Cantico: An Evening of Song

A week ago Saturday (May 16th) was the premier concert for Cantico, the choir that I co-direct. My blog posting has ranged from little to sparse for the last several weeks and you can blame it directly on the concert. =]

It all started out with my friend Rebecca asking me to help her direct this singing group that she was forming with her husband and another guy they knew. After a "trial season" last December, we launched this spring with a ticketed concert at a rented venue in downtown Portland. We didn't start out with such big aspirations, but it just kind of snowballed and before we knew it we were in the midst of selling tickets, trying to advertise, proof-reading and printing programs, looking for volunteer ushers and stage hands, etc. [By the way, thank you, Ranell, Kelly and Sarah for being willing to help, as always!!] This, of course, was in addition to learning music (both as singers and conductors), directing rehearsals and taking care of all of the musical tasks at hand. What started out as a fun side hobby spiraled into a full-blown part-time/full-time job.

Even after all of the hours of logistical and musical preparation, I was nervous about the concert and how it would turn out. How would the choir (and myself...) respond under stage lights with an audience? The concert turned out amazing... it really exceeded all of my expectations. Not to say that we're ready to quit our day jobs or anything (oh, wait I don't have a day job- at least not a paid one...), but the concert was truly a success: we sang to a packed house, we sang near our best, the audience really enjoyed the performance and we enjoyed giving it. And to frost the cake, my parents drove 12 hours from California the day before the concert just so they could be there for it.

Now that the concert is over a week behind me I've had a chance to take a breather, return to normal life and attend to my laundry and dishes in a timely manner (well, at least as timely as I ever am...). I'm already plotting for next season... both things I want to continue and things I want to improve. But for now I'm just grateful to have had the chance to have such a fulfilling musical experience with a great group of singers. Having left music as a full-time vocation behind long ago, it was really fun to have the chance to perform again and create a "musical offering" that I was proud of.