Elgan speaks
...and her words thunder across the land

A long entry about many things.

Monday, Sept. 27, 2004
11:40 a.m.
Yesterday Little Princess and I went to Costco and worshipped at the altar in the temple of consumerism, leaving our tithe with the cashier on the way out. One of our purchases included a set of 12 liqueur glasses, really cute vessels, two sets of six different shapes and colours with long stems. As I was bringing in the laundry and she was unpacking the box, the third glass she found was broken in a most interesting way. It was tulip-shaped: wide at the bottom, narrowing towards the top and then flaring out again for the lip, and amber-coloured. The top of the glass was broken off in an intact ring, leaving a rather sharp edge which, at first glance, just looked weird, not broken, because it was not cracked in any way. So I just returned them, bought a replacement box (after first verifying that they were all apparently whole, although I�ll find out for sure when I unpack them properly and wash them [I do not want to have to make another trip out there, it took me a whole hour!]), along with a set of Lag0stina flatware (a service for 10) and hair conditioner. Let�s hear it for one-stop shopping.

News got out that Hubby is a very hot electric guitar player after he jammed with J-S and Kevin O. a month ago, so much so that the young guitar player in the Stairway M0vement, a band made up of music students and graduates who started out by practising in a stairwell, came over yesterday afternoon for a private lesson. This band applied for and received an enormous grant from the Quebec arts council, and the boys are trying to find ways to spend it. They�ve already bought and refurbished an old school bus and the money is helping out with living expenses, but some of it has to go for perfectionnement, as they say around here. I just think it is so funny that Mr. Canadian C0mp0ser, virtuoso classical guitarist, is now considered a hot commodity in the electric rock and jazz scene. I tell you, if his head gets puffed up any more, I�ll have to start making him wear a bathing cap.

Last night Hubby and I attended the graduation recital of a young tenor, none other than Vlad�s second-born son (she did the accompanying, so sweet really) which was incredibly well attended, considering that they are truly part of the community here, having sung in several choirs and after four years on campus he has built up a bit of a following. We don�t grant Bachelors of Music here, just B.A.s with majors or minors or honours in music, and so the requirements are not as stringent as they would be at a school such as the one where I got my performance degree. He was required to cover three languages and three musical eras (I make my own students do four and four, which is what I was required to do, but then I�m mean) and his turned out to be basically a Lieder recital with a bit of Scarlatti thrown in for Italian baroque, and he finished off with a set of Vaughan Williams songs in English. He started with Schubert, ended the first half with Brahms, and began the second half with Strauss. I would say this demonstrates a musical bias.

Young Vladssohn has really developed a lot over the past few years, but he still has miles to g0 bef0re he sleeps, if you know what I mean. There is very little real presence to the sound, his diction is rather muffled, and his low notes are all but non-existent. He had a great deal of trouble on the runs in the Scarlatti, breathing in inappropriate places and going flat when they soared, but the audience was very appreciative and gave him a very warm ovation. The reception afterwards was dynamite. There were middle-eastern delicacies�dolmades, hummus, tabouleh, spanikopita, kalamata olives and pita wedges�along with the usual cheeses and crackers, and a huge platter of strawberries, pineapple slices, and the biggest seedless purple grapes I have ever seen. At first I thought they were miniature plums, and was so surprised when I bit into one and it exploded with grapeness in my mouth. There were also �boxed� wines (red and white) and soft drinks. Quite the spread.

While waiting for Hubby to send an email (he cannot enter his office without finding more work waiting for him), the wife of the new guy informed me that they are expecting a baby in April, one of the reasons she has let her hair revert to its original brown. While this is joyous news, I am now afeared that this means we will never get rid of them, since this is such a community-oriented place. Hubby has already discovered that his second-year theory students had not been properly prepared in first year, and that they had even been taught faulty methods and concepts. He is considering not letting this guy teach theory at all, but then what will he do? He was hired to teach piano and theory. We shall see. My diary is not really the right place to discuss these things, so I shall say no more for now.

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