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***Mrs.Izzy***
I meant to ask below but never got around to it: Who have you met in the classical/choral music world? I'm super curious!! :-)
My biggest one was probably being able to rehearse with John Rutter at Cambridge in England in 2000 with the community choir I was in from 2-12 grade. It was an amazing experience!! He is an odd duck but oh so brilliant.
My top 2 and 3 spots both belong to Gian Carlo Menotti. We were able to tour his villa in Spoletto, Italy, while on tour in 1997 as well as his country manor in Scotland in 2000 (same trip as when we met with Rutter.) Both homes were a-ma-zing!!!!! I really wish that I had had more of an appreciation for him at the time. I didn't realize until later how major he actually was. :-( RIP G.C.M.
Those are probably my 2 biggest names. We did do a concert with Cantus once but they aren't as "major" and are more celebrities in the local choral world. :-)
Re: ***Mrs.Izzy***
I have met a few more instrumental than choral people, but here's my list
Eric Whitacre - A few times...by far my favorite. Went out to dinner with him and a small group in college. He's fascinating and not too unfortunate to look at
Vijay Singh - the choral composer and conductor, not the golfer
John Jacobson - composer/choreographer of mostly kids music.
Steven Bryant, James Bonney, Frank Tichelli, David Gillingham (all concert band composers)
Richard Stoltzman & his family (Clarinet player)
James Galway, William Bennett (Flute players)
Doc Severinsen (Trumpet player)
Those are some of the big ones. I'm sure there are some I'm not remembering, I'm a bit hopped up on cold medicine at the moment. I used to sing in a group who's director was obsessed with Rutter, I think he would have died if he ever got to meet him. Husband sings in the Minnesota Chorale, I sub in sometimes, but my teaching schedule isn't conducive to a lot of rehearsal time right now. I
Nice!!! Of those names I recognize:
Eric Whitacre
James Bonney
Frank Tichelli
James Galway (I played flute until I graduated high school)
Doc Severinsen
Rutter was super duper amazing. He danced around as he conducted and it was just so. much. fun. We did For The Beauty of the Earth with him and he was surprisingly VERY particular about how he wanted it sung. I bet he's heard it done poorly about a thousand times!! (And too bad Rutter isn't as hot as Whitacre, hahaha.)
Eric Whitacre came to my high school and conducted our band for a day. We were doing his piece Ghost Train (super fun!!). He was dreamy even then ('98). YUM. My friend spent quite a bit of time with him when she sang in Colorado. She went out for margaritas with him and said they had a GREAT time. Jealous! :-)
I know a few Chorale members! How fun! I wish that DH could sing...he can't carry a tune in a bucket. :-)
It's good to know a fellow "choral music geek" :-)
I actually just got back from rehearsal where we were doing tons of Andre Thomas. We're doing a concert with him in March. So excited!!!!!
DO RE MI!
Thanks! Daisy knows she's adorable
I lurk frequently on the pets board and I have been meaning to suggest a GTG at a dog park so that all our pups can play. Yours are so cute, I would love to meet them!
A fellow flute player too, I'm a professional band geek. I had a masterclass with Sir Galway back in the day...he kicked my butt, but I learned so much!
Agreed that Eric is dreamy. He has such a fascinating story. We all had so much fun out at the bar in college trading stories with him. Have you participated in his virtual choir before? I keep thinking that would be fun, but then I hear some really amazing singers that take part and I get shy.
A dog park date sounds great! Maybe when the weather gets nice we should round some people up!
I wasn't a very dedicated flute player so Galway would have laughed me right out of the room. :-) My first love is singing. I sometimes regret not sticking with the flute but I would have had no time for band in college...architecture classes took up way too much time.
I have heard some of Eric's virtual choir - what a neat idea! I don't think I'd have the guts to do it. I know someone that did though!
Have you ever heard Ghost Train? It was super fun to perform.
I'm bummed I joined VocalEssence a year too late...they did a Whitacre Extravaganza in the spring of 2009!
I love this song: CLICK HERE. That is the professional group - the Ensemble Singers. I'm in the volunteer chorus. The Ensemble super duper rocks.)
Agreed. A spring playdate would be fun!
I have performed Ghost Train, a few times I think. Great piece. If you've never heard Godzilla Eats Las Vegas, you definitely need to check that out.
I was at that concert last year! It was fantastic!
Oooh, the top band at my high school did Godzilla Eats L.V.! (I was in the middle band that year because, well, I didn't practice much.
)
JEALOUS you were at that concert. I bet hearing it live was incredible. YouTube videos don't do it justice I'm sure. I had heard of V.E. but by the time I got around to really researching the group that concert was sold out. BUMMER.
If you're interested, V.E. is hosting a "community sing" event with Gerardo Rabago. Anyone can go and sing for a few hours. It's fun! I did it twice last year before I ended up auditioning.
http://www.vocalessence.org/community_sing_rabago
I feel like we're kindred spirits in a way. :-)
It was amazing live. They gave us the option to buy a code to download the recordings. They don't do it justice, but they're still great.
My favorite Whitacre piece will always be October, if you haven't heard it, check it out here :
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQitoIp_scg
I'm on the VocalEssence email list, I saw their sing alongs on that today. I might just need to go check that out. I think husband may be interested in auditioning, I think he's also interested in Cantus. He was a voice major in college, I think I live with one of the few men who sings opera in the shower...
We sure do have lots in common, it's really cool to connect with a fellow music nerd