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I spent the day mostly waiting to go to Matti and Tomas's housewarming/Matti's birthday party in the evening. I made a zillion cookies, and took them with me on the train all the way to the other end of the line. Good thing, too; they were in high demand.
I don't go to parties often unless they're somehow connected with a production I've participated in; people I know don't really have them, especially the non-potluck snacky high-attendance kind with jazz on a record player. I didn't know all that many people there, just the hosts (who are, I've always thought, a strikingly beautiful, humble and kind pair) and a few jazz singers from Dominique's ensemble who showed up later. Matti's contingent were all intimidatingly international; quite a few from Israel, a couple of Russians, a pair of Belgians, a French girl in a sheer black short dress with a slip under it, who looked like she came right out of a 30's society magazine. Turns out I knew her a little, or had at least seen her around; she just finished her classical voice bachelor's at NEC, and she knew who I was because of Tony's program. We talked a lot, actually, and we're basically the same person re: Latin, linguistics, and weird music no one else will sing.
I also spent some time trying to explain the CI program to the Russian girl (law student who had met Matti earlier in the day; probably the only non-music-student at the party). It's a difficult concept to pin down.
Dave Devoe, who is running the jazz vocal ensemble this semester, made friends with me immediately by falling all over himself about the cookies. He held forth at length on other subjects, so it took me awhile to figure out he was that Dave, but he's eminently friendly and can hold a conversation nearly without help. His girlfriend (I presume), Sammy, was also friendly; I think she's a jazz singer, too. A transfer undergrad jazz singer rounded out the friendly conversation later in the night; Tommy's a big fan of Led Zeppelin, too, and apparently arranged That's The Way for his final project for some course, so we enthused about that together.
It was a shockingly grownup party, for all that one of the guests gave Matti a Tiddlywinks set and we spent the whole first half-hour playing with it. There was alcohol, but not overbearing drunkenness; there was gaiety, but not raving or carousing. It was the kind of party where it's okay to sit in a chair and listen to the music and not talk to everyone around; they'll ask me things if they feel like it, and there are interesting conversations to be had, but it's not trying so hard, or really trying at all. It just is. I'm very glad I went, not least because I think Matti and Tomas are both thoroughly excellent, and I would spend as much time in their company as they could spare.
I don't go to parties often unless they're somehow connected with a production I've participated in; people I know don't really have them, especially the non-potluck snacky high-attendance kind with jazz on a record player. I didn't know all that many people there, just the hosts (who are, I've always thought, a strikingly beautiful, humble and kind pair) and a few jazz singers from Dominique's ensemble who showed up later. Matti's contingent were all intimidatingly international; quite a few from Israel, a couple of Russians, a pair of Belgians, a French girl in a sheer black short dress with a slip under it, who looked like she came right out of a 30's society magazine. Turns out I knew her a little, or had at least seen her around; she just finished her classical voice bachelor's at NEC, and she knew who I was because of Tony's program. We talked a lot, actually, and we're basically the same person re: Latin, linguistics, and weird music no one else will sing.
I also spent some time trying to explain the CI program to the Russian girl (law student who had met Matti earlier in the day; probably the only non-music-student at the party). It's a difficult concept to pin down.
Dave Devoe, who is running the jazz vocal ensemble this semester, made friends with me immediately by falling all over himself about the cookies. He held forth at length on other subjects, so it took me awhile to figure out he was that Dave, but he's eminently friendly and can hold a conversation nearly without help. His girlfriend (I presume), Sammy, was also friendly; I think she's a jazz singer, too. A transfer undergrad jazz singer rounded out the friendly conversation later in the night; Tommy's a big fan of Led Zeppelin, too, and apparently arranged That's The Way for his final project for some course, so we enthused about that together.
It was a shockingly grownup party, for all that one of the guests gave Matti a Tiddlywinks set and we spent the whole first half-hour playing with it. There was alcohol, but not overbearing drunkenness; there was gaiety, but not raving or carousing. It was the kind of party where it's okay to sit in a chair and listen to the music and not talk to everyone around; they'll ask me things if they feel like it, and there are interesting conversations to be had, but it's not trying so hard, or really trying at all. It just is. I'm very glad I went, not least because I think Matti and Tomas are both thoroughly excellent, and I would spend as much time in their company as they could spare.