choral concert @csula with dr. miyake

tonight was the night!

dr. miyake has conducted what he claimed to be his last concert. of course, i do not believe taht claim. we'll see about that.

i was recruited to come sing for him over the summer at csula. he was the mentor of while i studied masters in choral conducting. he has now retired and relocated to be with his wife's family in texas.

the program was very academic. renaissance(gallus), baroque(g.f.handel), classical(m. haydn), romantic(brahms), contemporary(britten), and a folk song (the water is wide) to wrap up the concert. i had a soprano solo in 'rejoice in the lamb' by britten. it was rather comical and playful.

i was fine until i saw katherine walking into the hall, then as if i were a young singer all over again, i got very nervous. i got through my solo fine though. katherine and i have not each other for over 6 years. last time i saw her, she was going through a painful divorce with her first husband.

now she's remarried to a wonderful indian dude, owns her own mortgage company, six weeks pregnant with her first child, and also a choir director at a local catholic church only few miles away from my work. what a small world. she said that she's preparing for a concert in cuba in memory of our late voice teacher, rené aravena. rené had died of cancer few years back. a great baritone who taught me to sing energetically.

tonight, i will listen to carmina burana to remember his beautiful voice.