Christmas Eve 2005
Christmas Eve 2005 consisted of singing, singing, and more singing...then eating, gifts, and eating some more.
My friend Pat from choir and I sang in the soprano section of the Mercy Hospital choir. We practiced for about an hour and a half and then Dan gave us break time until Mass started. The songs were simply beautiful, and included Still, Still, Still, Ave Maria (Norbet), O Little Town of Bethlehem, Away in a Manger, If Now My Mind was Still.During the Liturgy, O Come, All Ye Faithful, Psalm 98, the Festival Alleluia, Rejoice, O Israel, Rejoice, Silent Night, and Joy to the World were sung.
Later that evening the St. Paul Cathedral choir practiced for about an hour before presenting the prelude music for the Mass, which included Gaudete, My Dancing Day (arrangement by Near), and Hark! The Herald Angels Sing. Bishop Wuerl celebrated Mass, and his homily focussed on making a difference. The order of worship included these pieces sung by the choir:
O Come, all Ye Faithful
Psalm 96
Chepponis's Christmastime Alleluia
Mary's Magnificat
Acclamations from Proulx's Community Mass
Agnus Dei from Isele's Holy Cross Mass
The First Nowell
Where Shepherds Lately Knelt
Silent Night
Joy to the World
The brass ensemble joined us for various selections, and also played Gabrieli's O Magnum Mysterium as a prelude. Adam played modern variations on Noel by Dupre and Dethier's variations on Adeste Fidelis, as well as In dir ist Freude by Bach as a postlude.
After Mass, I met up with Dad, who was involved with the Mass broadcast on TV. Dad and I ran into Edwin and Malou. We took pictures, and then headed to the family gathering, where we followed the family tradition of opening gifts and eating. 
This year, the opening of the gifts was sandwiched between dining! We had various dips, breads and crackers; ham; clementine tangerines, grapes, and cheeses, and Sarris chocolates. Here is a picture of us eating.
Then, the fun of opening gifts began,
as well as the fun of karaoke chez Albas.
Kelly's arrival day, December 2005
Kelly arrived this past Friday evening from NYC. Earlier that day, I volunteered for Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre's production of The Nutcracker. There was a new volunteer that evening, so I showed her the ropes and we also had a chance to watch the production. Her daughter was one of the PBT students performing that evening. Erin Halloran was Marie, Jaibin Pan was the Sugarplum Cavalier, and Ying Li was the Sugarplum Fairy. Alan Obuzor--a corps de ballet dancer whose career progression I have been following since I met his family--danced in the Arabian Dance, which had limited leaps; powerful, floating leaps are a hallmark of Mr. Obuzor's dancing. I had the pleasure to meet Marianna Tcherkassky, the ballet mistress, at intermission. Nancy, our volunteer coordinator, noted that we had some times of high activity at the boutique; and all of the volunteers stayed until the last balletomanes departed. It was a joy to watch, but the lack of live music was noticed.
That night, after dining on shrimp and crabmeat with William and Marissa; Dad, Mom, and I went to the musical Forever Plaid. My friend, Sue, mentioned that one leaves with toes tapping and a song in one's heart. Fifteen minutes into the production, Mom was naming off song titles before they were sung. Mom noted that it took a few songs for the group to warm up, but they sounded fine for the rest of the show. Audience participation was key, and several pieces made famous by Harry Belafonte were sung with the audience; as well as a woman from the audience played "Heart and Soul" for a few measures. Mom and Dad enjoyed the show, especially since the music was a collection of oldies and goodies from the 1950's and 1960's.
When we returned, Kelly had arrived from the City, via a carpool, and we were all at home sitting and laughing and talking. It was good to have most of us home.
Decorating Sacred Heart Church
Yesterday evening at seven my coworker, Vickie, and I helped decorate Sacred Heart Church in Shadyside. We tested the light strings, then placed the strands of lights on the two pine trees, with the help of a tall ladder.
Some of the children introduced us to the places where one could see the altar, wall carvings of an angel, etc. from behind the altar; as well as showing us a marble bas relief with political undertones. The painted wood buttressing would remind any elementary student of the dining hall in a Harry Potter novel/movie.
After we decorated the church, the lights twinkled, the poinsettiae added dramatic complementary touches of color, and the wreaths decorated the ends of the pews.
The creche was in a room filled with pines and firs, filling the backdrop of the room as well as one's senses upon entering the room with the scent of conifers.
We took a break with cookies and drink in the library and marvelled at the diversity of books housed on the shelves, both the Catholic and the secular.
We were fortunate to have a team of students (led by Ian and Kate) testing the light strands near the end of the evening for us. We would not have finished at the time we did without their help. Katie and her mom provided music for the evening, which made the decorating more pleasant.
Choir Christmas Carolling
Yesterday after Sunday Mass some of us from choir went carolling. A group of us met at Union Grill for lunch, and proceeded to meet the rest of the group at the first stop in our carolling outing--the Residence on Fifth. We had a nice-sized audience who listened to various traditional carols, as well as Comfort, comfort, O my People. Our group progressed to Family House, where we performed on the second-story mezzanine. The sound there was particularly good. We were fortunate enough to have Don there to direct us. This is an fun event I have organized in the past, and would like to continue to organize next year.
Mercy Hospital Choir, CAC Christmas Party
Pat from the soprano section invited me to sing at the Mercy Hospital Christmas Eve Mass. The practice was this past Saturday. Right before we departed from practice, a wonderful selection, Rejoice O Israel, Rejoice was practiced. Both Pat and I agreed that the selection was particularly moving.
I returned from practice and I got ready for the CAC Christmas Mass, Dinner, and Christmas Dance. Fr. Joe arrived, and Bill, Jen, and I provided vocals for the guitar accompaniment for Mass. After a dinner of green salad and fruit compote, fish with vegetables and twice-baked potatoes, peppermint cheesecake was served (delicious!). We watched the year's slide show organized by Chris. Several people at our table were featured in the slide show. Then, the dancing started, including the electric slide! Our table's group had particular fun with the ABBA song and YMCA. I had a chance to catch up with a number of people from the club whom I haven't seen in a while.
Grading party, Jess's Choir Party
This Friday, we had a grading party for entering BioSci 50 grades. There were about 15 of us who participated in the potluck lunch. There were delicious salads, hummous, dolmas, 7-layer dip, appetizer trays, pastas and casseroles (Carole's alfredo dish was worth the wait!) and the never-ending desserts, including Meredith's cookies!, brownies, and my first go at flan, thanks to mom's help.
My office mate, Vickie, and I entered grades in the Hughes' computer lab, checking and double-checking each other. We parted at the end of the day wishing each other good, relaxing holidays.
_________
Friday evening Jess hosted a choir party at her place. Everyone brought good food, we all had a chance to hang out as a group without having to sing together. The party evolved into a birthday party for Don, with Freda providing the cake from Oakmont Bakery.
Measure for Measure- Royal Shakespeare Company in Pittsburgh
This Wednesday my friend from college, Debbie, and I went out to dinner at our favorite Thai restaurant for some yellow tofu curry and pad thai, then to see Measure for Measure performed by the Royal Shakespeare company at the O'Reilly Theater. As suggested by my friend Kelly, we arrived a half hour before the performance to observe the actors getting dressed and putting on their makeup. We had ideal, front-row balcony seats. The costumes, instruments, music, and young male actors as women made it a true Shakespearean period piece. The play is usually performed as a dark work, whereas this production has a lighter tone; provided by intonation, phrasing, and nonverbal cues. The part of the Friar was acted particularly comedically. By the end of the play, the audience was howling with laughter at some of the lines, and there was even audience participation as the actors called out to some audience members. As the play closed, the musicians performed while the actors leapt, shouting joyously, while exchanging looks of camaraderie. It was an absolutely brilliant evening of this Shakespearean work!
As we departed, we ran into some friends from FAAP, who asked after mom and dad. It was simply a wonderful, enjoyable evening!
In preparation...
It is Advent and we're all getting ready for the holiday. Mom and Dad have decorated their co-op apartment to the closest approximation to the magic of Grandview, our home where we grew up in Ohio. There is a multi-colored, twinkling parol in the window. We've been preparing with decorations, food, and our dress. The picture above is one of Mom in her holiday dress and decorated living room.
This next picture marks the end of househunting for William and Marissa. They plan on moving into a nice 80+ year old home with stained glass windows soon.
St. Lucy's day
St. Lucy is my patron saint for Confirmation. My maternal grandma was my Confirmation sponsor. (I sure do miss her. She was the first family member whose funeral I attended.) I selected the name Lucy because she is the patron saint of eyesight, her name means "light," and my kindergarten teacher from the Bronx YMYWHA was a beautiful person whose name was Lucy. I wonder how she is today.
I started the day off by attending Mass at St. Paul's Cathedral. Dad was there, for the television ministry; Fr. Tom said the Mass; Sr. Marietta was the reader; Don provided the music ministry; and John was one of the Eucharistic ministers. I saw some of my friends there, too. After Mass, I watched the man change the candles for fresh candles. While trying to decide which candle to light, Dad said, "Light that one. It is beautiful." So I did, and I said a prayer. One of the best things about Church (which I have appreciated since a child) is lighting candles. You can depend on your prayers rising up like the fine, thin trails of smoke up to Heaven.
After work and dinner I went to a concert by Oakland Catholic and Central Catholic High Schools. The program included some instrumental pieces by the woodwind ensemble, a violin/piano piece, and an alto sax piece. The choral groups performed, including medleys of Christmas music, the Carol of the Bells, the Holly and the Ivy, and O, how a Rose e'er Blooming.
My building's Holiday party was next, and I caught up with friends in my building whom I haven't seen for a while. I also met up with some of the newer residents whom I haven't had a chance to talk with much.
Labels: celebration, children, Choir, Christmas, Church, diocese of Pittsburgh, light, prayer, St. Lucy, St. Paul Cathedral, teaching
CAC--Jen's House Party
Yesterday, I went to a Catholic Alumni Club house party at my friend Jen's house. There was good food, (including two kinds of lasagna), and Jen and I decided to have carolling on her steps. A group sat on the steps, and we were joined by Mike Kernan, the club president. We sang a number of songs, ending with the Twelve Days of Christmas. A good time was had by all. I met someone there who had travelled from Morgentown, West Virginia!
As Ken, Maggie Mae, and I left the party for our respective homes, we commented on the view of the night sky and named off some of the visible constellations, despite a 1/3 waxing moon. We saw Orion and the Pleiedes, and Casseiopeia's chair, among other constellations. It was a nice party.
Heinz Chapel Choir--Music for the 2005 Holiday Season
I got a ticket for the University of Pittsburgh's Heinz Chapel Choir "Music for the 2005 Holiday Season" Concert this past Friday, in the evening. I saw Jay from the tenor section of choir, so we sat together on the center aisle by the windows that included Ben Franklin, Emily Dickinson, and Abigail Adams. We sat in the nave section, and the choir sang the program first from the loft, then stood under the windows of the nave (which were illumnated), then part of the choir sang from the altar, then the whole choir filled the choir stalls and altar.
The program included:
Organ prelude: Wie Schon Leuchtet Der Morgenstern (N. Gade)
O come, O come Emmanuel (Goldsmith)
Lo, how a rose e'er blooming (Praetorius/Sandstrom)
Salve Regina (Eriksson/Jansson) dedicated to the mothers in Brazil
Jesus Christ, the apple tree (E. Poston)
Choir and Audience--Hark! The herald angels sing
Organ interlude: Of the father's love begotten (W. Held)
Kyrie (J. Rheinberger)
Ipharadisi (arr. J. Ulrich)
Shcho to za predivo (arr. V. Barvinskiy)
Past Three O'Clock (arr. C. Wood)
Hanerot Halalu (arr.j. Goldsmith)
Choir and Audience--Silent Night
So many angels (G. Walker)
Who's that baby? (J. Althouse)
Sleep (E. Whitacre)
Fum, fum, fum (arr. Kirk Mechem)
Caritas et amor (R. Stroope)
Have youself a merry little Christmas (Arr. P. Gritton)
Mary had a baby (arr. C. Courtney)
Choir and Audience--Joy to the World
Organ Postlude: Drummer Boy/Pat-a-pan
The selections were traditional, some medieval chant pieces, and from Europe, S. Africa, Israel, America and Spiritual pieces.
Afterwards, I saw Jen and her sister, Kim. I hadn't seen Jen since the CAC trip to Phipps. We went to get hot chai and Almond Joys from Kiva Han, and ended the evening with jokes, an incipient stand-up routine (with mittens--you had to be there), discussion of some of the topics I lecture with my students, and some mirth, and seriousness.
CMU Holiday Concert
This Friday I went with my neighbors Rita, Joe, and Tina to the Carnegie Mellon Holiday Concert at the College of Fine Arts Great Hall. The university's Concert Choir, Repertory Chorus, and Philharmonic Orchestra performed. We arrived a little after eleven o'clock, and I called William to invite him to join us. We sat in the south part of the Great Hall right behind the kettle drums and bass. Robert Page conducted the following program, simulcast on WQED:
We wish you a merry Christmas (Trad. arr. by A. Harris)
Hodie Christus natus est (Sweelinck)
Cantata 191: Gloria in excelsis Deo (Bach)
O come, O come Emmanuel (Trad. arr. by A. Harris)
En natus est Emmanuel (Locklair)
Introit (Finzi)
O magnum mysterium & Hodie Christus natus est (Poulenc)
God rest ye, merry gentlemen (Trad. arr. by A. Harris)
It's beginning to look a lot like Chirstmas (M. Wilson)
Winter Song (Bullard)
March of the Toys from Babes in Toyland (V. Herbert)
White Christmas (Berlin, arr. by A. Harris)
All of us enjoyed the program, especially a little girl sitting behind the percussion section who was directing the Herbert piece.
We went for lunch at Il Valleto after (regrettably, William could not join us, as he had much work to complete before the end of the week. He has been trying to get me to try Il Valleto for a while, though, and insisted that I go), where I enjoyed a thick tuna steak with salad and vegetables.
Pastoral Council
This past Wednesday was the first meeting of Pastoral Council for Elaine and me. We enjoyed good food and fellowship, celebrated Fr. Donald Breier's birthday, and progressed through the meeting with Dave, who led the group through the agenda items. It was nice to join the group, meet some of the members, and learn about upcoming calendar items for the Centenary celebration of the Cathedral.
The color of minerals and inorganic pigments
This Monday I went to an art show opening from class projects on "The color of minerals and inorganic pigments" by art and chemistry students at Carnegie Mellon University. Catalina Achim and Clayton Merrell taught the course and students learned about the science behind various palettes through art history and prepared their own paint to make paintings using the various palettes (prehistoric, medieval, impressionist, 20th and 21st Century). The spectra of various pH indicators was explored by one group, one student used cabbage juice indicator to make a pixellated portrait from thin tubes of the liquid indicator at various pHs. One team used thermal-sensitive and fluorescent pigments in their painting. A group prepared verdigris using various pH solutions on copper surfaces.
I thoroughly enjoyed the exhibit, discussing the work with the students, and meeting the course instructors. Both my undergraduate and graduate theses dealt with inorganic pigments in heterogeneous systems. I still continue to be interested in inorganic pigments and spectral reflectance changes as indicators of change in a system.
FAAP Christmas Party 2005, Nationality Room Open House, Duquesne University's Advent and Christmas Concert 2005
Yesterday, Mom, Dad, and I went to the FAAP Christmas 2005 Dinner. Lots of good food was served, and fellowship was shared. My coworker, Jay, brought his family there. There were a lot of events for the younger set. I met Eliseo Art Silva, the Filipino muralist, there while he was doing face painting. I had a chance to tell the FAAP president, Nenette, that I know a friend of hers--my supervisor at work, Carole! I found out that our web manager is moving to Florida this month. Mom and Dad were Lolo at Lola for mano po.
Today before Mass we organized several projects for choir, including carolling and a house party at Jess's place. After Mass, Dad and I went to the Open House for Nationality Rooms at the University of Pittsburgh. I met up with Eliseo in the future Philippine Nationality Room again. I saw Warren and his children and nieces at the Early American Room. The Quo Vadis guides toured us around the room and let us go up the secret passageway to the family's upstairs room.
Mid-afternoon, I went to Duquesne University's Advent and Christmas Concert. Adam played the organ prelude, and there were pieces from as far away as Kenya and as old as a Gregorian Chant. Several pieces had all three choirs (along with the Cathedral-filled church) singing in unison. All the selections, save the last two, were sung without sheet music. I spoke with Joe and Tina and their friend about this, and we were all extremely impressed.
Paul Rusesabagina
After Debbie, her friend and coworker, Leslie, and I had dinner near campus; we went to an evening to raise awareness on global genocide. The evening started with the campus African drumming group accompanying a slide presentation on the problems of genocide globally in the past century. A speaker from Hillel started his introduction for Paul Rusesabagina with a story from the Talmud about how hope in the world is intergenerational. Paul Rusesabagina, the unassuming hotel manager who created a refuge in his hotel while genocide was occurring in Rwanda in the 1990s, gave a day-by day account of his family's actions during the height of the killing. A movie was made about the events called Hotel Rwanda. Ma famille belgique told me about the problem in Rwanda when I visited Belgium in July, 1994. They were surprised that Americans had not known about the genocide in that country.
...It is similar to the situation in Darfur today....
There is something we can do about situations in countries such as Rwanda and Darfur. We can write to stop situations--we can be a Hotel Rwanda through organizations such as Amnesty International.
We had a chance to meet and speak briefly with Mr. Rusesabagina after the lecture.
Philippine Nationality Room Poem Reading
This Wednesday I met Huang Xiang and his wife, Ling (Victoria) at the Honors College. We enjoyed the view, and I described some of the sights in Schenley Park for them. As the future Philippine Nationality Room was occupied by a class, we went to the Austrian classroom for a reading of my poem for the future Philippine Nationality Room. They liked the format, and thought that the poem brought the beauty of the Philippines here. It was an honor to read my poem for them.
Afterwards, I met up with Debbie and her friend and coworker, Leslie, for dinner and an evening with Paul Rusesabagina.
About that day after Thanksgiving...
The day after Thanksgiving was my day for my yearly cholesterol test. The results came out normal, and lower than previous years' results, despite the fact that the test was given the morning after Thanksgiving.
That day, I also retrieved some of my travel journals from the shelf and vowed to get back in touch with friends from afar this Christmas. I have been fortunate enough to have met some dear people in my travels...Time to get back in touch.
