Winnipeg and Jon Washburn and the Vancouver Chamber Choir were really something.
More on that in a sec though, after a quick digression. I got to watch a bit of hotel-room TV, and there's something that's been bugging me since Thursday. This is a message for BECKY who was on Dr. Phil on Thursday March 3, 2011. Becky, I'm glad you got all that support from Dr. Phil, because you deserve good support. But there's one thing he didn't say, so I'm gonna say it:
BECKY - JUST SING, OKAY? DO IT NOW. THERE IS NEVER A GOOD REASON TO DEFER SINGING. PLEASE DO NOT WAIT UNTIL YOU HAVE ACHIEVED YOUR GOAL WEIGHT BEFORE YOU GO OUT AND SING. LIFE IS TOO SHORT. YOU DESERVE TO SING, THE WORLD CAN USE ONE MORE SINGER, AND YOU ARE ALREADY BEAUTIFUL. GET OUT THERE AND SING NOW. DON'T WAIT ONE MORE SINGLE DAY. DO IT TODAY.
Okay, back to the Interplay Composers' sessions.
A real nice bunch of folks, Jon Washburn and the Vancouver Chamber Choir. It's always a treat to have the opportunity to watch a master at work, and every single one of Jon Washburn's singers had their head fully focused on the music. Accomplished, talented, smart, and all the rest. If you spilled a jar of poppy seeds onto a paper towel, these people could sight-sing it. I went in mentally prepared for the artistic scalpel, because at this stage of the game nobody's got time for warm fuzzies. And I got a lot of really excellent and valuable feedback, but rather than being the musical excision kind of feedback that I had anticipated, it was more grooming and polishing things as they already were. A pleasant surprise, to say the least. It's always a special type of moment the first sing through a new score, when you find out if what you put onto the paper ends up being what comes off of it - or not. There was this really cool moment early in the session when I realized that things had clicked with Jon Washburn and my piece, and it was so instructional to watch how he brought the choir to that same place. I came out with so many ideas, and I'm still riding a crest of renewed creative energy that is infusing my writing since my return from Winnipeg.
Thank-you so much, Jon Washburn and VCC!
Monday, March 7, 2011
Friday, March 4, 2011
Off to See the Wizards (JW & VCC) Part1
Well, today's the day!
In about an hour (Winnipeg time), I leave my hotel room and head for the music building at the University of Manitoba to meet up with the Vancouver Chamber Choir, their director Jon Washburn, two other composers I'm looking forward to meeting, and whoever else happens to be around and interested.
The VCC is "workshopping" a piece I wrote earlier this year - "i carry your heart with me" - based on e.e. cummings' poem of the same title. Which means they will read it down and pick it apart and see what's working well and what isn't really working at all - kind of a laboratory setting. Or at least that's what I think it means - I'll find out soon enough. I feel so incredibly lucky because the piece is for double choir (plus jazz trio), and it would be quite a job for me to put together an ensemble like this to explore the work. It's doubly nice because the work is intended as a series of four pieces, and I'm getting this opportunity and feedback now, before I write the other three.
Wow - it feels like Christmas. And I feel so hyper! Gotta get ready to roll.
In about an hour (Winnipeg time), I leave my hotel room and head for the music building at the University of Manitoba to meet up with the Vancouver Chamber Choir, their director Jon Washburn, two other composers I'm looking forward to meeting, and whoever else happens to be around and interested.
The VCC is "workshopping" a piece I wrote earlier this year - "i carry your heart with me" - based on e.e. cummings' poem of the same title. Which means they will read it down and pick it apart and see what's working well and what isn't really working at all - kind of a laboratory setting. Or at least that's what I think it means - I'll find out soon enough. I feel so incredibly lucky because the piece is for double choir (plus jazz trio), and it would be quite a job for me to put together an ensemble like this to explore the work. It's doubly nice because the work is intended as a series of four pieces, and I'm getting this opportunity and feedback now, before I write the other three.
Wow - it feels like Christmas. And I feel so hyper! Gotta get ready to roll.
Thursday, March 3, 2011
An Ode to the Uvula
The Uvula. If I admit to a certain amount of fascination with it, am I going on the public record as some kind of fetishist or something?
Most of us have seen cartoon representations of the uvula, even if we didn't know its proper name at the time. It is the small bit of tissue that hangs off the back end of the soft palate, that wobbles back and forth when a cartoon character is hollering.
And for some singers, depending on their training, the uvula has indicated the presence of a well-engaged diaphragm, swinging forwards and back with each mindful "ha" exhalation in front of a mirror.
It has occurred to me, however, that if Nature intended a purpose for the uvula beyond storyboarding and bel canto, then I am in the dark about it. So I thought I'd do a little research...
It turns out that the uvula isn't just hanging out. The uvula plays an important role in articulating the sounds we make into sounds recognizable as speech, functioning in tandem with the back of the throat, the palate, and air coming up from the lungs.
If that wasn't enough, as a distinct bonus the uvula also has an important function in swallowing. The uvula and soft palate work as a team, moving upwards together to close off the nasopharynx, sparing us the indignity of having our soup dribble back out our nose when dining out.
I'm glad I took the time to read up a little more on the uvula. I am now reassured that my fascination with the uvula is neither the first, nor the worst. Apparently it is possible to have one's uvula pierced, with the captive bead ring as the jewelry of choice. I won't be signing up for that any time soon though - manipulation of the uvula also triggers the gag reflex, and I try to avoid regurgitating as much as possible.
(If obtaining an uvula piercing is something that appeals to you, please take the time to do your own research. There are several inherent risks, including inhaling your jewelry, and if you do that then you're in for some emergency surgery. And please find someone who really knows what they are doing - for both the piercing and the surgery that is.)
If you happen to find yourself in a discussion of the uvula at your next cocktail party, be sure to specify "the palatine uvula". You'll not only sound smarter, but you'll also stay on familiar turf. Apparently both the cerebellum and the urinary bladder have uvulas of their own, equally worthy I'm sure, but beyond the scope of this blog posting.
So there it is - the daily contributions to the quality of our lives of the humble uvula. Who knew? Give me a U....
Okay okay I'll knock it off. But take good care of your uvula and it will take good care of you. Seriously - overdoing some of our most common vices (smoking, alcohol, street drugs) can lead to swelling of the uvula. But there are also more pedestrian causes for this, like dehydration or infection. I've read that ice cream is soothing for this, if it happens to you. But more chronic enlargement of the uvula can lead to snoring or sleep apnea. And people who have uvulitis triggered by allergies often have to resort to an EpiPen, without the benefit of ice cream.
Most of us have seen cartoon representations of the uvula, even if we didn't know its proper name at the time. It is the small bit of tissue that hangs off the back end of the soft palate, that wobbles back and forth when a cartoon character is hollering.
And for some singers, depending on their training, the uvula has indicated the presence of a well-engaged diaphragm, swinging forwards and back with each mindful "ha" exhalation in front of a mirror.
It has occurred to me, however, that if Nature intended a purpose for the uvula beyond storyboarding and bel canto, then I am in the dark about it. So I thought I'd do a little research...
It turns out that the uvula isn't just hanging out. The uvula plays an important role in articulating the sounds we make into sounds recognizable as speech, functioning in tandem with the back of the throat, the palate, and air coming up from the lungs.
If that wasn't enough, as a distinct bonus the uvula also has an important function in swallowing. The uvula and soft palate work as a team, moving upwards together to close off the nasopharynx, sparing us the indignity of having our soup dribble back out our nose when dining out.
I'm glad I took the time to read up a little more on the uvula. I am now reassured that my fascination with the uvula is neither the first, nor the worst. Apparently it is possible to have one's uvula pierced, with the captive bead ring as the jewelry of choice. I won't be signing up for that any time soon though - manipulation of the uvula also triggers the gag reflex, and I try to avoid regurgitating as much as possible.
(If obtaining an uvula piercing is something that appeals to you, please take the time to do your own research. There are several inherent risks, including inhaling your jewelry, and if you do that then you're in for some emergency surgery. And please find someone who really knows what they are doing - for both the piercing and the surgery that is.)
If you happen to find yourself in a discussion of the uvula at your next cocktail party, be sure to specify "the palatine uvula". You'll not only sound smarter, but you'll also stay on familiar turf. Apparently both the cerebellum and the urinary bladder have uvulas of their own, equally worthy I'm sure, but beyond the scope of this blog posting.
So there it is - the daily contributions to the quality of our lives of the humble uvula. Who knew? Give me a U....
Okay okay I'll knock it off. But take good care of your uvula and it will take good care of you. Seriously - overdoing some of our most common vices (smoking, alcohol, street drugs) can lead to swelling of the uvula. But there are also more pedestrian causes for this, like dehydration or infection. I've read that ice cream is soothing for this, if it happens to you. But more chronic enlargement of the uvula can lead to snoring or sleep apnea. And people who have uvulitis triggered by allergies often have to resort to an EpiPen, without the benefit of ice cream.
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