...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 of a heart attack at 78 earlier this month. His passing was unexpected, but apparently swift, so it's easier in that respect (no lingering illness). But the joy of the holiday is lessened by his loss.

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 players included 3 natural (valveless) trumpeters and a spectacular natural hornist. I haven't seen any additional press on the performances, but I'll keep on the lookout.

The weekend concluded with me accompanying the last performance of Santa Rosa Players' G&S THE MIKADO. It was a very good conclusion to a somewhat troubled run. The middle weekend saw one performance cancelled, as our lead tenor got a touch of pneumonia.

Onward to the holiday season proper. My wife is getting her first shot as alto soloist in a Sing-Along Messiah this Saturday afternoon (December 13) at the Sebastopol United Methodist Church. Then, she'll conduct the Montgomery High School Winter Choral Concert the following Monday evening at 7pm at the Santa Rosa Church of the Nazarene.

And the following evening (Tuesday December 16), I'm playing for the 'Northern California Chamber Chorale' conducted by Dr. Curt Sprenger at Newman Auditorium on the Santa Rosa Junior College campus.

More news later, though hopefully not much later...