New York, NY and Lexington, VA: March 30-April 2, 2017 - Carnegie Hall

Cardinal has done and will continue to do a lot of travel this year.  While in the choral world, ACDA National is the big time without question, it's hard to ignore the prestige of being invited to sing at Carnegie Hall.

You've all heard the joke: How do you get to Carnegie Hall?  Practice practice practice!  But that's actually false: the real answer is "book the hall and pay the fee".  A little less snappy.  I can see why that didn't make the final cut of that joke.

BUT!  The big deal here was that we were invited to perform with the fee waived, which was a good enough offer to get us to come up there for a blitz of a weekend trip.

To start, I will show you the first Instagram picture I've ever gotten an in-person compliment on:

This was at our very grey arrival in New York.  But now to jump back and go chronologically:

As with ACDA and several other trips, we did a halfway stop on the way up to perform a concert elsewhere before the main event.  This time, it was in Lexington, VA, the town containing Washington and Lee University, who were also going to be with us at Carnegie:

They had this nice and fairly large combo art-and-music building, where the auditorium was:

We warmed up, changed, watched their set, performed ours, changed back, then waited around to be taken to the dinner spot:

Cool place.

We went to an Italian buffet and had a long dinner before driving a bit further north to the hotel.  Did the usual hangouts and sleep, then hit the road the next very very drizzly morning.

It rained pretty steadily the entire drive and rest of the night once we arrived in NYC.  Not a monsoon, but pretty substantial rain.  A bummer.  It mostly looked like this:

Whether you were in the bus or not.

Got out, got checked in to the very skinny but very tall hotel, then split into factions for dinner.  We were on our own pretty much, and I hitched my wagon to the group headed for Chinatown.  It was somewhat far away, and every extra block through the pouring rain made the journey seem that much arduous.  We eventually settled on a place called Joe's Shanghai.  This was not the only "Joe's ____" format restaurant even on that street in Chinatown.  I don't know why.

It was a trip being there.  Strong Beijing flashbacks from that area.  Next, we went only blocks over, and were suddenly in Italy at a cannoli pastry shop:

Behind the counter was a massive cannoli easily the size of a human torso.  We dubbed this the Holy Cannoli.

Next morning was free form as well, and I took the opportunity to sleep in a little, then walk around on my own.  The hotel was relatively close to Times Square, so off I went:

Circled around a bit more, seeing Bryant Park and some other odds n' ends.  Made my way back to the hotel to get my tux and whatnot ready for the big part of the day: our premiere at Carnegie.

We made the journey to the hall as a group, and got shuffled into the backstage area.  Here's what a dressing room backstage at Carnegie looks like:

And then we went on stage for our sound check:

During the warmup, a lot of people got to go out in the audience and hear the rest of us sing, which I'm told was quite an experience.

With the sound check complete, we had the afternoon to kill, but we had to stay close to the hall.  A group of us went to get lunch, then tour around Central Park:

While we were there, a hip-hop flash mob wedding proposal took place!

What a day!

Headed back to Carnegie.  Here's what the front looks like:

We got back in, changed, and went down to see the first half of the show, which featured other choirs, including Washington and Lee:

Returned backstage, then went on and did our set.  It went well, I think.  And now I can officially say I've performed at Carnegie Hall!

See, this is the thing.  We do lots of performances.  And we do a lot of performances of the same pieces and even the same program.  And we've been in lots of nice halls in lots of places throughout the world.  So while I'm on stage, while I'm in the building, it doesn't so much occur to me that this time in particular is so much more special than any other.  I didn't get any extra nerves for this being a performance at the Carnegie Hall.  But I know, certainly after the fact, that it's a big deal.  So it's kind of paradoxical in that way.  You may think to ask, "what was it like performing at Carnegie Hall?" and I won't really know how to answer.  I know it's prestigious, but I'm not so cognizant of that while I'm actually on stage.  For those moments, it's kind of just a gig.

I'm sort of meandering around and not having a real point.  Okay.  Moving on.

After the concert was the reception at The Manhattan Club, which I will go ahead and decide is a really big deal.  It was swanky!  Nice hors d'oeuvres brought to you by bowtied waiters and an open bar (for beer and wine at least).

Then a brief afterparty at some bar someone in our group found, then bed.  Woke up the next morning and, believe it or not, went to church:

This was St. Thomas, which is apparently one of the few churches that uses an all-male choir (so young boys for the higher parts) during their service, and they do some pretty high-level music.  They were performing a Byrd mass interpolated into the service, which is why the group that went did so in the first place.  Also, it was a beautiful place.

Walking outside after the service let out, we happened to bump into a large group of other Cardinal Singers, who had just been to the MOMA.  We joined with them for lunch, then split again, as half of us wanted to see ground zero, and half wanted to go to this place that serves cookie dough like ice cream (i.e. in scoops).

I was one of the ground zero-ers.  Here's the great whalebone structure that houses the museum:

The big fountain that used to be the base of WTC 2:

And of course, the new and improved WTC 1:

It was genuinely moving being there.  I had been to New York in March of 2001, and my family had had only enough time to go up in one tall building: either Empire State or twin towers.  We picked Empire State, and of course mere months later the twin towers ceased to exist.  I had been back briefly some time in maybe 2008 or so, but we hadn't visited this site.  So it was my first time seeing it since 9/11 happened.

We didn't have enough time to go through the museum or do anything, so I will have to go back yet again someday.  We had just enough time to stand at the fountain and take it all in.  Then, just after 3:00, we made our way back to the subway and then our hotel to load the bus and depart.  We drove once again though the night, arriving somewhere around 5:30 AM back in Louisville.  This time, I did not get by unscathed.  The lack of quality sleep and the dreary weather walloped me into a sickness that took way too long to recover from; a daunting prospect given how soon after getting back I would be giving a graduate recital.

Asheville, NC: March 16-18, 2017 - On Goes the River

My fame continues to spread.  Of course, I already declared myself world famous last June, so I just don't know how much farther up there is to go!

That's enough of the self-aggrandizement.  Except for the rest of this whole post, in a way.

Got commissioned by a group in Asheville, NC - the Asheville Choral Society, as a matter of fact - and they had me down for a few days for the premiere and other doodads.

For context, I got back from Minneapolis on a Sunday, drove to Charlotte to visit my parents for spring break on Monday, then came partway back along the route to Louisville that Thursday.  So it was a busy schedule!  Felt like being a real, in-demand composer.  Yes yes, I'll be at ACDA of course, then a stop by here, then a premiere there, busy busy, let me through.

Got in late morning so as to meet with the...executive director?  I believe was her official title?  And the artistic director, Melodie Galloway.  You may recognize that name from the other excursion I made to hear a work performed.  Repeat business!  A good sign I'd say.  Anyway, we were supposed to do a radio interview for NPR, but Melodie was sick, so instead it was the choir president Jeff and me, with Laurel (the Exec Direc) sitting to the side.

Here's me pointing at the station's call letters:

  
And here's in the studio itself, moments before broadcast:

That's Dick Kowal, who did the interview.  It was only about 10 minutes, but I had a blast!  Never been on a radio interview before.  And live to boot!  Here's the audio in full, for your perusing pleasure:

http://bpr.org/post/asheville-amadeus-asheville-choral-society-mozart-march-madness

Witness me: speak frantically, make odd jokes, and trail off the subject!  Fortunately Dick is a tremendously good interviewer.  See how he nudges me back to something straightforward when needed!

Here's me stoked to be talked to and about:

After the interview we went to a lil' sandwich place for lunch, then over to the church where the performance would be happening:

They had to set up for that night's rehearsal, and they refused to let me help, so I sat around and put photos on instagram.  Later, the people who were putting me up for the couple-day stay took me over to their condo and let me put my stuff down.  They had a very good dog:

Went back to the church to find Melodie in tip-top shape, ready to lead the rehearsal.  I sat while she worked through the rest of the concert, then went up to work with the group on my piece when it was time.  Had a blast doing it.  It was a choir of nearly 100, by far the biggest group that's ever performed my music.

After the rehearsal, a small group went to have a quick drink at the local cool place, then we went back to the condo and I went to sleep.

I had very little to do for the morning and early afternoon the next day - there were no more events planned, and everyone was more or less prepping for the concert that night.  So I went out by myself and found a nice park to wander around in:

Since my piece was called On Goes the River, it seemed appropriate to visit a park of and around a river.  It was nice.

Got back, had plans to eat with my family at a place called Wicked Weed:

We got there at 5:45, thinking that would be enough time before a 7:30 concert.  By 6:30, we still weren't seated, and I was worried I'd miss my own premiere.  We spotted a grocery store across the street, so two of us went, figuring I could grab something to wolf down just in case.  When we returned form the grocery store, we were stopped by the bouncer, who explained no one else could be let in.  We explained our party was already in, and may have been seated by now, but he reiterated: they were at fire-code capacity, and no one else could be let in.  I asked if we would be able to get in if indeed our party had been seated - y'know, maybe instead of people not seated who were just standing and waiting - but it didn't seem to get through.  Frustrated, I left and went back to the condo to change, then made my way to the church.

The concert went well, and people seemed to like my piece.  I'm very happy with how it turned out, both in terms of their performance and the piece itself.  I am not usually taken by my own works, but there's something special about this one, at least to me.  

Sorry, you're right.  I did say the self-aggrandizement was over.

After, we journeyed to some swanky art gallery for the post-concert meet-and-greet and panel discussion with myself and, at last, Melodie.  That was a hoot!  I got to answer audience questions and be the center of attention.  Again, like in Lake Junaluska, it wasn't anything like real fame, just a dose of it, to try out.  

The panel ended, the event died down, and the free cans of beer began to dwindle.  One of the younger members of the choir asked if those of us left would like to move on to a bar that her friend or partner or something along those lines co-owned or managed, and we all agreed that we would.  So she led the half-dozen or so of us down the road, back to - you guessed it - Wicked Weed.

The person she knew set us up with free drinks and put us outside under the heat lamp, which was unbearably hot - I mean it was like an oven broiler.  I didn't understand how it was possible for something that high above us to radiate that much heat.  I moved to the very edge of the picnic table where the heat was less oppressive and talked to some group throwing what I believe was a bachelorette party.  They were of course monumentally impressed with my self-professed fame and professional accomplishments.

Got up and had a nice breakfast the next morning at some cool little hip breakfast spot in town, then hit the road.  Again, I leave wondering whether this is just me indulging a fantasy, or the early trappings of my eventual career, but I had a great time nonetheless.

Here's to more work like this!

Minneapolis, MN and Cedar Rapids, IA: March 7-11, 2017 - Painting the Picture (ACDA)

Another year in choir, another ACDA trip.  It's possible I'll be going out of my way to attend these conventions with regularity for the rest of my life.

So, Cardinal was once again invited to perform at the ACDA convention, this time at the National level, in Minneapolis, a very chilly city.  For national, you do two runs of the same concert, as the convention is setup with everyone on different "tracks" so participants can see as many concerts as possible.  This also meant two different venues for our performance.  But I'm getting ahead of myself.

Before we got to Minneapolis, we stopped off for the night at a rough halfway mark, Cedar Rapids, Iowa, chose because it's where Dr. Hatteberg used to teach high school.  That was pretty neat, honestly, and it was lucky that this locale was where it was, so as to break up the 12-ish hour busride into manageable chunks.  We did a concert at a Presbyterian church alongside the choir from Hatteberg's high school (currently directed by one of his former students, even), then turned in for the night.  So it was only a brief stay, but fun.

Then, onto Minneapolis the next morning.  These are the only photos I took while still in Iowa:

...it was pretty flat.

Arrived in Minneapolis early that afternoon.  First blurry bus window shot:

The hotel we stayed in was situated in the heart of the downtown area, and took a series of elevators to get from street level to lobby to room.

We found that unfortunately not all of our rooms were ready, so some had to leave their belongings with the hotel staff, as we had an important concert to get to:

The Eric Whitacre Singers, conducted by the man himself!  Whitacre was an early influence on my compositional life, so it was great to finally get to see him in person.  As you can see, though, I was about as far away from the group as one could get in that concert hall.  Thus, blurry photos.

A few more groups performed after the Whitacre Singers.  The concerts are typically structured so that 3-4 groups go right in a row for about 25 minutes each.  There was I think a high school men's choir, a middle school women's choir, and a university mixed choir.

Outside the venue, after the performances:

That night we were able to rehearse with Ešenvalds, who we had commissioned yet again for this convention, and yet again he sprinkled his magic upon us and bettered our singing of his piece, a setting of the Teasdale poem "There Will Come Soft Rains".  Last year's catchphrase was "open the book", this year, his admonishment to us was to "paint the picture".

Here's the grad crew with him and Hatteberg:

Then dinner at a place called Hell's Kitchen, then back to the hotel and to bed.  The next day was our performance day, so it meant an early rise.  Early enough to catch the first light from my hotel window:

A small group of us ventured out to find a substantial breakfast, since the hotel provided none.  This photo captures our exuberance at our morning bounty:

We had to get to the church, one of our two venues, at 8AM.  The warmup room:

And the church itself:

Had a good warmup.  Then it was on to Orchestra Hall, where the concert had been the day before.  Holding room:

And on stage:

Then we had a brief interval in which to eat before beginning the concerts themselves.  First at Orchestral Hall, then at the church.  They seemed to go over pretty well.

Here's the side of a building I thought was neat:

Hung out with the group that night, then went to bed.  The next day was totally open for us to attend the conference and go to sessions and concerts we were interested in.  Made my way down in the morning by way of the skyway:

I had an app to guide me through the skyway but it was still very confusing.  The problem is that you lose track of where you are in regards to the streets below, so even if you have a clear idea of which direction you want to go, it's hard to actually do so.

Anyway, I eventually made it down:

Went to a couple sessions.  Made it over to the lunch area to find many of my friends who had just been treated to lunch by Sheldon Poon, our guide from the China trip last summer.  They were literally just leaving as I walked up, so I missed out.  What a bummer!

Then, I went to a concert at the church:

Then a session about Bernstein, then back to the hotel for a bit before the big concert that night, Kammerchor Stuttgart.  They were very good.  Did a program of all older (i.e. early 1800s and before) music, which is unusual for ACDA it seems.  There's a lot of contemporary done here.

Bumped into a director that did my O Nata Lux last December on my walk to that concert.  That was pretty neat!

Dinner followed at some pub, then back to the hotel for more hanging out.  We loaded up the bus the next morning, but still had the full day to attend sessions and concerts.  I saw a snippet of the big concert with the St. Olaf choirs, then snuck out to get some food before our departure at around 7:00 PM:

We drove all night, stopping once for gas and another time to switch drivers.  I actually managed to get a few consecutive hours of sleep, which surprised me.  I figured I'd just be continuously jostled awake, but with my suit jacket as a pillow and a window seat, I made it work.  Somewhere in Indiana, not quite an hour from home, I awoke to the palest line of sun in the distance: