O!! Christmas Tree?

Last weekend I performed in the Chamber Singers Christmas Concert and I had such a fun time. Not only does everyone in the group continue to impress me, but I continue to impress myself. For the first time, I performed a solo in my upper register for a large audience. To clarify, I sang an octave higher than the one guys usually sing in during the G5's piece: White Christmas. It was definitely a number that I was nervous about, even though I was confident I could do it.

We also performed classical pieces such as the 6th and 7th movements of John Rutter's Magnificat in addition to Franz Schubert's Ave Maria. The Ave Maria was so beautiful, touched with an air of grace and peace. The 7th movement of Magnificat (appropriately named Gloria) was my absolute favorite because of how powerful the piece is and how much energy each section has to put into the song in order to pull it off as well as we did. The concert closed with our dark and ominous rendition of O Fortuna from Carmina Burana, even though it was set to different lyrics: Jingle Bells. Because of this mix of threat and hilarity, I decided to carve a pumpkin for my creative response, and then take a picture of it in the dark with the only light being the candle inside. I have never carved a pumpkin in my life before now.

La Boheme

Last week, I was lucky enough to get discounted tickets for a preview to Utah Opera's La Boheme. I've been interested in seeing this specific opera for years, mainly because I'm in love with its Broadway counterpart, Rent. There's never been a reason to see an opera before this year, and that's mainly because I thought I wouldn't like the constant classical singing without a break for straight acting. I found, however, that I actually loved the classical feel to the production. The Italian language was so rich with culture and tradition and the music was much better than the stereotypical opera music we all think of. The ending was tragic which was interestingly more like a straight play than a musical, making it more like Sweeney Todd than any other musical. I thought it was very well done, and I will definitely go to see more operas in the future. For my response, I wanted to stay away from the arts I'm comfortable with, so I wrote another poem:

I don't know why, but I keep coming back to this medium.

Where everything was once fuzzy, and still can be.

So why here, why now? I know I'm not very skilled at this.

But in the comfort of this classroom, I feel like I can.

In the end, I've tried new things, and unlocked the Gordian Knot.

I've written some lines, and have hoped they're not too terrible.

So again I ask why? Why? Why?

Why put myself through the agony of failure, when I know I can do better.

If this were a different medium, I'd have easily passed this class.

But it isn't and it's not, I must keep exploring.

I'm learning more about myself, and my art is more rewarding.

Dark Musical Shakespeare

I went to see the Westminster players' rendition of King Henry V by William Shakespeare on Saturday, and I have to say that I was very impressed with how well the cast gelled and acted as a company. I usually can't stand Shakespeare plays, but I was very impressed with the acting as a whole. As an actor myself, I would watch every actor that wasn't necessarily in the spotlight and I was pleasantly surprised to notice how every actor "in the background" was just as impressive and in the moment as the featured actors. Every actor was completely engrossed in what they were doing, and their engrossment in their Art got me to enjoy their show on a level I thought I never could. Another aspect of the show that impressed me was the lighting. Henry V was perfect for the black box theater, and it helped enhance the dark yet simplistic atmosphere. I thought a simplistic haiku was appropriate for my artistic response because it incorporates atmospheric elements into its structure:

Blanket of darkness

Sweeps through the October sky

Battles forgotten

Magnificent Underated Stockholm Epic

This past weekend, I drove to Denver with my girlfriend and two other friends. The reason for our trek through the mountains was to see my favorite band of all time: Muse. It was fantastic. We had dinner at the Hard Rock Cafe, and then headed over to the Pepsi Center where they were scheduled to play. They were absolutely stunning, the complex compositions were colorfully highlighted through layers of arpeggios and high pitched falsettos. The show inspired me to draw for the first time in 5 years. My butchered interpretation is featured above, although the scanner I used only scanned in black and white, so the picture is a different, colorless interpretation of the pastel coated portrait.

Orchestral Magnificence

The Symphony.

It's always a big ordeal.

We're late, and there's an unforgivable spaghetti stain on my button down.

I never get food on my clothes, except when I don't want to.

I have to change, again.

My tie doesn't match, from gold to blue to gold again.

Run to the car, thirty minutes to go thirty miles.

We barely make it, the doors are closing.

One of us misses to first piece, it was forgettable anyway.

Finally, we're all inside, and the solo floats over a dark cloud.

I know it's good, but something is missing.

Now I'm bored, and the soloist goes off.

The final piece begins, and it starts off well enough.

But now it begins, I hear birds chirp.

I see green hills and a fantastically magnificent world.

A battle ensues, but the protagonist prevails.

The town celebrates with bright major chords,

and the piece climaxes with my mind.

Music to the Masses

I volunteer at Primary Children's Hospital up by the University of Utah as a part of the music crew. Every Saturday I spend an hour performing for the patients and their family and friends. When I first arrive, I climb the stairs to the piano on the third floor and take in the emptiness of the waiting room. It was intimidating at first, singing in front of an empty room with the occasional passer-by. I take out my sheet music and begin to sing. I usually stick to a pretty light repertoire, including some Disney and maybe a little doo wop.

Then the most fascinating thing happens. As people walk by, maybe just employees or other volunteers but patients and visitors as well, they start to hang around and listen. The room starts to come alive. Instead of the sterile, empty room seen before, there are people conversing, listening, and filling the room with an aura of warmth. Parents would point me out to their children and they'd smile joyously and with such intensity that it's impossible for my not to smile back. The coolest aspect of this experience, however, is that this transformation was sparked by a very simplistic Art form: A Capella music. I chose to use photography as my creative medium journal response mostly because I was extremely inspired by the view that I had witnessed while driving through the mountains. The sun glowing behind the mountains gave them an aura that seemed to spark life in them, giving me the same inspiring feeling I witnessed while volunteering at the hospital.

Chick Flick? I Think Not.

This past weekend, I was dragged along by my sister and girlfriend to see "Eat Pray Love" in theaters. I had no intention of paying too much attention or even staying awake through the entire thing, but I was pleasantly surprised at the film. Despite less than mediocre reviews and sub-par performance by one Julia Roberts' love interests (James Franco), "Eat Pray Love" took me on an emotional pilgrimage from New York City to Italy, India, and finally Bali. Roberts' character used an aspect of each place to find herself and be able to love again, after her marriage failed and she couldn't find happiness in anything she did.

The most interesting aspect of the film (in my opinion) was the lighting. The shades of yellow used in the film paralleled the emotion extremely well, and really played aesthetically to me. In fact, it inspired me to write three Haiku's representing the three healing motifs (eating, prayer, love).

*Caution: I've never written poetry in my life*

Walking down the street
the warm air contrasts my face
full of emotion.

Sitting on this rug
far from the stress of the world
I reflect for me.

Seeing you love me
and having found my center
I can love at last.