I have slightly changed the time on this entry so that it still reads Monday, because technically, it's Tuesday. I got home at 10pm, but I've just spent the last 2 and a half hours working on a demo for the song we're going to pitch. Yes, we did record yesterday on my day off, but due to technical difficulties, we had to re-record tonight. It's now 12:30 am, and I'm dropping tired. This entry will probably be short and full of typos, so please read with a forgiving heart!
Mondays are traditionally a slow wind-up into the week, but not at Stamps-Baxter. At 9am this morning, we were treated to a surprise concert by the Easters! It's the first time I've seen them at the school since I started going, although their daughter, Morgan, has been attending all that time (not that the two should be mutually exclusive...) It was a great surprise for everyone, and a terrific way to start the day. Their blend is just wonderful, and it was nice to see them without the massive Gaither stage surrounding them. Just great harmonies and happy people. We got the stories behind the songs, a few jokes, and a nice duet between Sherri and Morgan. It's also nice to see a SG group that writes some of their own material. The song "She Loved"... amazing!
This surprise concert shifted the order of the day a little. Most of this morning's theory classes were lost to the concert, and we didn't have a concert tonight. The rest of the morning was just busy for me. After the weekend, there was lots of admin and organizing stuff to be done, so group singing was not an option for me.
Teri asked me to join her theory class again this afternoon, so we continued to work on "Welcome to Bethlehem". They're learning it quickly, which is really satisfying for me. It's a really creative group, so I think, if I get to go in again, we may try a little songwriting, or maybe just another song, but with more challenging parts. We'll see. Too tired to think about it right now.
I had another songwriting class with Daryl this afternoon. I brought in a new lyric - my first praise and worship song, "Sure as the Sun". It still needs work, but I knew that going in. It was a great class because the feedback I got was specific. He's also encouraging me to pinpoint the problems in my songs, instead of just a generalized "This doesn't sound right...". Tomorrow, Gerald and I will be having another joint lesson. Very excited!
Speaking of excited, I've been getting lots of great feedback about Saturday night. People loved watching me and Gerald together, and I had several people comment on "Abide With Me". After the show, I wondered if I should have done more classic material, but today's comments confirmed that we made the right choice. Yay!
I thought the break after dinner might bring a little quiet time, but little did I know I would be invited on an adventure. Kaitlyn and Rebecca, the amazing animal rescuers, have found a mother cat and her 2 little kittens in the woods behind their dorm. We wandered out to see them and bring them some milk and snacks. I'm completely allergic to cats, so I couldn't touch them, and we all know I'm a dog person anyways, but these kittens were sooo cute! They had a neat, dark-grey spotted colouring, and they would bounce and play in the tall grass. So adorable! Kaitlyn and Rebecca have taken full responsibility for the strays, and as the evening went on, I overheard them trying to find homes for the kittens. May we always have such generous hearts!
Group singing took on a new dimension tonight as the CD recording is tomorrow morning. As always, it comes before anyone is ready for it. We'll start bright and early at 9am, and with any luck, we'll be done by lunchtime.
I thought I might get home early tonight because there was no concert, but no such luck. They're doing the auditions for Friday's closing program over the next 3 nights, so tonight was the last for people to sing at performance opportunity. Yes, it went very long, but it was really awesome. There were children doing piano solos, and teenagers in fully arranged trios. We even had a Minnie Pearl impersonator, complete with her own original tribute song to the late Ms. Pearl. There were contemporary versions of hymns, and soulful renditions of classics. What a line-up of talent! It will be interesting to see the auditions over the next few nights...
That's it! I'm done! The morning comes far too early for me. And we have a CD to make tomorrow...
No comments:
Post a Comment