So close and yet so far...

Last night I played for 6 hours in an online poker tournament. I came in 57th place out of 954. Unfortunately, only the top 48 got the $12,000 World Series of Poker prize package. Still, I got $650 for my trouble, but if I survived through 9 more people it would have been much nicer.

Oh well. There is always next time.

My feelings about the New York Choral Society Chamber Chorus

I was in the chamber chorus way back during it's last incarnation in the early 90's. After it stopped, every year I would ask at the annual meeting "when are we going to have a chamber chorus again?" It was almost a joke that I would repeat every year. And, finally this year, thanks to our assistant conductor, Michael Ciavaglia, we got a chamber chorus again.

However, to be honest... after 15 years, I suddenly realized that I no longer had the driving desire to be in a chamber chorus. I had been asking every year out of habit. But I am at a different place in my life and, at this point, I really didn't need to give up another night of my week. But, since I was such a pest about it all those years, I figured I had to at least give it a go.

Rehearsals were fun, and during our first concert I was filled with overwhelming joy. It was such a pleasure to make such beautiful music. I love singing with the big chorus, but that first concert with the chamber chorus I felt so much more involved in the making of the music. It was spectacular.

Then, during this last concert, I swear to god, there was a moment during the Frostiana while the women were singing, when again, I was suddenly overwhelmed with pride and joy at being part of a group that could create such beauty. I hate to over use the word "Overwhelmed," but that is the word that most accurately describes the feeling. Literally, my eyes started to tear up.

Anyway, this is just a long way of saying, thank you. It is an honor to sing with everyone in the chamber chorus, and in the big chorus as well, and I am very grateful for the reminder of how much I actually love what we do.