Icing sugar on the cake of life

We finally got the snow we should have had a month ago. It came down all day, straight down, and piled up at least 10 cm. thick, making walking very difficult, especially since the pavement underneath was icy slick. I managed not to fall, especially when I was carrying soup from one campus building to another, but I heard from one of my students that several people had gone down because of the ice.

However, I started feeling sick, as in that burning/mucousy/uncomfortable feeling in the throat. The teaching studio was freezing (the thermostat said 15°C and even though I put it up, the heaters never came on) and that didn’t help matters, especially as I didn’t bring a sweater with me. I met with the young man in business who thought he might be a countertenor, and I determined that he is not. In fact, he is a true tenor and if he chose to develop it, he could have a really good voice. Unfortunately, his musical skills are rather lacking, which makes it difficult for him in choir. But I told him to switch from tenor two to first tenor, and that should help. He really does have an amazing register. Pity. He’s really not interested in taking lessons, admitting that he just wouldn’t take the time to practise. Still...

The first lesson I actually taught was to my new college student. She’s in the music dossier programme (that’s what they call it) and is required to take at least a semester of some kind of instrumental (or vocal) instruction. The thing is, she has no real music background, she can’t read music, and we spent the whole time (apart from my standard lectures on phonation and breath support) learning the first few measures of O Rest in the L0rd from Mendelss0hn’s EIijah. But she’s a nice girl, and she has a good voice, a true alto, the first one I’ve ever actually taught, and I think she’ll do fine.

The other one, after lunch and my Cajun lentil soup which I didn’t spill, was the girl who’s always sick, except she’s healthy right now. We started on a new Schubert Lied. And then I braved the snow drifts and drove home, whereupon I downed a shot of Cr0wn R0yal and tried to sleep, only to be awakened by the phone, Patsy calling to let me know she wasn’t going to bellydancing, which clinched my decision to stay home as well. I mean, it’s treacherous driving out there and I’m not feeling well. I need more incentive than that?

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