Happy New Year!

Just wishing everyone out there a very happy and SAFE new year! Please be careful in all of your celebrations!

All Time Favorite

What is your all time favorite Christmas movie? The one that when Christmas time rolls around, you are just itching to see, and you can't go without?

my top three:
1. Charlie Brown
2. White Christmas
3. The Nutcracker with Mikhail Baryshnikov and Gelsey Kirkland

The last one is excellent. There are many versions of the Nutcracker out there, but this is by far one of the best. The dancers are top of the line, it is barely messed around with, except some very occasional "special effects" that do nothing but enhance it, and when I can't go see it live, it always does its job and puts me in the Christmas spirit right away.

live recordings of moi

For anyone that is interested, there are recordings of my recent opera workshop performances on the program's website.

go to www.siue.edu/artsandsciences/music/opera

click on "recordings", and my name is under the ones I am in!

Enjoy!

Oh finals, how I hate thee!

Well, it's that time of the semester again! Finals!
I won't bore you with all of the stupid details of the whole past and next week, but I'll spell it out in numbers:

15 pages typed for term papers
6 songs prepared for juries
1 choir concert
1 opera workshop performance with...
3 scenes (from The Merry Widow, Die Fledermaus, and Manon)
2 instrumental playing tests
1 theory singing test
4 written finals

and it seems about 8 billion rehearsals and like a million hours in a practice room.


Don't you old folks miss college?

Oh well, I guess the bright side is that there is exactly one week until I have a month off for winter break! Wooohoo, if I survive, we'll all have to get together and celebrate.