Froggy Girl
Yep, Froggy Girl. That's me. Laryngitis time again. Losing/lost my voice. Kinda like Arielle in the Little Mermaid movie, the first Disney cartoon movie in a looooong time (was it since Bedknobs and Broomsticks, or something like that?)...I think I've discussed William's thoughts he shared with me about that movie ("To get the guy, you give up your voice!!") shortly after it was released.
Labels: cinema, health, singing, voice
Pittsburgh Marathon, Pitt's Graduation, Pens Game, and Mass
The Pittsburgh Marathon is being run as I type. The University of Pittsburgh's graduation is today. The Penguins play at Mellon arena early this afternoon. And getting around the city by motorized vehicle will be a challenge today.
~~~
I saw the runners turning east onto Fifth Avenue from Craig Street this morning before Mass.
~~~
11.15am
I lectored in place of Betty at the last Mass. She has problems navigating all the obstacles today. So Carol and Fr. Bill D. helped me to get organized for the Sunday Mass. The major difference is carrying in the book of the Gospels, as well as stepping down for the cantor to sing the psalm, and putting away the lectionary and step before the Gospel reading. Also, there is no announcing the hymns, as during the weekday Mass.
Fr. Bill celebrated the Mass; Rachel, PJ, and Steve served, Linda O. cantored; Ken was the organist; and Donna S. and Carmella and Bob were among the Eucharistic Ministers. Mom and Dad attended the Mass, I also saw Sarah from choir there. I saw Jim L. and Dan before Mass as usher and greeter, respectively.
I chatted with Linda after Mass about vocal health (pending my incipient laryngitis) and the seminar two Thursdays ago, then Mom and I chatted with Gloria and Steve about building issues.
~~~
Labels: Mass, organizing, school, sports, St. Paul Cathedral, voice, walking, work
Joshua Bell and Jeremy Denk
After a morning teaching with laryngitis, I've taken a grand nap. I spoke with Nancy and Maureen. Nancy and Tom cannot make the symphony tonight, so that I am going with Maureen to hear Joshua Bell and Jeremy Denk, who keeps an ever-enchanting web blog.
Joshua Bell I've heard at the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra several times before, with Nancy present each time. "Remember Anjali when you go [to the symphony tonight]," Nancy intoned. Anjali introduced us to the music of Joshua Bell.
Here's the line-up for tonight:
Johann Sebastian Bach: Violin Sonata No. 4 in C minor
Edvard Grieg: Sonata No. 3 for Violin and Piano in C minor, Op. 45
Robert Schumann: Sonata No. 1 for Violin and Piano in A minor, Op. 105
Maurice Ravel: Sonata for Violin and Piano (1927)
What a treat tonight will be!
~~~~~
23.30
The program recital of Joshua Bell and Jeremy Denk was fabulous; spanning time, musical periods, emotivity, and music theory.
The program is listed below:
J.S. Bach, Violin Sonata No. 4 in C minor
E. Grieg, Sonata No. 3 for Vl and Piano in C minor, Opus 45
R. Schumann, Sonata No. 1 For Vl and Piano in A minor, Opus 105
M. Ravel, Sonata for Vl and Piano (1927)
The difference in musical periods was evident, as was the emotion in the pieces (even from the first two pieces). The dissonance in the Schumann piece was evident, and the bluesy sound of the final piece was heard. They played to an audience that gave them standing ovations, and provided an encore with a Kreissler piece after Dvorak, "Slavonic Fantasy."
It was a treat to listen and hear them, as they played like jazz with and to each other: It was as if they were breathing the music together, playing off each other.
Maureen and I saw my neighbor Ann there, we also met a former VP from Maureen's former workplace, and we met Ernest, who is a pianist. In line to meet the artist we met 5-year-old violinist Caillie (sp?) and her mom, and a family who brought a picture of their son meeting Mr. Bell for an autograph. I told the mother that her son is very fortunate to have parents like [them]. She was appreciative.
Labels: Bell, music, PSO, school, sleep, teaching, voice, work
I'm Awake Again: About those Potholes
Took a looong nap yesterday afternoon to catch up on sleep. I'm awake again now.
The (major) intersection by Saint Paul Cathedral and the Rand Building has had some pretty deep potholes since the first wave of storms at the beginning of this month. I just noticed yesterday that the potholes were repaired, speeding up traffic through the intersection.
MUST go back to sleep, into the warm comfort of my bed...I'm currently losing my voice (my students and colleagues commented on it yesterday), and need all the rest I can muster, along with the cough syrups, gargling with warm salt water (thanks to Grandpa's suggestions), and cough drops with plenteous fluids, both warm and cold.
Labels: cold, Grandpa, health, sleep, St. Paul Cathedral, transportation, voice, weather
The Ten-Year Plan...
I can't believe that it's been TEN years already since Y2K!" I exclaimed to my seat mates at the table at tea this afternoon, at the beginning of the afternoon.
Stephanie stated at the completion of the meal that she remembered talking to a job coach approximately ten years ago about her personal and professional goals and plans. And here she is, fulfilling them.
I need to make a list to see how I am meeting my objectives (perhaps). Maybe I don't need goals like Karina's: the man, the dog, the house. Maybe I just need objectives: Vehicles for me to get out and to circulate more, to broaden my horizons. As I go about meeting my objectives, I will enjoy life and meet more people.
There's MY plan.
Labels: career, energy, family, friends, list, love, meeting, music, voice, Wellesley, work
Grapes of Wrath, Carnegie Mellon School of Drama
Karina and I drove through the driving rain to Carnegie Mellon to experience Steinbeck's Grapes of Wrath as adapted by Frank Galati. We saw Natalie before the pre-show entertainment, and she described that she had coached the students in the play. The pre-show entertainment included folk tunes (W. Guthrie, etc.) sung and performed by the players (in front of two homemade quilts), who played everything from fiddle, to guitar, to banjo, to accordian, to spoons. Music was an integral part of setting the mood throughout the production. The director (Barbara McKenzie-Wood) whilst casting required those auditioning to play a modern-day instrument.
The performers were talented, and the team worked well together. A particularly outstanding performance was by Ma (Caitlyn Kimball), who seemed to be as nurturing to the other players off the set as on. The stage was sparse, with a bas relief wall hanging which appeared to be mountains, clouds, and hard-baked earth in different lighting moods. The truck for traveling was built of ramshackle parts of a barn and kitchen. The changing moods as we travel through the book and travel from Oklahoma to California with the performers were captured brilliantly, and rang out from the set.
A wonderfully emotion-laden play that makes our hearts sing as well as weep.
Labels: Carnegie, Pittsburgh, school, theater, voice
Michael Jackson Memorial
Just finished watching the Michael Jackson memorial service in Los Angeles. I watched on CNN because the sound was actually better than that of MTV.
A notable speaker was the Reverend Al Sharpton. While he spoke, there was a backdrop of MJ and the quote
"There's nothing that can't be
done if we raise our voice as one."
Brooke Sheilds spoke as his friend, not as a colleague from the music business. She noted that his favorite song was a Charlie Chaplin one (from the movie Modern Times), "Smile," which his brother then sang.
Texan Congresswoman spoke, mentioning H.R. 600, honoring Michael Joseph Jackson. Martin Luther King III and Bernice King spoke, as well.
The London tour company sang "We are the World", and "Heal the World." His brothers Germaine and Marlon, as well as his daughter Paris, spoke.
Thus ended the memorial service for Michael Joseph Jackson.
Labels: American history, Bible, celebration, citizenship, Faith, farewell, international culture, light, moving, music, reunion, voice
Valentino
This morning, I took a nap after doing laundry and chatting with Deb. She warned me of viewing the world of others through my eyes exclusively.
After a snack, Mom and I were shuttled to the documentary movie Valentino by Dad (at the Manor Theatre in Squirrel Hill). We did some shopping, I went to the bank, and all three of us went shopping in Mount Lebanon. A trip to Kentucky Fried Chicken was in order, and we got half a bucket of KFC Original, and the other half grilled chicken. It was delicious, with veggies and Klondike ice cream sandwiches after.
I retrieved a message from my friend, M, who stated Teody had given her tickets to be delivered to me. After Wednesday's PNR meeting (which I left Pastoral Council meeting early to attend), where the ticketing process was hashed out by Jun C., the process was made clear to us, and rehashed and sent out by Jun at the end of this week via email. I had contacted neither Jun nor (Tina nor Teody)---the ticket sellers' points of contact---about tickets. "I did not order tickets from Teody." It seems that Jun C. made the flow of ticket sales clear, but somewhere along the line someone had ordered tickets in my name without my knowledge.
There are three of us in my immediate family housing performers, selling tickets, and publicizing/marketing the event. There is no need to send me unsolicited tickets to sell. I feel bad that my friend M was stuck in the middle and has to deal with homeless tickets.
~~~
Turns out the tickets are for me to give to my mom for T. (O well, I guess I get to be the bearer of the tickets = "Mercury") Some kind of communication mix-up...
Labels: cinema, ice cream, international culture, Philippines, Pilipino culture, Pittsburgh, PNR, politics, school, singing, visitor, voice
Checkin' email
Picked up S from the airport this afternoon, amidst rain on the way home.
S. and I discussed issues of my journal from 1990 after a nap/grading (5/6) session. Now we are checking our email before dinner...in the 24 hour computer lab on campus.
I said that there is much useless, detailed information that I wrote in my journal twenty years ago...but it was fun to read. We talked about recording/documenting our teaching to students; how it is very difficult to find the time to document our pedagogy. I shared the Acid Rain Teacher's Guide, as well as the Schubert Lieder and we talked about Les Chansons de Faure, the first-ever CD I purchased.
We talked about the C-leg and how it works (its computerized mechanism) on the way to campus.
We compromised on the rate of walking, as S strides faster and I stride shorter, in order to accomodate our individual handicaps.
We talked about swimming, and other exercise, and voice lessons.
Labels: accessibility, biology, computer, email, excited, exercise, health, humor, school, sleep, swim, teaching, voice, walking, work, writing
Don @ the (Newly Restored) Organ
After teaching yesterday morning, and administrative work with Mayte, and after physical therapy with Cara, I met up with Karina, Maureen, and Christina for Friday fellowship at the Newman Center. We met Dorothy, Karina's friend from the Pathology department at UPMC. After many announcements, I drove the crowd (sans Dorothy) to St. Paul Cathedral...We spotted Don in the parking lot, too, and chatted ever-so-briefly.
As part of the Cathedral Concert Series, Don Fellows presented A Recital Demonstrating the Newly Restored Cathedral Organ last night. Because we were one of the last loft-bound seating groups, we sat in the westernmost part of the loft. I took some photos during the lecture/demo, which included the specifications of the 1962 Rudolf von Beckerath Organ. It is restored as close to the original intentions of the organ builder: "This organ is, musically speaking, in completely original condition," as George Taylor, of Taylor & Boody, the restoring firm, wrote.
Don spoke about the capabilities and restoration of the organ before the pieces in the program, and spoke about the organ after the program:
Petite Suite ~ Introduction, Intermezzo, Finale (Gerald Bales, 1919-2002)
Chaconne in E minor (Dietrich Buxtehude, 1637-1707)
Variations on a Dance Theme ~ Balletto del granduca (J.P. Sweelinck 1562-1621)
Vivace, from Trio Sonata VI for Organ, BWV #530 (J.S. Bach, 1685-1750)
Prelude and Fugue in A Minor, BWV #543 (J.S. Bach)
Chorale #3 in A Minor (Cesar Franck, 1822-1890)
Cantilena from Sonata #11, Opus 148 (J. Rheinberger, 1839-1901)
Finale from Symphony I for Organ (Louis Vierne, 1870-1937)
~~~~~
Don introduced us to the various pipes in the organ, by describing them verbally, visually with a laser pointer, and aurally by hearing the sets of pipes. He talked about the eight-foot pipes when describing what we would hear during the first Bach piece:
Great - Principal 8 foot
Ruckpositiv -
Quintadena 8 foot
Rohrflote 8 foot
Blockflote 8 foot
Pedal - Octave 8 foot
~~~
He described the Principal pipes, which "are like the strings, [the backbone of the orchestra,] the meat and potatoes" of the orchestra; before he played the second Bach piece.
~~~
Before my favorite piece of the evening (the Rheinberger), he spoke of using the two quietest sets of pipes:
Great - Koppelqedackt 8 foot
and
Pedal - Subbasse 16 foot
Don spoke of the desire of Paul Koch (a previous music director) to include the Koppelqedackt in the design of the organ.
~~~~~
Don spoke of how some of the original mostly-zinc pipes were replaced with more tin-bearing pipes, and how the foot of many pipes were enforced with copper. The rest of the pipes were cleaned, grind, washed, and lacquered to prevent oxidation. He also spoke about the how some of the cases bearing the organ pipes were reinforced with a thick layer of plywood at the back to enhance the original intentions about voicing that von Beckerath had---to improve the overall tone of the instrument. Some of the pipes (up to 600 pounds of metal each) were causing undue vibrations in the organ case during play.
All in all, a wonderfully informative concert, brilliantly, emotively played pieces. The evening at the Cathedral concluded with saying hello to Linda O, a cantor, Charles and Susan (who has a new cat, Moses's sis/friend), Dan, Fred, (both formerly of choir), and other choristers. Also saw Joe and Tina there.
Four of us headed to Gullifty's for a snack and jazz after the performance: Maureen, Karina, Nancy, and I...I drove.
Labels: cat, music, organ, St. Paul Cathedral, voice
Lectoring, 20 November 2008
I lectored at a morning Mass, with Matt serving, Fr. Brian celebrating, and with Ken providing music ministry. The reading was from Revelation, and Fr. Brian delivered a homily on the past, future, and present coming of Christ. Forty parishioners received Holy Communion on the cold, windy, wintry hour that started with miniature hail and ended with small clumps of flakes of snow being blown about before landing.
Labels: Church, cold, lector, Mass, seasons, St. Paul Cathedral, voice
Early Returns II, November 4th , 2008
More results are in
333:156 Obama:McCain
Wow.
Labels: celebration, politics, voice
Children and Election Day
Here's info on the Scholastic News as a predictor of Presidential candidates' success.
[I like Beatrice's take on Election Day: Her mom wrote, blogging, "The place where we vote is next to a playground. After we finished voting, Beatrice said, 'Now we can go play with Obama in the playground. Then he will vote for us.'")
Labels: Beatrice, celebration, children, family, friends, games, global warming, politics, school, voice
Early Returns, November 4th , 2008
Many Happy (early) returns...270 electoral votes required to win: Barack Obama has 284 votes, against Mr. McCain's 146.
We provided students with a web site to check whether they were registered to vote, and where their polling place was.
In the time it took me to type this, it became 297:146, Obama:McCain, 51%:48%.
So many people will be pleased, if the Hill stays blue. So much work to be done in the next administration. Here's where it all begins...
Labels: citizenship, global warming, politics, voice
Laryngitis, the continuing saga
Today's lab Vickie was the guest speaker for the Power Point presentation which Meredith had prepared for us. This was due to my continued laryngitis. The rest of the lab went smoothly. Vickie was so kind to wrap test tubes in Al foil and pour the G + H tubes for the Enzymes II lab.
Labels: biology, friends, voice, work
Laryngitis, continued; Visit to the Orthopedist
My laryngitis continued today, too. Tom was kind enough to present the Power Point presentation to my class at the beginning of class today. The course coordinators Carole and Meredith peeked in to check on me, too.
The sad event I mentioned yesterday was front page news in the Pitt News today. One of my students today was the suite mate of the student who died.
~~~~~
I treated Tom to lunch today at the Pan-Asian restaurant. Then, I headed to the orthopedist's office. It was nice to visit with her, and she noted that I should tell my physical therapist my pain (on R side) upon walking > 1/4 mile and my residual pain on my L side after. She ordered PT for me (including core exercises), then injection (corticosteroid) when necessary ["no need to be a martyr"].
~~~~~
Contacted Vickie N. about presenting the Power Point for my class tomorrow afternoon. She was accomodating.
Labels: biology, dining, farewell, international culture, list, pain, surgery, teaching, voice, work
Albinoni's Adagio for Strings
Today, while heading to the grocery store, I heard the Adagio in G minor by Albinoni on WQED. Saddened by the news from a student and by the news from a colleague today, I became teary-eyed.
~~~~~
Today my voice was still gone, had asked Michele if she could lecture for me (she couldn't), and asked Tom to lecture for me at the beginning and at the end of the Enzymes II laboratory, which he did. He supplied his version of the Power Point presentation to the students. I was still able to talk to individual groups of students and also ask students to make classroom-wide announcements for me. I need to treat Tom to lunch or something like that.
~~~~~
I've been eating more fish, upping the omega-3 fatty acids in my diet the past few days, in addition to taking 2000mg of omega-3 fatty acids in the form of fish oil extract daily, and my glucosamine chondroitin supplement, 400 I.U. of vitamin E daily, and a multivitamin in addition to extra strength Tylenol. I'll see my orthopedist tomorrow, so I'll update her about my dietary changes.
Labels: biology, dining, farewell, friends, health, music, pain, student, surgery, teaching, thankfulness, voice, work
Lost My Voice; Ken Danchik at Heinz Chapel
This week I lost my voice--one of my students, H, noticed my voice sounded different at the beginning of Thursday afternoon, and by the end of class I was losing my voice. I did not sing in choir today. Some people attributed my getting ill/feeling under the weather to my getting my flu shot this Tuesday, but Mom indicated that if people are getting sick so soon after the inoculation, they had probably been incubating/harboring that illness before.
It was a treat to hear the choir sing from the congregation side. They sang Locus Iste for the 102nd year of the dedication of this Cathedral building. I mouthed the words for all the prayers and songs.
Nancy, Ornella and her friend, and Christof, from choir; and Jeff, the Eucharistic Minister; and I dined outside amidst the slightly gusty and brightly sunny tables outside Kiva Han for lunch. Everyone but Nancy and I departed for work, and Nancy and I headed to Ken Danchik's organ concert at Heinz Chapel. He, of course, played Bach's Toccata and Fugue in D minor, along with other, secular pieces in his recital, including some pieces by Langlais. We sat with Mary Pat and Betty. We saw Lisa, Emily, Liz, and John; Andrew, Don, and Dan, as well as Ken's former organ instructor.
The program consisted of:
Prelude and Trumpetings (Myron Roberts)
American Suite--Boys Town, Place of Peace; Scherzo-Cats; Big Texas (Jean Langlais)
Toccata and Fugue in D minor (J.S. Bach)
The Suspended Garden (Jean Alain)
Litanies (Jean Alain)
God of the Expanding Universe (Richard Feliciano)
Purcell Portraits (Joseph Wilcox Jenkins)
Omnes Sancti (Joseph Wilcox Jenkins)
Labels: Bach, Choir, dining, friends, music, organ, Pittsburgh, St. Paul Cathedral, voice
Bellamy Brothers
Yesterday Nancy C. and I spent the afternoon and evening together. We met at the sushi buffet, as I was hankering fish (for the omega-3 fatty acids). I enjoyed two trips to the ice cream bar. After, we headed to Ross Park Mall and the new Nordstroms. We just sat in the midst of the shoe section for a while, taking it all in. After, we headed to some shops on the lower level (I purchased some earrings, she a smoothie), and while I waited for Nancy I ran into Regina. We vowed to see each other soon, and parted ways. Nancy and I did some window shopping at the last.
I was slowly losing my voice.
After a short time at home, Nancy picked me up for a concert at the the A.J. Palumbo Center of the Bellamy Brothers, with special guests Jesse and Noah, the sons of David Bellamy. Jesse and Noah opened the show, and their country rock sounds paved the way for the audience to enjoy the rest of the show.
Chatted with Nancy for a bit afterwards, and it was clear that I was losing my voice. I had some salabat while chatting on the phone, which helped a little bit.
Labels: dining, Duquesne U, international culture, music, Pittsburgh, shoes, shopping, voice
