Last night, I dressed up as a very large Dorothy Gale (thanks, Mom!).  The Indiana Wind Symphony, in which I play the saxophone, had a Halloween concert at a local middle school.  The entire [professional] ensemble dressed up in costumes to play some really fun music.  The first half of the concert was movie music from Gone With the Wind, Harry Potter & the Chamber of Secrets, The Wizard of Oz, and Star Wars.  During intermission, there was a costume contest for the audience.  The second half was more serious (but still Halloween-themed) literature.

There was another Dorothy onstage with me - my costume was better, and I wasn’t wearing a wig, but she had a REAL dog in her basket.  A real dog!  On the stage while we played!  Dorothy costumes were popular…  A little girl in a Dorothy costume won the audience contest, and when she came onto the stage to get her prize, the tuba players behind me reached up and patted me on the shoulders, saying, “Better luck next year!”  I told them that next year, I’d have a dog, too!

Pictures probably won’t be appearing anywhere on the internet.  =)  At least, none of me.

Anyway, I’m trying to convince the folks who run our website (and haven’t been interested in my help, even though I do this professionally) to start posting/podcasting our music.  I think it’d be a better way to get our stuff heard, and possibly generate more interest in the ensemble.  I know they make professional-level recordings of each concert - which sound a heckuva lot better than my husband’s little mp3 recorder’s recordings.  Even with his little recorder, though, you can tell that we don’t play like an amateur community ensemble.  For one thing, we’re in tune!  For another, we actually play challenging music.  It’s too bad David’s recordings sound so muffled and miss all the mids, or I’d just start having him record concerts and post the music myself.  =)

Anyway, family - if you want to listen to the concert (again, not a good recording at all), you can go here: www.aukerman.org/IWS.

I LOVE packages.  If you want to make my day, my week, my month - send me a package.  I’m yours.  =)

I just came back from that long, 2-day drive to find a package in my mailbox - for ME!

Naphtali, this really neat girl who spent the summer slumming it in our ‘hood (and just moved to Chicago, much to our dismay) sent me some you’ve-gotta-hear-these CDs.  We’d been talking about music and found that our tastes are remarkably similar.  She’s more knowledgeable, though, and asked if I’d heard much Snow Patrol.  I’ve heard some and loved what I’ve heard, but don’t know much of their music.  She said that sometime she’d hook me up - and this week was the week.  =)  She sent two SP albums (Eyes Open and Final Straw), and two Reindeer Section albums (Y’all Get Scared Now and Son of Evil Reindeer).

I really dig the RS CDs - check ‘em out if you get a chance.

David preached tonight.  You can hear him at the Woodruff Place Baptist Church website, here.  (You can also visit the music page and hear him (and me) sing a few times.)

Last night, we had some good friends over (11 total?) to watch Jesus Christ Superstar with us.  Our pastor talked a little about it before we actually got around to turning it on.  There were a few kinds of people there - one kind had never seen the movie, so it needed a little introduction, and another kind had seen it many times and was likely to be silly throughout.  The pastor saying something at the beginning put everyone into a somber enough mood that we could watch the movie and think about its subject rather than its execution.  (No pun intended.)

Dave’s Dad, David tells me, has listened to the record/CD every year on Good Friday for as long as he can remember.  I like the idea - we might watch this DVD every Good Friday.  It was a good way to spend the night.

 This is great news, and a great idea for reaching a new generation…  Anyone wanna go to the movies?

Met to Broadcast Live Operas Into Movie Theaters
By DANIEL J. WAKIN
Published: September 6, 2006

Coming soon to your multiplex in the mall: bel canto fireworks and bass-baritone rumbles, love duets and orchestral colors, divas, tenors and trills.

The Metropolitan Opera announced today that it would begin broadcasting live performances into movie theaters across the United States, Canada and Britain, rubbing shoulders with professional wrestling and rock concerts.

The broadcasts are part of a strategy by the Met’s new general manager, Peter Gelb, to widen the house’s appeal by branching out into new media. The house also said today that it was opening up its vast archive of historic radio broadcast performances for streaming and downloading. Read the rest of this entry »