I know this is late...

As promised, I've got the low-down from Sunday's recital. I know it's a bit late, but my final English comp paper has consumed my life this week. And it's done!

To my happiness, the recital went very well! The majority of our audience didn't belong in the classical music devotee category, so they enjoyed the wide variety of music we performed, getting a taste of what music from all of the major eras sounds like. Caleb and I really didn't intend for our program to fall into place like that, but it did, and it worked very well.

Caleb, of course, played beautifully. Having played the violin a little myself (I'm not a good player at all) I can understand and appreciate all of the coordination and flexibility that goes into good violin playing. As I mentioned before, the Bach Ciaconna sounded amazing in the church, but the "Gypsy Airs" by Sarasate got the audience into a frenzy; they just went nuts.

I was especially pleased with the way I sang my English-language pieces. The audience really seemed to like "The trees on the mountains" from Susannah, which was one of my favorites on the program. I was very happy with how I sang "Parto, ma tu ben mio", and felt that the coloratura was smooth and in place. I can't wait to sing this aria again, and I hope to sing the whole role someday.

I had great fun working with Dale, our accompanist, a very talented and hysterically funny man who can sight-read Rachmaninoff like it's nothing. The church was fairly well filled up, both with familiar faces and new ones. Caleb mentioned that we should make a summer recital an annual event, an idea that I agree with. We might be repeating this program later in Indianapolis, but that's still in the works and not a for-sure happening.

However, I consider this recital a success. I was happy with how I sang and pleased with my accomplishments this summer, especially "Parto, ma tu ben mio", one of the hardest arias I've learned so far. I've vocally taken a few days off, getting my mind back into learning mode for what I need to prepare for this fall.