8th June 2008 - Chorus Oz

Memory dump:

Trackwork!
0840 Cityrail bus to Strathfield, train from Strathfield to Central, ChorusOz choristers on train from Central to Circular Quay.

0945 Misty rain. Could have walked underground, but decided not to take the risk as I was unfamiliar with it, and didn't want to get lost so close to when rehearsal started.

1000 Rehearsal in the SOH. Roll call; there are people from overseas. Brett totally forgot about the ACT and pretended to hide under Ben's piano. Injured Chorister. Long warmup; supercalifragilisticexpialidocious was one. Katie and Ben were the accompanists. Vox was asked by Brett to move out of our seats and stand together for their bits; he initially placed us behind the basses and tenors who were seated behind the stage, but realised that they were all taller than us when they were standing. Consequently were placed in a position that turned out to be next to the orchestra's French horns. The choir's mission is to scare the bejeezus out of Brett's mother, if she ends up coming to this performance. It's apparently not hard.

12?? Break. Saw people setting out sandwiches and drinks. Was told they were for lunch.

13?? Lunch. 4 triangles of tuna + lettuce + mayonnaise, 2 bottles of orange juice. No tshirt for Vox singers; they'll have them for us by the break in the afternoon rehearsal. Familiar face of an old man - member of Newcastle choir, he and some others were wondering why I seemed familiar. He was at SIV; said he'd pass the word around. Saw a variety of other SIVers too; Gabby was there and hugged me (eww). Chatted about life with Chris (f) - job, manager vs narky customers, primary school choir experiences.

1400 More rehearsal. Tenors keep rushing in 2nd movement; really irritated. Backlights were turned on, but we were told to close up gaps in the middle of rows so I got moved to where I could actually see my music. Don't think the backlights really made any difference. Noticed they were off again later in the day. Ben bounces. I suspect Brett changed the translation for "Were diu werlt alle min"; his: "If everything in the world were mine, my only wish would be for the queen of England to sit on my lap." I think it's: "If all the world were mine, from the Sea to the Rhine, I would give it all up to have the queen of England lie in my arms." Which may mean to court or even marry the queen of England.

1500? Break? Orchestra were there when we got back in. Got tshirt, it's too long, but otherwise it's fine. Pink text on black top. Ben was relocated to the Celeste, with Katie and Jo on the pianos. Soloists were there too. Was moved closer to the strings (hurrah no more massive French horn noise), and the line was angled differently; was pulled over by Chris by the sleeve, to the numerous chuckles of the rest of the choir. Must pay more attention, missed some entries too! Was told to move at a different time, because walking through a solo sounds bad. Didn't rehearse it though. Must sing "fit res amarissima" (Amor volat undique) in a knowing, yet innocent way. Hmmm. Infatuation over Brett is coming back; seeing the image on the screen or his form from afar does not trigger it, but since Vox are positioned closer, behind the orchestra, one can see his actual face, and ... *sigh* At least it is not as intense this time. Ben covers his ears. Were briefed on stands and sits.

1700 End of rehearsal! Spent some time chatting to a Sydney Philharmonia Choirs intern from Germany, who came over for 3 months because any hope of tertiary education there requires having done an internship, he was bumming around the house doing nothing, figured he may as well go international rather than stay at home, gain some independence etc., and needed some time away from his gf (45 sq metre apartment, one living room, one bedroom). Gave him my CD, which he will hopefully give to Maryana.

1750 Time to get into the boxes for 1800 start to concert. Audience was full! Ben had coat-tails. Tucked tshirt into pants and folded them over the top so it looked like it fit.

1800 Concert! Brett decided not to stick to the first stand/sit, and instead talked to the audience about the piece, and introduced Injured Chorister to the audience as our mascot, who arrived uninjured, broke her ankle while registering, and is still participating. Also, he asked the ACTers to stand up since he'd missed them this morning. There was like, one.
The beginning was fantastic.
Tenors still rushed, particularly the drinking song. In the end, Brett just gave up and let them go. He gave me (Vox) this knowing wink when giving us the cue for the last line of Amor volat undique. It triggered the infatuation a second time, I couldn't help grinning back at him. *sigh* I had to run the last few steps of getting down the stairs for the Tempus est iocundum, and just made it in time for Vox's entry with the Soprano soloist. Brett was less animated during the concert compared to the rehearsal, although he still swayed at times while conducting.
Lacked dynamics in the softer range. I am satisfied with my own performance, didn't miss any entries, although I did sing a few wrong words, hopefully they won't be noticed on the recording. I also still have my voice!

1930? Met up with some SIVers to eat chips (and I, my sandwich) in the Opera Bar for 20min while waiting for more SIVers. Final group: Damien (ex-MuscUTS bass, had a car and blue hair at SIV), Ryan (AUCS firespinner), Alice (Ryan's other half), Natalie (sister of Ryan), Jono(? SUMS), another SUMS person whose name I can't remember, and Hubert (Philharmonia Symphony Choir bass, ex-SUMS). Ate at Wagamama's. Was given a 10c coin by Ryan to practice rolling it over my fingers.
Drank cocktails at the Intercontinental Hotel bar, named the Cortile. Chatted with Hubert, asked him some questions about the Symphony choir and audition process. Ryan kept blinding people with camera flash. The subject of Gabby came up, and her SIV screaming antics while the choir was warming up in the Town Hall; Damien walked her around in circles until Richard HG arrived and shook her until she calmed down.
While walking to Hubert's car, Damien told us third-hand info about SCUNA politics. Seems they've become an undergrad choir when a number of new people got onto the council redefined SCUNA and the constitution. The older members who were kicked out formed their own choir, but didn't manage to get association approval from the uni, so they can't be a member of AICSA.
Hubert drove Damien and I to Newtown in an attempt to find another bar, but the place was closing so we ended up at a cake shop named Mickey's instead. Very expensive, but tasty cakes. Chatted about the money involved with the Chorus Oz concert, Ryan and Alice's plans. Ryan remembers all of the Epitaph of John Jaybird, from SIV. He also had the "Were diu werlt alle min" movement stuck in his head.

00?? Paid and left with Hubert, who gave me a lift back home, despite being located on the North Shore with his parents in St Ives. Chatted while we walked back to his car. He spent 5yrs in Europe, employed in Marketing in Switzerland and the UK. He got back into singing while overseas, having had a hiatus from it after graduating from usyd. Didn't talk much in the car, mostly listened to the radio and hummed along a lot. He seems to have difficulty driving in one lane (keeps running onto the catseyes) and is lazy with roundabouts. Cantonese, had a piano teacher who lived somewhere around Epping.