Hits and Misses (August 27 - September 2, 2017)

Here's a look back at the week that was....

HITS

• It is always a welcome event to have great conversation. The topic really doesn't matter. Just the chance to sit down with friends, students, or colleagues and thoughtfully share ideas and opinions. It has been a good week for talking.
• The Singing Men of Texas got back to work this week as they gathered for their annual retreat. We sang through a lot of music and I did a lot of playing, but it was enjoyable. The singers sound really good, the overall atmosphere is one of professionalism, and instrumentalists are respected and appreciated. That last point goes a long way!
• As the week came to a close, I was able to get out of town for the long weekend. Since I couldn't be with family right now, I really just wanted to spend some quiet time alone in a hotel room with my books and some great restaurants around. I decided to break with the tradition of the past few years and headed back east -- to Oklahoma City. I really didn't do much of anything at all....and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

MISSES

• Have you had days where it seemed nothing would go right and you couldn't win for losing? Those days seem as though they will never end, too. I had two of those long, frustrating days back to back last week. By the end of the second day, I was ready to take someone's head off! No one was at fault. Things just weren't going my way....computer issues....body aches....long, redundant rehearsals......I was just over it! I'm really hoping that I managed to get all of the bugs out in the early part of the semester. If that was a sign of how the semester is going to go, I need to find my white flag and frantically start waving it all around now!
• I am a man who loves a routine. Give me a plan, let's stick to it, and get the job done. Imagine my great "joy" this week (Is that dripping with enough sarcasm?) when I discovered that several things on my calendar needed to be adjusted in my weekly schedule! Everything worked out for the most part -- I still have one major dilemma lingering -- and I've learned a lesson in rolling with the punches.
• With all of the craziness of the first full week of the semester, I found myself entering the final rehearsal of the week underprepared. I knew I was running out of prep time throughout the week, so I made an educated guess of what I would be able to handle without spending too much time on it. I selected Father's aria at the end of Act I of Hansel and Gretel as the portion of the rehearsal I would wing. After all, I had played the aria last semester for the singer....so it couldn't be THAT bad, could it? YIKES! Let's just say I have a "date" with Humperdinck's score when I get back to Plainview and will definitely be spending some time with this highly chromatic scene!