It strikes me that I haven’t posted any photos, videos or anything for that matter since the curtain went down on The Gondoliers. Well, here is a little taste of what the show was like. This is the finale. It encapsulates pretty the mood and look of the entire show and is indicative of the silly, wild fun we had each and every night. When I watch this I still smile wide and it’s all I can do to stop myself from dancing and singing along. It really was that much fun and I miss it terribly.
By the way, the video is mislabeled…it was not a 60’s setting but rather a 50’s setting, but I’m pretty sure that is clear from the costumes, set and reference to 50’s swing/twist, Grease and The King.
I have my first Masters in conducting audition on Saturday. I’m flying out to Edmonton Alberta on Friday, will spend all day Saturday writing exams, doing interviews and conducting auditions at the University of Alberta. I’ll then hop back on the plane Sunday bright and early and head back to London so I can go to work Monday morning. It’s going to be exhausting and I’m so nervous. I have so much still to prepare. I’ve never been to Edmonton, nor have I flown alone before. It’s going to be three days of new experiences with the potential for disaster at every corner (I could lose my baggage, miss my plane, get lost downtown, get lost on campus, flunk my audition) But I’m looking forward to it.
I’ll be conducting two pieces: “Stimmt an die Saiten” from Haydn’s Creation Mass and “O Magnum Mysterium” by Thomas Luis de Victoria. The former is the required selection and the latter I choose from a list of choral audition selections. I chose the Victoria mostly because I had easy access to the score (God bless CPDL) and I’ve conducted it before so it would be slightly less work to prepare. Thankfully Alberta provided the Haydn score, though I’m sure I could have found a good edition of it on CPDL.
I’ve also been invited to an audition at The University of Toronto at the end of February. My Memorial Audition will be in mid March and I was contacted by UWO about booking an audition with them sometime in February. It’s exciting. I sometimes still marvel that I’m actually doing this. I’ve talked about applying to a masters program in conducting for a couple years now, but it feels so strange to actually be doing it now. But I’m looking forward to it.
I’m hoping for good luck, a smooth trip and a good performance this weekend.
Wow, I can’t believe it’s been over a month since I last posted. It’s really silly and ridiculous of me because it’s not like there hasn’t been anything to write about. But today’s little bit of news has spurred me on to post.
Today I received my very first royalty cheque for sold copies of my published work “If Thou Wilt, Remember”. It isn’t a very much, but at this stage in the game that’s hardly the point. The point is I have officially been paid for my music.
How awesome is that? I mean, really? I could try and be all stoic and modest about this, but all I really want to do is jump up and down and scream for joy. And then I want to pinch myself because it still doesn’t feel real and I still don’t understand how I became a composer. I still feel like I’m merely masquerading as one. It’s odd, but it feels good so I’m just going to go with that.
I have plenty more to update about, specifically details concerning my grad school applications and auditions. Have I mentioned I’m going to Alberta at the end of the week? No? Oh, and then I’m off to St. John’s in March. Well, I’ll write more about that later.
