My mother used to tell me to “be nice”……be nice to neighbors, classmates, those who needed our help, teachers and my grandma. She expected us to not “be ugly” by talking about people behind their backs or excluding someone just for spite.

I have tried to carry that over to my adult life, but in the music business it is easier said than done. I am kind to those who audition for me, no matter what. I am pleasant to those I work with and try to be nice to my peers. If only others behaved that way!

Recently, I have been “frozen dead” by a person of my musical acquaintance. He doesn’t work in the same genre as I, but our paths occasionally cross. He is talented and I have even recommended him to someone who needed a person of his talent, yet, I am “dead” to him for some reason.

I don’t know why I am being treated this way but I am uncomfortable with spending any time around him. I will have to explain–or give a reasonable “excuse”–the next time I am expected to be. I really don’t want to explain since I have no idea why he is doing this. I thought he was a better person than his spiteful behavior portrays him. I can be the better person by trying to rise above this. Perhaps he will realize that no good can come from this, only hard feelings. And it is on his end, not mine.

After the concert, and before the new session of auditions and other madness begins, I get reflective. This week, I am doing a little bit of self-analysis.

Quite bluntly, I wish I were a better person. In my bio–almost all my bios–it speaks of my interest in the arts for those with disabilities. I wish I could say that interest came naturally–it didn’t. I became interested in those with disabilities only because I became a mother of someone with a disability. And, I wanted my son to have opportunities to perform and learn about music and, really, to have music in his life, like his non-disabled brothers.

I used music as tool when Russell was young to teach him things. I found he listened and focused better if I sang a request or he calmed down if I put on some Bach. When he was older, I insisted he become a music inclusion student. I can honestly say, music changed his life, gave him an interest in something and helped him gain some control of his emotions.

If I was a better person, perhaps I would have realized children with disabilities could benefit from music. Perhaps, having Russell in my life has made me a better person, and for that, I am grateful.

Last Sunday was our spring concert. From the very beginning, I liked our repertoire, of course, but I didn’t fall in LOVE with it until much later. Some times, it’s like that…….directors choose music and we like it and even may know it, but we don’t fall in love until much later.

Since the MMS is a community choir, I can choose what I like. It is a real blessing but it also can be overwhelming. Added to the fact, I want each concert to be different—chamber choir music is only limited by our imagination–and sometimes, I am at a loss.

This spring’s repertoire was not what I had originally planned. I had planned to do the Bartok and the Neue Liebeslieder but things didn’t work that way, so I let my imagination soar! I am glad it did.

To a singer, everyone loved the music. Our audiences loved the music. Even the minister at Prince of Peace (a St. Olaf alum) loved the music. And this music touched me in a way I hadn’t expected. This wasn’t what I had planned but……..but I am so happy with how it worked out.

This concert cycle is almost over. Our last concert of the spring will be this coming Sunday. It’s a little bittersweet to finish the music and leave it, after the rehearsal journey we’ve been through together. It’s also a little bittersweet to realize we won’t see each other again until August, when we begin a new journey.

I am blessed with a wonderful group of singers, pianists and “ringers” I can count on and will miss seeing . I know the summer will fly and we will begin a new journey soon enough.

The music is great, though, and I look forward to Sunday. Come and join us!

We had our first performance of the spring concert cycle last Sunday. It was warm but we had AC! Those things mean a lot when you have to be in front of people. Most importantly, the concert went fine, despite one of our basses being ill.

I liked the music but didn’t really fall in love with it until I was conducting the first portion of the concert. Everything came together with my singers and the music and the pianists and the audience. It was everything I had hoped it to be, and more.

We do it again June 6. And I can’t wait!

Our concerts are rapidly approaching and there is much to do. The program notes are being written and the program, itself, is being formatted. Texts are being translated. The real hard work was done long ago. In a few days, we can just relax and sing. Once the little details are finished, it is music time!

Mother’s Day is Sunday and I am going to visit my parents. Mom is 82 and still a soprano in her heart and soul. The songs she taught me were not the typical songs, since she was a coloratura soprano and sang in choirs as a paid soloist or in shows for most of my childhood. I do remember, very distinctly, her practicing the Queen of the Night runs from “The Magic Flute”, almost every day well into her 60s, usually while doing the dishes. These are the kinds of things most “civilians” take for granted–but those runs have to be practiced and practiced for them to stay in the voice. And those were the real “songs” my mother taught me– in order to stay in practice for difficult things when you need to be , you have to practice. Even when doing dishes.

I had a very fun experience this weekend. I was the stage manager for a concert featuring talented children in our area–a “Rising Stars” concert. I was called at the last minute because I had done it last year and, I suppose, they didn’t know who else to call . I moved pianos, adjusted music stands and mics and made sure the kids had what they needed. I had a case of water for my MMS rehearsal and donated that to their green room. The kids did great and were varied; everything from several violinists, a cellist and a singer to a euphonium player. It was a wonderful concert and a nice way to spend a Sunday afternoon. They’ve already booked me for next year!

It’s been a very stressful few days around here. Most of the reasons for the stress have nothing to do with the MMS but I felt tense and stressed and overwhelmed and…..and then we had rehearsal tonight. Music and the fellowship of the singers and the fun we had swept me away from my stress and I almost forgot what was bugging me. And it was a good rehearsal and we got stuff done. That’s the best kind to take away stress!

It was a beautiful day today. The sun was golden, the grass was green, the sky was blue. I get especially antsy on this kind of day because I want to do our concert NOW instead of later. The music inspires me in the dead of winter–or around about Thanksgiving when I chose it–to keep going. I started doing a secular concert for the spring because I wanted happy, up-beat, fun things to present to our audience at this time of year. New lives, new loves and stories are usually the subjects and in spring, anything is possible. And hope our concert will bring that across.