Monday, October 5, 2009

On to Alaska!

Cantus heads to Alaska later this week (Oct. 8th) and for yours truly it will be the 50th State visited...an 'accomplishment' I attribute almost exclusively to my wonderful job as a Cantus singer. I also luckily had a chance to do a good bit of travel as a member of the St. Olaf Choir, a premier college choral ensemble that tours every February. In fact travel has been a big part of my life, as I first jumped (crawled) on a plane as a toddler, and later undertook some significant trips as a pre-adult, including visiting a number of countries as a Spanish immersion student in elementary and middle school.

I'm sure that is enough of a travel biography of me, but truly we are excited to see the beautiful landscapes of Alaska, and very hyped to sing for the classical music fans of Anchorage, Fairbanks, and Kodiak. It will be wonderful to finally delve into our 'Elemental' program, and feel how the pieces we've chosen to represent the Earthly elements interact with the audience. Programming can be such a chore, but, at the same time, it can illustrate your true artistic self. The pieces you choose, as an individual or as an ensemble, offer a small window into your psyche/personality/intelligence/research/etc. A favorite college professor of mine once said that programming is truly an artform. I'm excited to see how our new program hits audiences in Alaska.

Well, off we go to the 49th state. See y'all soon!

2 comments:

Paul Wilson said...

Good luck in Alaska, Cantus. Watch out for bears!

Anonymous said...

I was a chaperone with my granddaughter's 3rd grade class at this mornings concert in Anchorage. We all enjoyed every note! I was as enthralled and delighted by your music as they were, and amazed at how still they could be - for the most part - self control being a foreign concept yet. We did have a few moments of spontaneous clapping along, but I think that is a good thing. They really got INTO it! Thank you so much for sharing your art with us all! Next time you are here, I hope you schedule a few more performances! B. Martin