halves don't form a positive whole, instead, every good half is
paired with a bad half. Their are countless
examples...wonderful show/responsive audience/young crowd is always
paired with having to leave so early the next morning that I can't
afford to be social following the show...or a beautiful new part of
the country with amazing accommodations and it snows on show day and
few show up to watch the performance! In Ames it was a first
for this strange wedding of circumstance. I have been in
countless theaters in this country and an equally wide variety of
hotels.
 Never
before had I seen such a cool dressing room, at the top of spiral
staircases (it was very Shakespeare meets 21st century rod iron) and
such a SMALL hotel room in the same venue. Your eyes don't
deceive you, that is a room for two men of
CANTUS
share. Wunderbar.
Granted, we Americans get spoiled with space
and this hotel room would fit wonderfully in Europe, but then again,
you would be in Europe, not Ames Iowa.
April 28, 2006
Tour, You never know what you'll find
 As
you could probably imagine, when I woke yesterday and saw that out
itinerary said "Drive to
Keokuk
Iowa, performance at
Grand
Theater 730pm" I was overtaken with
excitement. How I have always longed to go to Keokuk Iowa,
home to less than 10,000 people and nothing of much consequence.
So we drove. Luckily only about an hour from our previous stop
at
Western
Illinois University in Macomb Ill. (quite a
nice school I may add, with a beautiful hall that sounded
wonderful!), we arrived on Keokuk...hum, maybe not as bad as I
expected. Your typical small town with a long main street full
of little shops, all seeming to sell the same things, a trinket
lovers heaven and a book lovers paradise. Finally the time
came and I walked the few blocks to the theater.
 Wow,
this place is sweet! An old vaudeville house with a huge
flashy marquee and an interior renovated to its original character
complete with chandeliers and that row if foot lights in red, white
and blue (I was hoping that they flashed from side to side like some
sort of video game, but they simply turned on to make us nice and
rosy on stage). Needless to say, the town is extremely proud
of this historic theater and it was really a fun evening of singing.
April 26, 2006
Tour, Day 5, CANTUS gets "bored"
 Alright,
well we aren't actually bored. Who could get bored when you
have to drive and perform everyday for a week and a half, let alone
the attention it takes to entertain yourself in a hotel room!
However, these two pictures show how tour boredom sometimes rears it
ugly, yet subtle head. The picture on the left shows a typical
section of CANTUS spike tape (to show us where to stand for various
pieces. I know it is hard to see, but look for the simple one
to two inch pieces of yellow tape. Now look at the picture at right,
taken at the
same show, the same stage, but on the other side of the group where
we, the low voices, got a little bored and started taping math
symbols (you would think a group of singers would not be so nerdy.
but alas, we are) and the fiasco ended with me taping the entire
name of the piece "NGANA" to show where I stand for that song.
Other fun parts of the taping included a "pi" sign, some sort of
Japanese symbol to mark soloists position, and off course addition
and subtraction symbols. Wow, time for a little more spice in
our lives. Then again, maybe we just need to act our age.
April 23, 2006
Tour, Day 2, Just a night in a Hotel.
 Last
night, following the show in Aurora, IL, we drove to
LaCrosse,
WI and stayed at the
Stony
Creek Inn as a way of easing the drive today
before out concert. This place was a trip! If you check
out the website you will see that their claim is "Experience the
outdoors, indoors." That could not be more true, the entire
place was decked out in log construction including the furniture;
even the towel rack in the bathroom was log construction.
Instead of mints on the bed there was a stuffed animal moose (which,
coincidentally was for sale.) I took so many pictures of this
place that it was hard to decide what to show y'all (see, i am
trying to get the lingo for the lodge correct!) and choose these
photos each for their own reason. The first perfectly
exemplifies hotel/airport/tour food and the second is definitely the
most unique host I have ever been greeted by when entering a hotel!
April 22, 2006
Tour, Day 1
 Today
we arrived and gave a performance in
Aurora, IL.
Come to find out, Aurora has many claims
to fame besides being the home to Wayne and Garth (that's right,
remember
Wayne's
World!).
Smokey
Robinson
used to sing at the church where we performed, Internationally
renowned operatic bass Eric Halfverson was born and raised and
also returns when he can to perform in this same church and last but
not least, the off spring of
Barry
Manilow and
Carol
Channing resides in the choir room at the
church. Ok, well it is actually just a figurine, but after
great debate, the conclusion was drawn by two members of
CANTUS
that this figurine most closely resembled said off spring.
Have a more interesting idea for who this looks like? Send me
an email, I will be sure to post any thoughts that make me laugh
more than the Manilow/Channing reference! The show was good,
#55 on the year, with a warm reception and some very nice moments
for us, the singers, which doesn't always happen even if the
audience enjoy themselves!
April 20, 2006
New Rep: Take 1
 Had
a show last night in beautiful
Winona, MN
(well, I guess that sort of claim is relative!) It was the
first of 3 performances with piano of new rep that will then be
given three performances with the
St. Paul
Chamber Orchestra in early May. Ms.
Justine Sassanfar, a good friend to CANTUS (ok, she is engaged to
our boss) played beautifully on the pieces (a Mozart cantata and
some Gustav Holst choruses for men's voices), and we thank her for
all her help! And also a hand to her for traveling with 9 men
in two mini-vans! Luckily for her, we don't have any real
tours with her playing. I can't imagine that any wise young
woman would want to spend two weeks in mini-vans with 9 young men
eating fast food and driving long hours.
Now that I have my
new
digital camera I have been snapping photos
left and right. This one intrigued me at how LITTLE space
CANTUS
uses when we show up to sing in a larger theater! (This one in
particular, we used only the front 20% of the available space.)
I love the atmosphere in an empty theater. I caught that bug
in high school when I would spend many hours alone (or with just a
few other people) working before the audience came and brought the
space to life.
April 19, 2006
Management did it right this time!
It has been a while, but I checked up
on the new and improved website of
Herbert
Barrett Management (CANTUS'
management company out of NY) new and improved website and have to
say it is quite good! You can really find a lot of information
about all there artists and best of all, it is up to date!
Things are being added as they come up, both press and otherwise so
check it out.
Here is a
link directly to CANTUS' page on the site.
If you check a link in this blog and the link is
no longer active (especially for news reviews) check out the
CANTUS
page of HB management...they archive many of the
things I link to!
April 17, 2006 Vacation is over
 It
is official, last week's vacation from
CANTUS is over and we are busily rehearsing for the next round of
repertoire that begins with a show this week, and culminates with
performances the beginning of May with the
St. Paul
Chamber Orchestra. We are already sold
out for two of the three performances!
This picture was taken at the concert in
Waconia, MN (check entry from April 8, 2006). I had never
seen, nor heard of this
group who
dress in purple and wear red hats, but as it
turns out there are quite a few of these groups around the country.
I am making a disclaimer that I neither agree nor disagree with the
ideas of their organization. I am simply posting the photo so
others can get the same laugh I had when I saw them ALL sitting in
the front row!
Tour starts this weekend, and there will
definitely be some news coming from those escapades! Till
then...
April 10, 2006
No more searching for clients!
Today I successfully interviewed for
Handyman
Connection, an international firm franchised
locally that provides one simply service, connecting homeowners who
need small/medium repairs and remodels (as well as smaller new
construction) and independent contractors like myself. The
difference here is that ALL craftspeople who work under the umbrella
of this firm are guaranteed on time, clean, professional, insured,
etc...any number of these things are often a crap-shoot if you call
someone in the yellow pages. I am excited! No longer do
I have to advertise (besides having this website) and my closure
rate, if similar to Handyman Connections average, will mean more
work with far less time running around estimating jobs for folks.
Check it all out
here.
April 8, 2006 Concert for Melissa Givens
Tonight we sang a beautiful concert in
Waconia, MN, with Melissa in tow and there couldn't have been a
better period to this project. Of course CANTUS will continue
to perform the piece as part of our regular touring next season, but
tonight was definitely a period. Piece is edited, sung, edited
again, performed and rehearsed with the composer and performed and
discussed with the widow who is the subject of the piece and now
CANTUS can do a small part in keeping the story alive. A
sincere THANK YOU! to Melissa for her candid, easy-going nature and
mostly for allowing us into her emotions but in completely public
venues. She received a standing ovation from the packed house
when we introduced her following the piece. I couldn't see her
reaction from where I was, but I know if it was anything like mine,
surely she was feeling a little sloppy! I hope we meet again.
Take care of Dakota and Carson, and most of all, enjoy the flame
tattooed shoes!
April 7, 2006
Gotta love the 70's
 Only
in the 70's would any architect/designer
go this route with a high school theater...pale, dirty rainbow
colored seats, a plywood thrust that sticks out 30 feet past the
proscenium and nearly touches the front row...oh, I really love when
there are steps down the entire front of the stage to the
pit/audience, that is always a wonderful addition.
It is not rare for
CANTUS
to show up at high schools with theaters that look like this.
Luckily, we are seldom there for more than a clinic or two; the
presenters are wise enough to at least have us sing at a church in
town whose acoustics don't match the horrible places that pass as
high school "theaters." On a more positive note, the kids
again enjoyed the 50 minute school concert which is, of course, the
goal.
:
Later in the day, Melissa Givens arrived for the two days that
served to culminate this entire Pvt. First Class Jesse Givens
commission from
Lee Hoiby.
Kare11
(NBC) was there to film what turned out to be a 3 hour Q&A between
CANTUS and Melissa followed by a very emotional, not exactly in
tune, performance of the piece for her and the cameras. Not to
worry, Kare11 has two very good takes of the entire piece from prior
concert filming! Tomorrow night she will join us at a concert
in the twin cities at which we will perform the piece as part of the
concert program, again with filming from Kare11. Sooner than
later I hope to be able to share whatever TV special comes out of
it.
April 6, 2006 CANTUS teams up for
benefit work.
Last night was a meeting of
CANTUS,
The Tubman
Family Alliance, and the
American
Composers Forum to kick off "The
Lullabye Project." In coming entries, you will hear more about
the individuals involved with this project but here is an overview
attempt!
This project was first tried in Boston nearly
a decade ago, was hugely successful but was with a folk guitar
singer/songwriter and therefore wasn't replicable. Now, we aim
to create music, with texts written by the women and children
involved with the Tubman Family Alliance about their experiences and
even some texts from the men who perpetrate these abuses. Our
goal here is to create 3-6 pieces of music for men's voices that can
be published, recorded and the like, helping to raise money, and
awareness about abuse. This project is not meant to be another
public service announcement. Rather, it is meant to be a
chance for all involved to speak out and have their voices heard.
It is also necessary for CANTUS to be involved with these kids and
show them that there are positive male role models out there who
will be a part of their lives without the abuse.
I can't tell you how nervous I was going into
this meeting. I didn't know what to expect, but as soon as the
first child came through the door with a smile on his face, I knew
it would be great. The kids (about 20 of them) and their
mothers REALLY enjoyed meeting us, hearing us sing and talking about
what part they are going to play in the project.
Congratulations to Sarah, who won the competition she and Desmond
were having to see who could collect more CANTUS name tags for their
own shirts. She won by a 6/5 split. Plenty more on this
in the coming months/year.
April 3, 2006 Another amazing weekend.
 Well,
the last few months of work paid off. On Saturday night I had
a
performance of Haydn's The Creation back in my home town
(for the hometown crowd, obviously) and it really could not have
gone better. It was the first time I had performed this piece
and hopefully will not be the last. I was honestly worried
going into the performance (I prefer to underestimate my
abilities...it keeps me working hard!) but the proof is in the
sound
clips. I am excited that it was a
success and am also excited that it was in front of so many
wonderful friends and family members. This picture was in the
local paper a few days before the show, and I was amazed, finally a
picture of me in action that isn't horrible! And now, I sit,
again waiting for the train to make its way back to NYC. One
day of rest and visits, and then back to CANTUS life. On
Wednesday eve, CANTUS meets with some folks who have been working on
what we are calling The Lullabye Project to benefit battered women's
shelters in the twin cities. More on that soon!
March 28, 2006
Lee Hoiby meeting
 Today,
CANTUS met with the prolific American composer
Lee Hoiby, from whom we
commisioned the Jesse Givens piece that has been getting so much
attention in recent weeks. It was really a pleasure! We
showed up and he had autographed copies for all of us. It had
some recent edits he had made, and I simply transcribed them to my
old score; I didn't want to break the binding on the new one!
He listened to the rest of our rehearsal, joined us for dinner and
then came to the show that eve (after which we took this shot).
His comment at the end of the night was just about the only thing
that he could have said to complete the evening. How nice it
was to have Lee Hoiby tell you that, "Tonight I go home with a full
heart. Thank you." I still get awe struck
sometimes when I sit back and think of the HUGE names with whom I
have worked so closely and so easily. Thank you Lee, your
spirit is as wonderful as your music!
March 27, 2006
First time at a boarding school.
 Has
anyone out there attended a boarding school? What a trip they
are...well, I guess I can't speak for all of them, but
Trinity-Pawling in Pawling NY (Pawling is
about 15 miles east of Poughkeepsie, NY) is definitely a trip!
From the way meals are prepared and served to the uniform (think
blazers with school crests) that is required of everyone, I have to
say I feel like I am walking around a movie set. We are here for a
few
shows
(read the linked review) and tons of ed outreach (pic at left from
one of those education workshops) that will go through Friday.
On Saturday morning, bright and early, it is off to Plattsburgh for
a performance of Haydn's The Creation. Should be a
really good show and of course, going home is always a pleasure!
News is on the down-low lately, I promise more as it comes!
March 19, 2006
This piece really is making an impact!Home
again after a trip to Eau Claire for the IMC convention.
Unfortunately, Melissa Givens was not able to attend due to illness
of her son Dakota. However, 2006 is upon us and we were able
to do a phone interview with her and broadcast it through the
convention hall for us all to hear. It was really amazing to
finally hear from her about this letter, Jesse's life and plenty
more. I was really touched by the whole event and can't wait
till she is able to make it to the twin cities and hear what have
done with her husband's letter. Thank you, Melissa, for being
so gracious with the letter as well as your time. We truly
appreciate it and look forward to meeting you!
March 12, 2006
What a weekend.
 Well,
the 10th anniversary concerts are over, and it is time for a much
needed day off!
Here is a review of the show.
The Lee Hoiby premiere was absolutely amazing for everyone involved,
and we are looking forward to next weekend's premiere at the
IMC
convention in Eau Claire, WI. Jesse
Given's widow Melissa, will be joining CANTUS and Kare 11 (NBC) will
continue to record stuff for some sort of special...more on that as
it comes up! You can hear a brief special that MPR put
together
at this
link (listen to the audio download, half way
down the page on the right). I can't tell you how amazing it
was to be a part of this weekend's festivities-everything went off
great and it was a real pleasure to sing under the baton of three of
the countries great choral conductors,
Anton
Armstrong,
Weston
Noble, and
Dale
Warland
(from left to right in the front of the photo) all in a 15 minute
timeframe! It was the first time that these three staples of
the choral world have EVER performed together, ever, anywhere, for
as long as they have lived...good times, great oldies. Way to
go team CANTUS. Also pictured are the 11 alumni of CANTUS who
returned to sing the three conducted pieces with us, as well as a
finale of Franz Biebel's "Ave Maria."
March 10, 2006
Friday night o' fun.
Just finished the first of our two
10th anniversary shows. When we arrived at the hall there were
ten roses, set beautifully, and we all took bets as to who sent
them. We went through the names of many of our patrons, fans
and still no one could figure who our admirer was. Finally the
tension broke, and we all had a great laugh; it was
Chanticleer saying congrats on ten years!
Thank you to the men of Chanticleer, who paved the way for full-time
men's ensemble genre nearly 30 years ago and have been very gracious
in CANTUS' success throughout the years. It is an honor to be
known as one of the two full time organizations this country has to
offer; now if only we could see another 20+years and a Grammy along
the way!
March 8, 2006
Media-r-us.
 The
10th
Anniversary
CANTUS
concerts are this weekend; a good time is sure to be had by all.
saturday is already sold out, and, hopefully, thanks to a bucket
load of press for the event, so will friday's performance.
There is guaranteed to be reviews, so check back soon for links to
more press. Today,
Kare11,
the twin cities NBC affiliate began filming CANTUS for a special on
our new commision
Private
1st class Jessee Givens by the contemporary
American composer
Lee Hoiby.
The text for the piece is Jessee Givens letter home to his family
when he fell in Iraq. The letter recieved national attention
when it was first published last year. CANTUS will premiere
the piece this weekend at the 10th Anniversary shows, and again on
March 19 in Eau Claire, WI with
Ms. Givens present.
The special that is being filmed will continue to follow us as we
rehearse and perform the piece, as well as spending the weekend with
Ms. Givens. It will definately be a difficult, yet wonderful
time for many involved. Stay tuned for more on this story.
The photo is one of Mr. Givens, his wife Melissa and his step-son
Dakota (referred to more casually as Toad in the piece).
February 25, 2006
Driving, such a pleasure.
Driving to the beautiful little town
of Beaufort, SC today (I believe it is the town where the WB's
"best" show
Dawson's Creek was filmed) following one of the most amazing
concerts I have ever been a part of last night. We were in
Charlestown, WV (a place that didn't excite me as I drove in to the
town past old mills and other worn out industrial buildings) to
headline for the southeastern conference
ACDA
convention. ACDA's (American Choral Director's Association)
around the country have always been very kind to
CANTUS,
but this one in particular may be the new winner. There were
nearly 1800 people packed into the performance hall, cheering for
individual pieces, let alone the rythmic chanting requesting certain
encores. To top it off,
CANTUS
gave a nearly perfect performance, something we always strive for,
but as obsessive perfectionists, seldom attain. Of course, for
our CD sales, there is no better demographic than a bunch of choral
conductors; we sold nearly 6 times our budget! A huge thank
you to all the folks that were at the convention for the kind
hospitality, wonderful food, and of course, the clamorous applause!
February 16, 2006
We came, we prepared, we sat.
Driving into Appleton, WI we heard the
weather report...large snow storm, one foot of snow or more expected
over night. Great, so much for all the work preparing for
another
Young
Men's Choral Festival (an annual event for
CANTUS
in Appleton). We slept and woke in the morning to a classic
blizzard featuring 50 mph winds and a good amount of snow to suit.
It didn't take long to find out that all events were cancelled for
the day. In total, we see about 500 young singers and over
2000 other students who are the audience for the afternoon
culminating performance, and another 1500 people for the evening
headline performance. That is a lot of tickets to refund!
To make the day even better, the mall was closed, so we couldn't
even see a movie. Instead, we sat in the hotel, taking 3 hot
tubs runs, 2 sauna's and falling alseep twice in front of daytime
TV. Exciting is the only word that comes to mind.
Luckily, through the work of the coordinator,
Ms. Lynn Lichte, and the timing of our next tour almost all of the
events were rescheduled and the young men returned to give a
successful performance full of high school spirit and musical
potential. Congratulations guys. |
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