Breaking of legs
11:11 a.m.
First, to recap yesterday, I taught my German student and then had a strange discussion with her about sex and relationships and what is important and what isn’t, or something like that. The interesting part was that I have all these years of experience and hindsight, and she has none. I recognized in her a time when I, too, believed in fairy-tale endings and saving oneself for marriage and all that crap that I now consider totally outdated and irrelevant to living a fulfilled life. But because I did once think that way, I respect her for also thinking that way. Still, I know more now.
Herr Doktor Professor announced my concert in choir yesterday. He urged everyone to go and said that the title, “Songs of Madness and Despair”, was perhaps the best name for a recital ever.
After a hurried supper, I rushed back to the school where Ms. Piano and I had our dress rehearsal. I presented a gorgeous apple pie which I had made earlier in the day (sweetened with maple syrup, not sugar) to my flutist who left me a message on the answering machine absolutely gushing about how luscious and delicious it was. He actually used those two words in the same breath, I kid you not. He talked about the apples and the cinnamon and the crust. Seriously, I don’t think I have ever received such high praise on my baking before.
We went through the whole show, slightly out of order so the flutist could go first and then leave (with his pie), and we even had an audience. One of my students is going home today and can’t come tonight, so I asked her if she’d like to come, and an older couple (older than I am) in choir (oh, this is the woman who scoops and her husband, who sings bass beautifully) who had committed themselves to another venue tonight. They were all duly impressed. I got this email from my student this morning:
Dear E,Wasn’t that nice? That and the message about the pie made my day.I am so pleased I was able to attend your dress rehearsal tonight. You sung [sic] beautifully, I was in such awe, I was speechless!!!
Break a leg tomorrow!!
Sincerely, B
However, it is snowing. The Duke just called me with the weather forecast and asked if perhaps I might want to postpone the concert for two weeks (Vlad’s recital was supposed to be then, but of course as she is ill it’s been cancelled) in the anticipation we won’t get a turnout tonight. I am thinking that if we don’t get an audience tonight, not because of the weather, but because there is a movie on campus, there is a folk concert at the café in town, and there is a rock concert at another venue and several people have told me they are unable to attend because of previous commitments, we can always redo it in two weeks. If the weather were not an issue, he never would have called and we’d still be lacking an audience. But as these concerts are really aimed at students, and as most students either live in residence or within walking distance in town, I’m not going to sweat it. There was, however, no advertisement in this morning’s local newspaper which is directly to blame on the Duke and his concert committee.
Anyway, I have to look at a few things in my scores today, plus have a nap and a bath (not necessarily in that order) and warm up well ahead of the show. The snow is falling outside my window, but this is February 1 in the Great White North. What are we, wimps? Never!
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