BellaVoceSingers

So here it is - my first blog entry ever! I'll just get right down to it: I am very excited about this new semester of singing! I was inspired for the title of our concerts this year - Peace and Love - somewhat by the 40th Anniversary of Woodstock this past summer. It's a theme that obviously resonated with many people then, and (as cheesy as it might sound) peace and love are things that I think we could all use a little more of in our lives.

I'm thrilled to announce that we'll be performing two - count'em, two! - premieres at the December concerts. The first will be the premiere of the revised score of Greg Bartholomew's "A Rainy Day", which is a beautiful setting of the poem by American poet John Brainard (1796-1828). Greg dedicates the piece to his mother, who he says taught him to love rainy days. I don't know why, but that sentiment alone, even without thinking about the text, makes me well up a little.

We'll also be performing a world premiere of Emily John's "Visions of Peace" - a virtually textless piece that promotes the idea that words don't matter. I love what Emily wrote about it: "We don't need to understand the words or agree on the language to be able to listen to each other." Indeed. Imagine what kind of world it would be if we all took the time to listen a little more.

So with all that said, I'm hoping to use this blog to share my ideas about the concerts, the pieces we're doing, thoughts on rehearsals, and other music out there on a weekly (or so) basis. A couple of other people will be writing entries as well, and comments are always welcome! To the current choirmembers, I look forward to making wonderful music this semester with all of you. And to everyone else, I hope you'll come back to the site often to check for updates, and please join us in December for our concerts! Until next time....