tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-57310942011-08-10T10:15:21.101-07:00The sporadic posts of Chris K AlexanderChris K Alexanderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16082480946149285233noreply@blogger.comBlogger461100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5731094.post-15611664769748483392010-05-12T23:51:00.001-07:002010-05-12T23:52:45.253-07:00

http://www.formspring.me/chrisa1

Chris K Alexanderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16082480946149285233noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5731094.post-80667253576997164642010-03-25T00:39:00.003-07:002010-03-25T01:02:46.937-07:00

This video has gone viral, drawing the attention of "Silicon Valley Insider". Eric Whitacre is not just for choir & band geeks anymore!Video and Rich Media powered by Wooshii.com

Chris K Alexanderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16082480946149285233noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5731094.post-74957064544116593612009-10-27T08:51:00.003-07:002009-10-27T09:00:24.885-07:00

Stay tuned through the commercial.

Chris K Alexanderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16082480946149285233noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5731094.post-59310653143525524932009-05-22T18:49:00.005-07:002009-07-09T10:44:09.106-07:00

This was the front of our house before Summer 2008. The drooping shade tree in front of the house is gone now (disease), as well as the tall eucalyptus in the neighboring backyard (which was in danger of falling on our house). The rosebushes next to the front walk are still going great!

Chris K Alexanderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16082480946149285233noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5731094.post-40727949859779406032008-07-02T19:04:00.000-07:002008-07-02T17:05:49.914-07:00

I've figured out how to use ScribeFire. All I need to do now is figure out when to use it.

Chris K Alexanderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16082480946149285233noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5731094.post-66296326098027623862008-05-16T19:00:00.000-07:002008-06-05T15:09:35.931-07:00

Vint Cerf spoke at GTC West 2008 in mid-May. It was a mind-blowing look into the future of networked computing, by one of the true inventors of the Internet.var so = new FlashObject ("http://natalie.feedroom.com/erepublic/natoneclip/Player.swf", "Player", "280", "158", "8", "#000000");so.addVariable("skin", "natoneclip");so.addVariable("site", "erepublic");so.addVariable("fr_story", "

Chris K Alexanderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16082480946149285233noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5731094.post-59133189746241439092008-04-25T01:21:00.003-07:002008-04-25T01:33:18.145-07:00

...has come and gone. I spent the evening in the pit of "Into the Woods" at 6th Street Playhouse.But my wife Dana took me out to dinner last night. We went to one of our favorite Japanese restaurants in Old Courthouse Square. I had the Chef's Sashimi Plate, for which I requested hamachi, unagi and uni! I also had a decent cold sake with dinner. Then we went next door to our favorite upscale bar,

Chris K Alexanderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16082480946149285233noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5731094.post-12416267143115631172008-04-20T22:00:00.000-07:002008-05-20T18:18:59.918-07:00

Chris K Alexanderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16082480946149285233noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5731094.post-55621425596446640982008-03-20T22:00:00.000-07:002008-05-20T18:18:09.794-07:00

Chris K Alexanderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16082480946149285233noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5731094.post-14313403365670244212008-02-01T20:00:00.001-08:002008-03-03T17:08:38.494-08:00

So I see now that it's been almost a year since my last post. Time to backfill and publish everything that has happened since Dana's recital last February. The short list, in chronological order:Spring Choir tour to Heritage Festival in So Cal in March 2007;Another birthday in April;Music Directing THE LAST 5 YEARS at Sonoma Rep in May;Dana's birthday in early June;Dad's 80th birthday in

Chris K Alexanderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16082480946149285233noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5731094.post-62886664612236142112007-02-28T23:26:00.000-08:002007-03-01T00:36:34.844-08:00

My wife Dana and I had our big gig this past weekend. On Saturday 2/24, we had a recital with Dana singing and me accompanying on piano. We did an Evite, which included the following info:Host: Dana and Chris AlexanderLocation: First Congregational Church, 2000 Humboldt St, Santa Rosa, CAWhen: Saturday, February 24, 4:00pmPresented byDana Alexander, mezzo-sopranoChris Alexander, pianoFeaturing

Chris K Alexanderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16082480946149285233noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5731094.post-34613505832014622682007-02-05T00:05:00.000-08:002007-03-01T00:34:28.550-08:00

I spent this past weekend playing for the Northern California Honor Choir, which is made up of students from many high school choir programs from Sonoma County north toward the Oregon border. The event alternates between Humboldt State and Chico State every year. I've been accompanying the event for 5-6 years now.The Honor Choir conductor this year was Dr. Daniel Afonso, who is from Brazil and

Chris K Alexanderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16082480946149285233noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5731094.post-67671720328666699482006-12-07T23:32:00.000-08:002006-12-07T11:43:55.786-08:00

My sister-in-law sent this to my dad, my brother and me. She prefaced it with a comment about "Finnish men" (of which my dad, brother and I are at least partially members). I think the video is really fun as a piece of choral music, as well as an example of very good editing. The comment from the Google video page:neki finac radio umetnicki projekat, trazio da mu obicni ljudi posalju svoje zalbe

Chris K Alexanderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16082480946149285233noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5731094.post-59173746387703394752006-11-28T19:17:00.000-08:002008-12-10T08:16:41.023-08:00

Here are the Alexanders East: My brother Jeff (The Doctor!) and his wife Robyn, and their 4 kids (from left) Ryan, Parker, Cori and Ellie. (photo as of November 2006)

Chris K Alexanderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16082480946149285233noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5731094.post-13480172953327531722006-11-10T14:47:00.000-08:002007-03-28T02:27:07.265-07:00

I just sang this past Monday, November 6, with a men's octet known as Sonoma Chanson. We had a brief gig at a senior center in Petaluma. As their website notes, this group was born from the ashes of the Sonoma County Men's Chorus. My wife Dana and I performed a couple of times with the Men's Chorus, who used to have an annual gig at the Gualala Arts Center (I sang and accompanied the Chorus while

Chris K Alexanderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16082480946149285233noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5731094.post-1156572370358122722006-08-25T22:57:00.000-07:002006-11-10T14:46:12.142-08:00

Just to keep my hand in...Summer is pretty much over. My wife Dana has been back teaching high school choir for over a week now.It was a brief summer, but we did get away to see the end of the Mendocino Music Festival for about the third year now. We saw Anonymous 4 do a concert of early American music (shape-note hymns), and also saw a concert presentation of Porgy & Bess (see the last page of

Chris K Alexanderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16082480946149285233noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5731094.post-1144782428106703962006-04-11T11:18:00.000-07:002006-11-10T14:46:12.063-08:00

As I briefly surface in the blog-o-sphere...I've been accompanying the Sonoma State Chamber Singers, who are preparing performances of four of Mozart's Missa Brevis (K. 49, 65, 192 and 194) that Mozart wrote between the ages of 12 and 20, in Salzburg prior to his move to Vienna. There are 2 performances at the end of April in Windsor and Rohnert Park, that feature vocal soloists and authentic

Chris K Alexanderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16082480946149285233noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5731094.post-1139257170271832182006-02-06T00:10:00.000-08:002006-11-10T14:46:11.953-08:00

Now that it's February 06, I can say Happy New Year in my blog.The past 2 weeks have been busy for Dana and me. Her choir program at Montgomery High School had its winter concert on Thursday, January 26. Then the following Saturday, the advanced Chamber Singers went to Folsom for the Folsom Jazz Festival. I accompanied the jazz charts at these two events.The following Monday and Tuesday were

Chris K Alexanderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16082480946149285233noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5731094.post-1128027029496649632005-09-28T19:23:00.000-07:002006-11-10T14:46:11.872-08:00

Howdy...I'm going to have to backtrack at some point and talk about this past summer (gigs in June, travel to Alaska in August). But onward for now...I'm working with 2 groups this term at Sonoma State University. On Tuesdays, I'm singing with the Chamber Singers (obviously, I'm not in the photo). They are performing a concert for St. Cecilia on November 18 and 19. This is a wide-ranging

Chris K Alexanderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16082480946149285233noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5731094.post-1113941546495801152005-04-18T18:09:00.000-07:002006-11-10T14:46:11.611-08:00

My wife Dana and I took her entire choir program (3 choirs, over 80 teenagers) on tour to Victoria and Vancouver in British Columbia. It was a very successful tour. The choral highlight was singing in the rotunda of the Parliament building in Victoria, BC. Also, the tour company put us up for one night at the Fairmont Empress in Victoria, one of the finest hotels in Canada.There's lots of

Chris K Alexanderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16082480946149285233noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5731094.post-1109293186798856712005-02-24T17:51:00.000-08:002006-11-10T14:46:11.427-08:00

Hi again,I'm playing in a show called 'Red Hot and Cole' at the Raven Theater in Healdsburg. It's a revue that follows the life of Cole Porter, from his years in Europe (Paris and Venice), through his first successes (Anything Goes), the riding accident that left him in a wheelchair, to his return to musical theater success (Kiss Me Kate).I am playing the second weekend, March 11 and 12. Tickets

Chris K Alexanderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16082480946149285233noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5731094.post-1106872712103721882005-01-27T18:32:00.000-08:002006-11-10T14:46:11.363-08:00

Hi and Happy New Year (now that it's almost February)! I'm playing in Kelseyville (near Clear Lake's Konocti Resort) on Sunday, Feb. 6 at 3PM. The concert is at Lutheran Galilee Church, 8860 Soda Bay Road in Kelseyville. There is general info here. More specific info: The Stringwood Trio Roy Zajac, clarinet Karen Zimmerman, bass Chris Alexander, piano Repertoire includes works of

Chris K Alexanderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16082480946149285233noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5731094.post-1102672144531187402004-12-10T13:32:00.000-08:002006-11-10T14:46:11.268-08:00

The Santa Rosa Symphony concerts this past weekend went well (see a review in SF Classical Voice). This weekend is the close of Nuncrackers. The show was favorably written up in several North Bay papers, including the Bohemian. Next weekend (December 17, 18 and 19) is the full Messiah, presented by the Santa Rosa Symphony, and performed by the Sonoma Bach Choir with Symphony players. Come see

Chris K Alexanderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16082480946149285233noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5731094.post-1098595494713626342004-10-23T22:04:00.000-07:002006-11-10T14:46:11.177-08:00

The season has started for me. I'm music directing a show for Hoochi-Doo Productions called Nunsense. The show opens Thanksgiving weekend and runs for the subsequent 2 weekends (through December 12). Check out the HDP website for info on this company and the show. Every Tuesday, I'm working with the Santa Rosa Symphony Honor Choir (yes, that's my butt on the piano bench in the photo). We are

Chris K Alexanderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16082480946149285233noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5731094.post-1090787429854137102004-07-25T13:24:00.000-07:002006-11-10T14:46:11.105-08:00

I'm playing for a couple of events for the Sonoma County Choral Society. On Mondays, I am an accompanist for their group voice classes, for intermediate and choral singers who want to improve their vocal technique. The classes are led by SSU voice professor Jenni Samuelson and Chanticleer veteran Chris Fritzsche This Wednesday (July 28), I'm playing for the last Midsummer Sings, which is a

Chris K Alexanderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16082480946149285233noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5731094.post-1088135375979793582004-06-24T20:42:00.000-07:002006-11-10T14:46:11.005-08:00

Well, I've spent the last couple of months dealing with job change. My contract at Advanced Telcom finished at the end of May, and I was floundering for a few weeks in that time frame, searching for work. Through an unlikely source (my wife's hair stylist), I was put in contact with the owner of a small company called Remote Satellite Systems. I am now working for that company, helping automate

Chris K Alexanderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16082480946149285233noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5731094.post-1082497690574203852004-04-19T18:08:00.000-07:002008-05-20T17:47:53.111-07:00

If you are in the North Bay Area this weekend, do not miss the performance on Saturday, April 24, by The Choral Project, who recently released a CD on Collegium USA. Details of the concert are on the Sonoma County Choral Society website. Also, I will be performing in the two-piano orchestration of Carmina Burana on April 30 and May 1. Once again, details are on the Sonoma County Choral Society

Chris K Alexanderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16082480946149285233noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5731094.post-1080598897966247712004-03-28T18:17:00.000-08:002008-05-20T17:47:53.120-07:00

I only sporadically watched the original show, and haven't seen either of the big-screen versions, but this is a great rationalization of the latest big-screen offering (from the Slate Assessment Fray). I particularly like the last two paragraphs, including, "the Scooby Snack is the transubstantiated wafer of the pop cultural eucharist." Later...

Chris K Alexanderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16082480946149285233noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5731094.post-1079566877057808222004-03-16T18:19:00.000-08:002008-05-20T17:47:53.130-07:00

Midway through Montgomery High School's production of The Music Man, the remaining 4 shows are sold out. I'd say, honestly, that we had one really good performance last week. The others were variable, one very rough, another somewhat flat, but hopefully, having full houses for the remainder of the shows will inspire the cast to perform well. In other news, be sure to keep checking out the Sonoma

Chris K Alexanderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16082480946149285233noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5731094.post-1078529573912311832004-03-04T17:32:00.000-08:002008-05-20T17:47:53.152-07:00

I will be singing this weekend (March 5 and 6) with the Sonoma County Bach Choir, in a concert called Light Out of Darkness, at Cross & Crown Lutheran in Rohnert Park. The concert also features members of the Jubilate Baroque Orchestra, one of the best period-performance ensembles in the country. It will be a very good concert! This concert set is also being recorded for later release. We are

Chris K Alexanderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16082480946149285233noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5731094.post-1078355041999723582004-03-03T18:04:00.000-08:002008-05-20T18:00:29.557-07:00

This brings back memories... Joust You need the proper plug-ins to play Joust. I've been having trouble downloading them onto my Mac.

Chris K Alexanderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16082480946149285233noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5731094.post-1077671458373163212004-02-24T17:10:00.000-08:002008-05-20T18:00:35.782-07:00

soma fm - I especially enjoy Groove Salad. Digitally Imported - Mostly vocal trance. Also, can anyone explain this really weird ad for Quiznos restaurants? I find myself very disturbed by what appears to be a screeching pair of mutilated rodents.

Chris K Alexanderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16082480946149285233noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5731094.post-1075232465021377042004-01-26T23:37:00.000-08:002008-10-30T16:29:18.546-07:00

I've been a lurking member of MoveOn, which is creating and distributing ads about the current Presidential administration, The group is trying to run a good ad during the Super Bowl, but CBS has turned it down, basically censoring the ad. This is very bad, for mass media and for the country. Check out the CBS ad situation.

Chris K Alexanderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16082480946149285233noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5731094.post-1073433362946113822004-01-01T17:56:00.000-08:002006-11-10T14:46:10.301-08:00

Chris K Alexanderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16082480946149285233noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5731094.post-1072117778723879372003-12-21T10:29:00.000-08:002008-10-30T16:29:18.616-07:00

...to Rockville, Maryland, home of my bro and his lovely wife, and their 4 (count 'em) kids. This is my first introduction to the twins, Parker and Elyssa, who were born in February. And I get to be reacquainted with my oldest nephew Ryan (who is 6) and his sister Cori (4). So Christmas should be merry on that front. Its merriment is tempered, however, by the loss of my Uncle Tony, who died

Chris K Alexanderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16082480946149285233noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5731094.post-1071083958349633402003-12-10T11:19:00.000-08:002008-10-30T16:29:18.636-07:00

It's been awhile... My wife Dana & I went to her family's for Thanksgiving in Fresno, where we both got colds. Last Friday and Saturday (as we were recovering from our colds), we both sang in the extremely successful Bach B Minor Mass concerts by the Sonoma County Bach Choir. These concerts were accompanied by the stellar Jubilate Baroque Orchestra, performing on period Baroque instruments. The

Chris K Alexanderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16082480946149285233noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5731094.post-1069374403747962072003-11-20T16:26:00.000-08:002008-10-30T16:29:18.643-07:00

I think it will be a very fine show (as Ed, as opposed to Arthur, Sullivan might say). Get more info and buy tickets here. The venue is the Merlo Theater, a small lecture hall in the Luther Burbank Center for the Performing Arts complex. The director is Ann Pool MacNab, one of the founders of the extremely fine G&S ensemble, the San Francisco Lamplighters. The music for this production will be

Chris K Alexanderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16082480946149285233noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5731094.post-1068673870032145752003-11-12T13:51:00.000-08:002008-10-30T16:29:18.652-07:00

The Mozart performances went very well overall. On Friday, we were at Resurrection Parish on Stony Point Road. After a week of rehearsals, it was a little tough to have the energy for a performance, but it went reasonably well. On Saturday at St. Vincent's in Petaluma, the performance was the best of all. The choir, rested and in an excellent acoustic, sang very well. On Sunday at Our Lady of

Chris K Alexanderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16082480946149285233noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5731094.post-1067456649405265082003-10-29T11:44:00.000-08:002008-10-30T16:29:18.664-07:00

In an attempt to more widely publicize a useful resource in the North Bay Area, I'm putting links to the North Bay Theatre Group on this blog. The site serves the North Bay theater community, both the groups and audiences. It consolidates more than a dozen theater groups in one web resource. Additionally, if you are a theater musician, please add your name to the Musicians Database on the NBTG

Chris K Alexanderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16082480946149285233noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5731094.post-1066772427911610662003-10-21T14:40:00.000-07:002008-10-30T16:29:18.677-07:00

So now I've had to amend the Tuesday Morning Quarterback link, as TMQ is persona non grata with ESPN. More precisely, the eminent Gregg Easterbrook (who writes TMQ) is PNG with the mighty Michael Eisner, head of Disney, which owns ESPN. The flap began with Easterbrook's unfortunate posting in his Easterblogg for The New Republic Online, where his last paragraph was a poorly executed attempt to

Chris K Alexanderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16082480946149285233noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5731094.post-1066241711127340582003-10-15T11:15:00.000-07:002008-10-30T16:29:18.692-07:00

Santa Rosa Players is on the verge of ceasing its search for a lyric tenor for G&S THE MIKADO. The upper management has preliminarily cast the director's husband in the romantic tenor lead role. He's a very fine tenor and performer...but...the soprano lead is in college, while the tenor is post-retirement. We are hoping a May-December (or perhaps March-November) pairing for these roles won't be

Chris K Alexanderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16082480946149285233noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5731094.post-1064954109904522762003-09-30T13:35:00.000-07:002008-10-30T16:29:18.699-07:00

Once again, not much new news, but I have been working on new links. Using my bro's example, I added an IM link. And I've pointed to some of my favorite online reading (Slate, the Volokh Conspiracy, and Tuesday Morning Quarterback). My 'six degrees of separation' with respect to Eugene Volokh is that, when I was working as an HP system manager for a large school district, I met Eugene's esteemed

Chris K Alexanderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16082480946149285233noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5731094.post-1064252874883429952003-09-22T10:47:00.000-07:002008-10-30T16:29:18.705-07:00

Not much new to report in my day life (info systems) or other life (music). 'Mad About the Movies' successfully closed this past weekend. Onward to Mozart (rehearsals for the Requiem every Monday), Bach (B Minor Mass every Wednesday) and G&S The Mikado (rehearsing once or twice a week starting in October). Find out more about the Mozart Requiem performances, or about the Bach B Minor Mass

Chris K Alexanderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16082480946149285233noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5731094.post-1063323886928124602003-09-10T16:44:00.000-07:002008-10-30T16:29:18.711-07:00

I don't know if anyone in the blogging community lives in the Santa Rosa, CA area and knows any lyric tenors, but if so... Santa Rosa Players is presenting Gilbert & Sullivan's THE MIKADO. General auditions have been held, but the company is still seeking a lyric tenor to fill the lead role of Nanki-Poo. (Technical details: the role requires a few high A's, and the tessitura hangs around

Chris K Alexanderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16082480946149285233noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5731094.post-1062706749406849422003-09-04T13:19:00.000-07:002008-10-30T16:29:18.717-07:00

I hope I can get around to blogging once a week. I'm playing for a show opening this weekend. It's a revue-style show called 'Mad About the Movies', featuring music from the movies between (roughly) 1914 and the 1940's. Clips and stills from the movies will be interspersed with explanations about the making of the movies, the movie music composers, and performances of music from the movies. The

Chris K Alexanderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16082480946149285233noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5731094.post-1061937562894651182003-08-26T15:39:00.000-07:002008-10-30T16:29:18.723-07:00

I grew up in Piedmont, CA, a somewhat upscale enclave in the East Bay, between Berkeley and Oakland. I was graduated from Stanford University in Music, and subsequently worked for the San Jose Symphony administration in various capacities for 10 years. I was also a semi-active pianist in the Peninsula and South Bay during the same time, mostly playing for community theater, choirs and new-age

Chris K Alexanderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16082480946149285233noreply@blogger.com0