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soc_puppetOkay, it's official: spring has definitely sprung. And I'm not saying this because the groundhog did whatever he's supposed to do that signals an early spring, and it's already past March 21st; and I'm also not saying this because I've got a nice post-nasal drip going (which isn't helping my singing much); and I'm definitely not saying it because this is Iowa, and an April snowstorm isn't so much not unheard of as it is a 25% probability most years. No, I'm saying it because I recently saw one of the harbingers of spring. That's right: the first mosquito of spring. (What, did you think I was going to say 'robin'? No way, those things stay over winter with us, man.) Sadly, I was unable to squish it. One can only hope that it will not have too many offspring as a result.
And now, Quire stuff ¦D
Went in early on Sunday, as I'm on this little artsy committee for the group and needed to help out. Ended up making a few suggestions that were all around percieved as helpful, which made me feel validated in being part of the team ♥
I, uh, also didn't quite get around to finishing my hero statement yet (f-fail), oops, but I have until Watanuki's birthday for that. (And Sakura's birthday, and Sakura-hime's birthday, and Fujitaka-no-Syaoran's birthday, and the Gauger's wedding anniversary, and... Yeah, you get the picture.) And I was talking about that, and man, I was just glad it was Sunday, yanno? Because, uh, might've sparked some interest there. Sooooo giving up emoticons next year instead.
During our rehersal - right before our break, actually - the topic of GALA came up. For those of you who are unaware, GALA is this giant multi-national GLBT(QA) chorus get-together that's held once every four years, which lasts about a week or nine days; every group gets a chance to sing on a fairly good stage, and since at least half of the groups that show up are gay men's choruses, it's also the one convention you may ever go to where the lines are for the mens' room, not the womens'. The next GALA is in '08, mid-July in Miami, Florida, and our group is planning to go. And a good fifteen minutes was basically devoted to favorite memories from the Quire's '04 trip (to Montreal, where they sang in French - we're following this up by singing in Spanish in Florida ^_~). I'm going to record what I remember of the moments they shared.
One of the favorite memories shared by the entire group that went in '04 was of a particular song that was part of their set. It was the aforementioned French song (though damned if I know the title, or anything else about it), and they apparently pulled it off beautifully. They played a recording of it for us, and it was a good ten seconds after they stopped singing before the applause started, and that is grand praise indeed. They got a standing ovation, which was not particularly rare for final songs, but definitely so for songs in the middle of a set, which this was. All the Quire members who were present had this slightly faraway look as they remembered it, too, and I can definitely relate; it reminded me of how I felt after playing the fourth movement of Dvorak's New World Symphony in Hancher for the mini-Grammy. *can tell that story, too*
After that, the stories got a little funnier. Linda - one of our directors - told us that immediately after leaving the stage, the group was ordered to pose for a group picture. Several, in fact, and she had to go back the next day and pick out the one that looked the best/had the fewest people blinking. The guy behind her kinda tapped her on the shoulder and said, "You're from that Iowa group, aren't you?" Linda admitted that she was. The man, with this look of great drama, said, "I hate you." As it turs out, he was the leader of the Heartland Gay Men's Chorus (from Kansas City, I believe, and apparently very well known and respected), and he was majorly peeved, because this little nobody group from Iowa of all places had come in, blown the audience away, and now everyone was talking about them, instead.
This was followed by other members of the group saying how, the rest of the trip, people would come up to them and compliment their singing, and how all the other groups seemed amazed that we weren't audition-only, etc. They talked about how one of them met a couple who absolutely loved their singing and asked where they were based, and it turned out that they'd been living in the same town for years and had completely missed us. They talked about asking to sing in a restaurant, and the waitress who was somewhat dubious about letting them, and then, when they had, came up to them and assured them that yes, they could sing. One in particular remembered how Deone, a Quire member notorious for needing strong light to read, got onto the stage for the performance and said, "Figures; finally enough light, and it's all memorized."
Anyway, GALA sounds just fantastic, and I can hardly wait to go myself ♥ As for the rest of you out there, you have the rest of the year to find a GLBT chorus of some sort and join, if you want to meet me/us there? Just a thought.
Next meeting is going to be dedicated to the financial end of the GALA trip - fares and whatnot. I'll proooobably be letting Mom pay most of the attention to that ^^a Though I'll do my best to keep at least half an ear open, just in the off-chance that I manage to become independant between now and then. The rest of me, though, will probably be daydreaming about hooking up with friends who may or may not be there when I am. What can I say? I'm a dork for meetups.
And now, Quire stuff ¦D
Went in early on Sunday, as I'm on this little artsy committee for the group and needed to help out. Ended up making a few suggestions that were all around percieved as helpful, which made me feel validated in being part of the team ♥
I, uh, also didn't quite get around to finishing my hero statement yet (f-fail), oops, but I have until Watanuki's birthday for that. (And Sakura's birthday, and Sakura-hime's birthday, and Fujitaka-no-Syaoran's birthday, and the Gauger's wedding anniversary, and... Yeah, you get the picture.) And I was talking about that, and man, I was just glad it was Sunday, yanno? Because, uh, might've sparked some interest there. Sooooo giving up emoticons next year instead.
During our rehersal - right before our break, actually - the topic of GALA came up. For those of you who are unaware, GALA is this giant multi-national GLBT(QA) chorus get-together that's held once every four years, which lasts about a week or nine days; every group gets a chance to sing on a fairly good stage, and since at least half of the groups that show up are gay men's choruses, it's also the one convention you may ever go to where the lines are for the mens' room, not the womens'. The next GALA is in '08, mid-July in Miami, Florida, and our group is planning to go. And a good fifteen minutes was basically devoted to favorite memories from the Quire's '04 trip (to Montreal, where they sang in French - we're following this up by singing in Spanish in Florida ^_~). I'm going to record what I remember of the moments they shared.
One of the favorite memories shared by the entire group that went in '04 was of a particular song that was part of their set. It was the aforementioned French song (though damned if I know the title, or anything else about it), and they apparently pulled it off beautifully. They played a recording of it for us, and it was a good ten seconds after they stopped singing before the applause started, and that is grand praise indeed. They got a standing ovation, which was not particularly rare for final songs, but definitely so for songs in the middle of a set, which this was. All the Quire members who were present had this slightly faraway look as they remembered it, too, and I can definitely relate; it reminded me of how I felt after playing the fourth movement of Dvorak's New World Symphony in Hancher for the mini-Grammy. *can tell that story, too*
After that, the stories got a little funnier. Linda - one of our directors - told us that immediately after leaving the stage, the group was ordered to pose for a group picture. Several, in fact, and she had to go back the next day and pick out the one that looked the best/had the fewest people blinking. The guy behind her kinda tapped her on the shoulder and said, "You're from that Iowa group, aren't you?" Linda admitted that she was. The man, with this look of great drama, said, "I hate you." As it turs out, he was the leader of the Heartland Gay Men's Chorus (from Kansas City, I believe, and apparently very well known and respected), and he was majorly peeved, because this little nobody group from Iowa of all places had come in, blown the audience away, and now everyone was talking about them, instead.
This was followed by other members of the group saying how, the rest of the trip, people would come up to them and compliment their singing, and how all the other groups seemed amazed that we weren't audition-only, etc. They talked about how one of them met a couple who absolutely loved their singing and asked where they were based, and it turned out that they'd been living in the same town for years and had completely missed us. They talked about asking to sing in a restaurant, and the waitress who was somewhat dubious about letting them, and then, when they had, came up to them and assured them that yes, they could sing. One in particular remembered how Deone, a Quire member notorious for needing strong light to read, got onto the stage for the performance and said, "Figures; finally enough light, and it's all memorized."
Anyway, GALA sounds just fantastic, and I can hardly wait to go myself ♥ As for the rest of you out there, you have the rest of the year to find a GLBT chorus of some sort and join, if you want to meet me/us there? Just a thought.
Next meeting is going to be dedicated to the financial end of the GALA trip - fares and whatnot. I'll proooobably be letting Mom pay most of the attention to that ^^a Though I'll do my best to keep at least half an ear open, just in the off-chance that I manage to become independant between now and then. The rest of me, though, will probably be daydreaming about hooking up with friends who may or may not be there when I am. What can I say? I'm a dork for meetups.
