Friends, friends, everywhere

It’s been a busy week of lunches, coffees,and dinners with friends; coachings; teaching; and recovering from our housewarming party last weekend. (Having a karaoke machine in our basement all the time is a dangerous thing! My One True Karaoke Song? “Stand By Your Man,” no contest. Well, or maybe “Crazy for You.”) It was a spectacular party, though, if I may say so, and the house really feels like home now. Nothing like having about 70 people stop by for a hug and a drink and great food to make you know beyond a shadow of a doubt that you are Home.Also been practicing a lot. I think I’m going to be able to line up a management audition while I’m in NYC in October, so some of the new arias that needed to be ready by December just got bumped to the top of the stack. Also have some more music to learn for next week’s concert. Something was added last minute, and while it’s something I’ll never perform again, it’s a chance to sing more great music with friends, so I’m going to do it.

I don’t think I’ve written about that yet, my friends coming to town next week. This summer, a couple of the guys at Santa Fe saw me reviewing my Mozart Requiem score in the cantina, and we got to talking. They both expressed interest, so I said that I would pass their names along to the conductor. I told them that he had men that he used pretty regularly and that he would probably already have the concert planned, but that I’d plug them, just the same. I did, and about two weeks later, they both got calls offering them the job! No audition, no tape, just “Would you like to come to Seattle and sing?” How cool is that?! The conductor and I talked the other day, and he said people have been asking him if he’s heard the two men (SH & RA). He says, “No, but I figure anyone Anne-Carolyn would recommend must be ok, both as a singer and as a person.” That made me feel great, knowing that he trusts me and my opinions. I’m sure the fact that they were both Apprentices at SFO told him that they were going to be of a certain level, but to hire someone without hearing them is a big risk. These guys are fabulous, though, so I know it will pay off for all involved. If you’re in town, come check it out!

Erik and I spent the morning updating my website. The Photos and Downloads pages have had “Coming Soon!” messages for months now, so we thought it was high time to get something up there. The Photos page was the most time-consuming, so we did that first. I’m extremely happy with how it turned out. We’ll try and get the Downloads page finished tomorrow. It will have PDF’s of my bio and resume, hi-resolution headshots, and about six mp3’s, most from live performances. Finally! Let me know what you think…

Time for more practicing, then off to enjoy the beautiful fall Seattle day. Happy weekend!