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 the annual Barclay all-district choral concert. At the Barclay, all 5 high schools in Santa Rosa perform their own pieces, and the concert concludes with all the high schools combining in a choir of about 200 voices in pieces selected by the guest conductor (Dr. Jeffrey Gemmell from Chico State this year).

Finally, this past weekend was the NorCal Honor Band and Choir concert, coincidentally at Chico State. I accompanied the choir of 80 or so, drawn from high schools all over northern California, from Sonoma County to the Oregon border, in several works conducted by Daniel Hughes, who is the music director of the Choral Project.

Now it's on to show season. I'm playing in the pit for A Little Night Music at Sonoma State at the end of February. Right after I'm done with that show, I'll be helping out Montgomery High in Kiss Me Kate. And I have more productions lined up after that.

At the same time, I'm still involved in the choral program at Sonoma State. The concerts this spring, which take place late April through May, are all-Mozart (because of his 250th birthday that recently passed). The small Chamber Singers ensemble will perform 4 of Mozart's Short Masses (Missa Brevis) from his time in Salzburg (the first is K. 49, which Mozart wrote at the age of 12). The SSU Chorus and Bach Choir will perform both Vespers (the Solemn and the Dominican), as well as Ave Verum Corpus. Finally the Bach Choir will perform the Mass in C minor. All of the concerts will feature period instrument accompaniment with professional soloists.