Happy Birthday, Crystal!, who turns 21 today -- so... A toast! A toast! -- and who has, in the last couple of months, been on an incredible pilgrimage (superbly chronicled at crystal-uganda-2008.blogspot.com)
to Uganda
specifically, Kampala, with side trips north-east to
Mbale,
Sipi Falls,
Soroti,
Lira; and west to
Mbarara
Bushenyi,
Queen Elizabeth National Park
in the Great Rift Valley
up against the Ruwenzori Mountains
whose foothills include Semuliki National Park,
home to some of the Batwa people.... before coming back to her own home -- today! --
in San Rafael! So, as well, Happy Homecoming!
Meanwhile, two rehearsals this evening, first getting the San Francisco Composers Chamber Orchestra going at Potrero Hill Neighborhood House Theater. As John Kendell Bailey is welcomely conducting the first half of the program, am able to head several blocks downhill (both venues being along De Haro Street on Potrero Hill in SF) to
St. Gregory of Nyssa Episcopal Church for the first rehearsal, beyond excellent works of others in the ensemble, of Blake House: 1. To the Muses with Sanford Dole and sons and daughters of the choir -- just a quick double reading from 7:30-7:40pm -- and a good start, though challenging, somewhat due to meter, but more particularly in light of the second strain's accidentals: 5/8 alternating with 7/8, octatonic melody harmonized such that the mode is
E: Do Re Me Fi Sol Le La Te Do... Dorian-Lydian-Minor, one supposes!
From here, a race back up to the Nabe for Camino Real: Block Four and Variations on Americana, as part of The Sousa Variations collaboration, to be given 8pm, Staruday, June 7, at Old First Church (Van Ness and Sacramento Streets, SF, with co-collaborators contributing movements to the latter as follows
Harry Bernstein - Stars and Stripes Quodlibet
Alexis Alrich - MinSu
David Graves - Sousa Variant
Mark Alburger - Variations on Americana
Erling Wold - On the Death of David Blakely
Michael Cooke - Stripes and Stars
Loren Jones - Stars and Stripes for Desert
with more info at markalburgerevents.blogspot.com.
Returning home, cannot resist doing an instrumental recording of the choral To the Muses, so here it is...
