An Exercise in Patience

Happy Maundy Thursday! Or fourth day of Passover! Or Syrian Independence Day! Or regular Thursday!

No matter what this day is for you, it’s a meaningful one for me, because I get to talk to you people. (It’s also my last day of classes since tomorrow is Good Friday, but that’s just coincidental.) And there are a few things I want to talk to you about this week. First I’ll finally get around to the Jill Spurr Titus Scholars (I mentioned them last week to build anticipation, because I’m good at writing), and then I’ll probably mention Sean Tyrell, and then I think it’s time to drop the student-performance bomb on you for the semester. Exciting!

My friends the Jill Spurr Titus Scholars (“friends” used loosely) gave a wonderful performance on Sunday evening. The Jill Spurr Titus Scholars are a group of instrumentalists whose instruction costs are defrayed by a scholarship fund established in Jill Spurr Titus’s name, remember? Each of them got a chance to show off their individual skills, which are of course laudable, and they came together in several combinations, in addition to assembling as a whole group to open and close the program. There were pieces from all sorts of historical eras, and one of the composers, Scott Pender, was in attendance. They even had food for us afterward, which is a must.

I also got to see Sean Tyrell perform several of his Irish folk-inspired songs the Friday before, and I absolutely loved it. I’m particularly fond of Irish folk music, so that’s no surprise, but Mr. Tyrell gave a great show. He was very relaxed and informal, and I was inspired to buy his CD, which doesn’t happen to me that often. Unfortunately, I didn’t have any cash, so I had to order it online, which feels a lot less personal to me, but I guess life is like that some days.

Now, hold on to something solid, because I’m going to start throwing things at you. They’re exciting things, so don’t worry, but there also are a lot of them. As the semester winds down, the number of student ensemble performances always picks up. They have an inverse relationship that way. (I had a high school student teacher who used to sing a terrible original song about inverse relationships in Chemistry; we hated him.)

So the first thing on the schedule is the Music Department’s Capstone Festival next Wednesday at 6 p.m., which features the culmination of the senior music majors’ final projects in collaboration with Department Chair Trevor Weston. Many of my close friends are senior music majors, so support them. Then, on Saturday the 26th at 8 p.m., the Drew Chorale and Choral Union will present their concert, which includes the entire Mozart Requiem that we’ve been working on since September, so support us.

Next, on Sunday the 27th, two of my colleagues have their senior recitals: Emily Crawford’s is at 11 a.m., and Justin Rosin’s is at 2:30 p.m. They’re completely free, and both of these people are really awesome, so support them. After that (oh yeah, I’m just getting warmed up), the Jazz Ensemble performs at 8 p.m. on Monday the 28th. Remember Christopher Walters? His senior recital was a couple weeks ago? Well he’s in the Jazz Ensemble. And so is my buddy Rachel Fintz, and other cool people. So… support them.

We can do this, guys. I’m going to make every new announcement into its own paragraph so they’re easier to keep track of from here on. Deep breaths. On Tuesday the 29th at 8 p.m., Chorale will hold an open rehearsal, in case you missed our concert on the 26th. It will be nice and informal, so make sure to support us as we prepare for tour. Support us on tour, too. I’ll talk about that another time, because all this is stressful enough, I’m sure.

Ok, next. May 2nd at 8 p.m., the Madrigal Singers have our concert. If you like Renaissance polyphony and inappropriate lyrics, we’re the ones for you. President Vivian Bull supports us, so you should too!

Just a few more, folks! Feel the burn! Friday May 3rd at 2 p.m. is Flute Orchestra, and Chamber Orchestra is the same day at 7, so I put them both in one paragraph, which I realize is a violation of my promise above. I never make promises lightly, and there have been some that I’ve broken, but I swear in the words still left, we’ll have separate paragraphs, ok?

ONLY TWO LEFT!!! On May 4th at 5 p.m. (5/4 @ 5), my Opera and Musical Theatre class will present an assortment of scenes from, as you might guess, operas and musicals. I’m in three of those scenes, and we’ve been preparing them for a couple of months, so, like, I don’t know. Support us?

LAST! ANNOUNCEMENT! On Monday the 5th, 8 p.m., the a cappella groups will have their last concert, End of Classes Jam. My groups hosts it. I have a solo. Support. Us. And now we’re done. Get some rest. You deserve it after that.