A January blizzard, Philadelphia style, arrived just in time to cancel rehearsal. Beethoven's Missa Solemnis would have to wait a week. When the choir reassembled, the conductor remarked, "I don't know what you do when it snows, but I count the high B-flats for the sopranos."
All those bars of high B-flats for me and my soprano sisters are a challenge! And the other voice parts have their own issues in this monumental work. Singing City will celebrate its 60th anniversary on May 4, 2008, with a performance of the Missa Solemnis at Bryn Mawr Presbyterian Church.
Of course, we have an exciting series of concerts before that event, including early-season performances of Alexander Nevsky with Symphony in C on October 6 and 7, 2007. Singing City has sung this stirring work several times - in Russia (very appropriate since a Russian hero is the heart of the work) and in Israel. On that occasion, conductor Zubin Mehta was dissatisfied with a percussion sound needed for the "Battle on the Ice" movement. Finally, the musician dragged an empty compressed oxygen tank onto the stage and, after auditioning mallets for the maestro, the right tone was found. (Haven't had that experience before - or since!)
The fall concert on November 10, 2007 features Marietta Simpson, a Philadelphia native and warmly praised mezzo-soprano. We've sung with her numerous times, including Messiah with the Philadelphia Orchestra. (I remember telling her once that she's the only singer who can make me like that too-long aria, "He Was Despised.")
Following an enthusiastic and well-received Messiah Sing-In at the Kimmel Center last December, Singing City will repeat the event this season on December 7, 2007. And the popular winter concert is February 23, 2008. We love this combination of school choirs and getting to meet the composers whose compositions the choir will premier. This also is one of the most diverse audiences of the year, with parents and siblings of the young singers in attendance.
In addition to these highlights, the 60th Season will include community concerts in a variety of settings, the continuation of Singing City in the Schools, and increased activity as we prepare for our tour of Brazil in August, 2008.
I'm sure my fellow singers join me in welcoming you to all of our events, and in thanking you for your support of this great choir. We're all lucky to be connected with it!