It was fun while it lasted!

The Carmel Bach Festival wrapped last night with the Best of the Fest, followed by two very nice parties. Hard to believe it is over already! We had a wonderful time renewing old friendships and making new ones. Genuinely nice people, all.

I am constantly reminded of what a small world this is. One of the new chorale singers has a middle name that is the same as the last night of a woman who was in Quad (an eating club) with me at Princeton. Turns out she is his aunt! He texted her with a snapshot of me, and she responded directly saying "of course I remember him!" It was a gratifying moment.

Another such moment happened this morning, when another one of the chorale members sang at Bethlehem Lutheran Church. Paul graciously agreed to sing my Sanctus Romanesca with me. I made an arrangement for two bari Suchtones and organ from the original SATB a cappella version. It was received very well by all and sundry. Such a wonderful opportunity to perform with such an incredible musician. I'm still on cloud 9!

A Bounce

My PSA has gone up again, to about 1.8 (after a low in December 2007 of about 0.8). This seems to be a bounce. The doctors are telling me that this is unusual, and they are not sure what to make of it. If it goes over 2.0, they may want to do another biopsy. However, what I've read on the internet indicates that this is not uncommon. In any event, it is disconcerting.

Carmel Bach Festival!

It's that time of year again, and we are coming to the end of our first week of intensive rehearsals. The professional chorale members are terrific, as usual, and it is a joy to renew friendships with them and the instrumentalists. Each of the performers has a separate page, including the members (such as I) of the volunteer chorus. Here's mine!

He's a doctor!

Well, almost. Our son Derek's dissertation was just accepted by the powers that be at Princeton. Only thing left is the defense!

Congratulations!

Third time is the charm!

I have been trying to meet with a student to tutor him in reading this week. This is an assignment for the class in teaching reading I am taking for my teaching credential. The first two times he did not come as he was feeling poorly - I am hopeful that today it will finally happen!

Dear Chrysler...

Please be advised that I am not going to drive 30 miles each way to have my car serviced. Our next vehicle will have to be from another company.

Regretfully,

An ex-customer

Sum-sum-summertime, summertime, summertime!

I had the great fortune to be a long term sub at Elaine's school for the last 6 weeks of the school year. The course was Math 7, and I loved every minute of it. Middle schoolers are a *hoot*! So much, in fact, that I decided to take the plunge and am now enrolled in a teaching credential program. That is putting a crimp on our summer, but then, so is everything else.

We have had to travel to southern California three times in the last few weeks. The first time was to participate in the festivities around the receipt of the Distinguished Schools Award for Elaine's school at Disneyland. (Two days later we chaperoned the 8th graders at Great America - talk about theme park fatigue...)

Two weeks later I had business in Bakersfield, followed by our son's wedding in Santa Barbara. We took the opportunity to stay with some old friends in Fillmore in between, which was wonderful. Then last week we needed to meet with our accountant in Redlands, as it didn't seem as though there would be another chance to do so this summer, what with the Bach Festival starting in a week and lasting clear up until Elaine's new school year starts in August.

Tired!

Snow, snow, snow, snow, SNOW!

Ashland is a beautiful city in southern Oregon, and we participated in a friend's wedding there last week. Jewish weddings are really something else, and we were honored to be asked to hold the poles of the chuppah (awning) that covers the bride and groom during the ceremony.

The weekend was wonderful, and we were treated to weather than ran the gamut from bright, warm sun to heavy snow! Fortunately, it didn't stick, and we were able to get home over the Siskiyou Mountains the next morning.

But in California it's sunny and mild!

Words from the delightful "National Weather Forecast" by Henry Mollicone, which closed the Camerata Singers of Monterey County concert this past weekend, and on Sunday, it most certainly *was* sunny and mild! This concert was one of my favorites, with an amazing variety of musical textures considering it was a choral concert, and the audience was gratifyingly enthusiastic. Another triumph for our leader, John Koza.

For it's Christmas time...

Here we are at Christmas Eve! Elaine has had her surgery for varicose veins on the right leg and is doing very well - next Monday will be the left one. I'm in the middle of preparing my "famous" lasagne for tomorrow's dinner, and am going to try a recipe from Petroni's "Il libro della vera Cucina Fiorentina" for Gamberi in dolceforte (Shrimp in Sweet-Strong Sauce) as well. It uses cinnamon, lemon juice and raisins, so should be quite festive!

Tonight the service at Bethlehem Lutheran is at 7 - the choir will be singing four anthems, two of which will be accompanied by handbells. The ringers have been working diligently to prepare, and it should be a lovely offering. There is also a piece by Rameau to which the text "Wake O Shepherds" has been attached that will feature the flute stylings of high school student Lauren Anderson.

The service at St. Mary's is at 10, and the choir will be singing several of Kirke Mechem's "7 Joys of Christmas."

Busy times, but good! Hallelujah!

December tidbits

Can't believe it is already December. The Camerata concerts are over, and were very well received. Still, there seems to be ever more competition for the scarce choral concert dollar...

I'm giving Vonage a shot, and managed to get it up and running with only 48 minutes with a customer service tech on the phone! Trying Skype and Google Video Chat with a webcam as well. Brave new world.

Elaine underwent the knife today for phase 1 of varicose vein treatment. The procedure is minimally invasive these days, and essentially consists of "shrink wrapping" the offending veins with a laser on the end of a long fiber. Pretty cool, really.

Now if we can just get that apartment rented!

On the other hand...

I had my regular check up with the radiation oncologist last week. He was concerned that my PSA numbers are not going down. This is anomalous in his experience, so he thinks we should remain vigilant. They are tending to hover around 1, plus or minus a tenth or so. This time it was 1.13.

The urologist last time thought that leveling off was ok, so this was a little disturbing.

New Voices

There was a concert yesterday for the Monterey County Composers Forum called "New Voices." It was basically a choral concert featuring Voci, which is a professional subset of I Cantori di Carmel. They did a wonderful job singing my setting of William Blake's "The Tyger," but even more gratifying was the performance by 7 string players from Pacific Grove Middle School of my Gloria Passamezzo Moderno! The concert started with it, and the kids played their hearts out. Absolutely a wonderful moment!

Normality, and the lack thereof

I've been busy with the substitute teaching - hardly a moment to breathe. It is very satisfying work.

All of my musical groups are back in session, so I am out almost every night of the week with one rehearsal or another. Mondays is the professional caroling group, Tuesdays Camerata, Wednesdays the Lutherans, Thursdays St. Mary's, and one Friday a month is the madrigal group. On top of that there are the church services every Sunday morning.

Viola da gamba lessons are my newest adventure. I meet with Tracy Achtman nominally once a week (though for practical purposes it has been about once a fortnight), and I am making progress. She is an excellent teacher. Unfortunately, she spends part of the year in Germany. She has been giving me facsimiles from the early 15th century to play, and it has been like a mini course in notation (or musical paleography, as Sofia's course was titled in Padova last year).

It is very confusing, but I am gradually getting the hang of it. She likes my willingness to read original clefs and notation, and I am having a blast doing it.

Next week is going to be stressful. Our building has to be fumigated, so we have to be out Monday morning by 8 am and can't return until Wednesday after 5 pm. Being the landlords, it is our responsibility to put our tenants up for those two nights at a local inn. Being a tourist area, that is pretty expensive. One of our tenants is going to stay with family, so we are giving him a discount on his rent instead, which is quite a bit less money for us. In the meantime, we have to double bag all of our ingestibles in special plastic receptacles provided by the fumigator. Not fun.
The week after, though, we go to Ashland to participate in our friend Pat's wedding. It will be a Jewish one, and I will wear a yarmulke for the first time in my life. Gotta get pictures of that!

Another great festival

This year's Carmel Bach Festival has come and gone, and we had a fantastic time participating with all those wonderful musicians. The Brahms Requiem was received enthusiastically, and it was a particularly moving experience for me. The texts Brahms used are all from scripture, but designed to comfort the people left behind rather than to contemplate the future of the deceased's spirit.

I am using most of them as the readings for Xenia's memorial this coming Saturday.

Blessed are they that mourn; for they shall be comforted.
(Matthew 5:4)

They that sow in tears shall reap in joy.
(Psalm 126:5,6)

For all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away.
(1 Peter 1:24)

Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord.
(James 5:7)

And the ransomed of the Lord shall return, and come to Zion with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads: they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.
(Isaiah 35:10)

Lord, make me to know mine end, and the measure of my days, what it is: that I may know how frail I am.
Behold, thou hast made my days as an handbreadth; and mine age is as nothing before thee....
(Psalm 39:4-7)

But the souls of the righteous are in the hand of God, and there shall no torment touch them.
(Wisdom of Solomon 3:1)

And ye now therefore have sorrow; but I will see you again, and your heart shall rejoice, and your joy no man taketh from you.
(John 16:22)

Ye see how for a little while I labor and toil, yet have I found much rest.
(Ecclesiasticus 51:27)

As one whom his mother comforteth, so will I comfort you....
(Isaiah 66:13)

Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed.
...then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.
O death, where is they sting? O grave, where is they victory?
(1 Corinthians 15:51,52,54,55)

Xenia DeMarco RIP

My mom passed away in her sleep yesterday morning, July 12, 2008. She was 96 years old.

Still here, but fading fast

We have been visiting X a couple of time each day. Yesterday she was a bit more responsive, making signs of pleasure when we massaged her feet a little, and even made a slight vocalization at the sound of my voice. Not so this morning. The nurse indicated that she is in constant decline, and perhaps has two or three more days left. Here's a photo of her from February 2007.

Looks like this may be it for X...

I got a call from the convalescent hospital today while at our rehearsal for the Bach Festival. My mother has taken a turn for the worse. We went down to visit her, and she was completely non-responsive. She was awake, with her eyes half open, and she was exploring her mouth and face with her fingers. She did not acknowledge our presence in any way - she was just in her own world. We had been there yesterday, talking about hospice with her. She was in good spirits, and even ate a hot dog that had been grilled on the patio for the 4th of July. That may have been her last surge of energy. According to our hospice book, this is typical of someone in their last few days or even hours of life. She is 96, so it is not a tragedy, but she is a great gal and will be missed.

Piano Grande Ancora

castelluccio country
Originally uploaded by paololivorno

Here is another glorious shot of the Piano Grande in HDR! Looks like this was a good year for the fioritura.

Temporale d'estate

Temporale d'estate
Originally uploaded by fotomassimo

I belong to a couple of Flickr groups, one of which is of the Sibilini Mountains National Park in central Italy. I found this photo to be quite striking, and made me wish I were there.