Collage is an ensemble spear-headed by Jere Douglas, an exceptional clarinetist in Houston. Jere and I met last year during the inaugural performance in the series. Since we enjoyed working together, we opted to present another recital this summer.....and that was just performed last night to rave reviews from our audience. The program featured sonatas by Poulenc and Saint-Saens in addition to works by Schubert, Schumann, Vaughn Williams, Finzi, and Barber. Discussions are already under way for another recital in the Houston area with repertoire by Barber and Beethoven. (Could it be an all "B" night? Who knows?)
Since I knew I would be in rehearsals with Jere daily while in the Houston area, I persuaded by parents to travel by plane this year instead of driving to our destination. The roadtrip is roughly an 11-hour adventure that ends in total exhaustion. My mother was the one I really had to convince since she has never been a fan of air travel. As we drove home today from the airport, I asked if she would consider flying again. You can't imagine how elated I was when I heard her reply of "YES!" (As a side note, Mom had already begun investigating other locales serviced by Southwest Airlines. The one that has her most excited? VEGAS, BABY!)
Summer school starts in a week, so I need to finalize my syllabus this week. However, I learned on Wednesday afternoon that I am needed in Oklahoma City for an audition on Monday morning. I'll provide more details about this later -- right now, I want to keep things under wraps. Sadly, there are no economical airfares that fit my schedule tomorrow, so I'll set out on Interstate 40 tomorrow afternoon immediately after the morning services at Abundant Grace Ministries in Collierville, Tennessee. It's been several years since I've made a major road trip and I am surprisingly looking forward to the journey, yet dreading it all at the same time. Oh well......at least I'll have some new stories from the road!
No comments:
Post a Comment