Please forgive my absence....

...I've been busy.

I just realized that it's been nearly a month since my last post.

Somehow, October is just around the next bend, and I'm left wondering what happened to September.

and then I remember.

Practice.   Rehearsal for Don Giovanni.  Classes.  Practice.   Rehearsal for Ariel's Tempest.  Lessons.  Practice.   Rehearsals with singers.  Homework.  Practice.  Performances.  Meetings.  Practice.  Practice.  Practice.

I spent September in a practice room.  And October will probably not be much different.

This last week I pulled double duty as I helped the new cast and music directors of Ariel's Tempest (the show Nadja and I directed last year) get things started.  It was fun to be there and help them get a feel for the music, but I remembered how much I don't miss being in rehearsal until 10:00 every night.   I am also gearing up to begin playing for Giovanni rehearsals, so I have been observing those as much as I can, to glean information about tempos, etc.   But that meant that, at times, this week, I was in rehearsal from 4pm-10pm.   There really is nothing pleasant about that.

My schedule has been full, to be sure.  But as I consider what it was a year ago, I can't help but be thankful to be in such a different place than I was then.  I am still busy, still exhausted, still overwhelmed.  But there is somehow a peace present in me, a lightness of being, that was oh-so-absent last fall.

I attribute part of that peace to a church community that I recently joined.  After a year of feeling not-quite-at-home at church, I have finally found a place to call home.  I am reminded of Michael Dennis Browne's words in the text entitled "The Road Home":

there is no such beauty as where you belong.

And I know that I belong in this community, for this season.


I am also looking forward to the opportunities ahead in the coming weeks.  One of my singers was selected to sing in the Denyce Graves masterclass this week, so I will get to play for that.  And another has been chosen to sing for the Thomas Hampson masterclass next month.  It will be an incredible opportunity to get to play for these incredible artists!

So there is much to be thankful for.  Sunny days.  The crunch of leaves beneath my feet.  The opportunity to work with some of the best musicians in the world.  Mornings spent at the keyboard - is there really any better way to start the day?    Church services that fill me with life and energy.

places to belong.