![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Hmm. Yesterday was a day of big nothing (mama got shoes, and the faculty concert was fantastic, but I did nothing else all day). Today groups were set apart, ours with the icebreaking roll question of how much percentage of pulp we prefer in our orange juice. Laura, the newest member of the Western Wind, is my group's facilitator, and she's having nervous butterflies cause this is the first time she's facilitated the most advanced group, and she feels like the bossy older sister when the parents are out on a date, cause she'd been in this group ten years prior to replacing Gayla in the Western Wind. But she was my favorite when she was just one of us, anyway. She's very easygoing, and easily set off on peals of distinctive laughter.
Today we did two group pieces and one set of two breakouts; we did three on tonight's seminar, with mixed results. My breakout's George Auric, Le jour m'est nuict (archaic French poem, impressionist French setting), and we didn't get very far without major trainwrecks. We had to start over several times for the tenor to get his opening arpeggio. We couldn't garner many comments besides "this will be gorgeous when you know it; you're aware of the misisng dot on page 4, right?" and I am. The other people's breakout was Yumiko's arrangement (she's a consultant facilitator, a pro from a different a capella ensemble in NYC who does amazing jazz arrangements) of Pure Imagination, and it went considerably better. And then all together (exactly 12 of us, for 2 SATB choirs and SATB soli) we did the Agnus Dei from Vaughn Williams's Mass. It went well, and I like it.
Tomorrow, Piazzolla! Speaking of which, mama's group is doing Muerte del Angel. Not very well yet, but I certainly adore that song. It's not well set up for an a capella arrangement, but they only got halfway through, so we'll see how it manages.
I dunno if it's rosy-glasses nostalgia that makes me think my prior attendances of this workshop were more fun, but so far I've yet to find the melty bliss of ensemble with cool people. Laura's fun, as are the rest of the Wind (although I'm still a little scared of Billy and Kristina), and Christian of once-involved-with-Tom-Conroy fame is just as cool and friendly, and none of my group is ever anything but pleasant... but the click has not clicked yet, or something. We don't seem as good as previous years. Maybe I just miss Alan. And Robert Puleo. No one has mentioned him to me yet, and I'm not sure if they will, because last time I asked he had testicular cancer. Well, way to end on a downer. I hope tomorrow's better.
Today we did two group pieces and one set of two breakouts; we did three on tonight's seminar, with mixed results. My breakout's George Auric, Le jour m'est nuict (archaic French poem, impressionist French setting), and we didn't get very far without major trainwrecks. We had to start over several times for the tenor to get his opening arpeggio. We couldn't garner many comments besides "this will be gorgeous when you know it; you're aware of the misisng dot on page 4, right?" and I am. The other people's breakout was Yumiko's arrangement (she's a consultant facilitator, a pro from a different a capella ensemble in NYC who does amazing jazz arrangements) of Pure Imagination, and it went considerably better. And then all together (exactly 12 of us, for 2 SATB choirs and SATB soli) we did the Agnus Dei from Vaughn Williams's Mass. It went well, and I like it.
Tomorrow, Piazzolla! Speaking of which, mama's group is doing Muerte del Angel. Not very well yet, but I certainly adore that song. It's not well set up for an a capella arrangement, but they only got halfway through, so we'll see how it manages.
I dunno if it's rosy-glasses nostalgia that makes me think my prior attendances of this workshop were more fun, but so far I've yet to find the melty bliss of ensemble with cool people. Laura's fun, as are the rest of the Wind (although I'm still a little scared of Billy and Kristina), and Christian of once-involved-with-Tom-Conroy fame is just as cool and friendly, and none of my group is ever anything but pleasant... but the click has not clicked yet, or something. We don't seem as good as previous years. Maybe I just miss Alan. And Robert Puleo. No one has mentioned him to me yet, and I'm not sure if they will, because last time I asked he had testicular cancer. Well, way to end on a downer. I hope tomorrow's better.
