The Best Seat in the House

I've been really, really, really busy.  I have been really busy for most of my life...but this week is another thing all together.  For the last five days I have been participating in the WLC Christmas Choral Concert.  This involved two days of rehearsals and four days of performances which has resulted in one missed Lakeshore Symphonic Band rehearsal, four skipped dinners, dry lips, and a surplus of dark laundry.

Despite the hunger and shortage of chapstick, I am thoroughly enjoying this experience.  I am part of the orchestra which consists of 15 amazing musicians.  The choirs is phenomenal and the repertoire top-notch.  The main choir is singing such classics as Mendelssohn's There Shall Come a Star Out of Jacob, Bach's Sanctus, and Berlioz's The Shepherd's Farewell.    The real highlight of the concert for me, however, is Eric Whitacre's Lux Arumque.  I've heard this piece sung numerous times through my many years of WLC association, but this is the best I've ever heard it sung.  The blend is beautiful, the diction completely in sync, and the soprano soloist has the purest, sweetest voice I've heard live in a long time.  Seeing how I'm sitting directly front and center of the choir (in the back row of the orchestra), I get to experience the cluster chord goodness in awesome surround sound quality.  It is absolutely gorgeous and causes my eyes to tear up and chills to erupt on my arms every time.

I have really enjoyed coming back to WLC as a hired musician.  I truly loved my time there during college and it is great to come back and play with former students who are now loving their time at my alma mater.  This was my first time back at the choir concert and it was great.