They're back!
So you know how I had that great idea to encourage me and Mr. 42 to get to bed earlier? Well, that sorta went out the window when he rolled in from vacation with the girls around 11pm last night. So I helped him bring stuff in from the car and we walked the girls together, who were running around with spectacular wags, so happy to be catching up on a week's worth of sniffs. But we did get to sleep soon after walkies, and I slept slightly better than I have the rest of the week, despite wiggly, burrowing dogs and spousal snoring when his CPAP mask slipped. Still. SO GREAT to have them home! Mr. 42 and I were both up at the same time today becuse he has inventory at work, but at least he'll be off a bit early and can come console the girls, who have gotten used to getting love from three adults on vacation and have been abandoned for work. Poor puppies.
Last night's rehearsal was wonderful. So much Tallis and Purcell and Ferrant and Hurd and all manner of wonderful music. SN also announced that she is organizing another section leader/choral scholar fundraiser recital, this time an all-Handel recital that benefits the church's capital campaign. I think it's an absolutely splendid idea, and have already call dibs on "Let the Bright Seraphim," which I had to learn for a wedding last year and quite enjoy singing. I might see if I can sneak in a coaching sesion with MS before the recital in mid-April, because I want to wow people, including my fellow musicians, with it. I might also chat with AM about ornamentatoin, since it's a da capo aria and ornaments are expected on the recapitulation. And improvising ornaments is not currently a skill I possess. I can try to steal ideas from recordings, but many are not exactly tasteful, era-appropriate, or in my range. Listening to Dame Kiri now and hoping for the best. Although there is already scooping. *sigh* Off to look for historically informed performances.
But! Tonight Mr. 42 and I have a symphony concert, and it's a doozie: Edo de Waart, whom I adore, is conducting Mahler 4! The first half includes Delius and Barber, and I'm so stoked! Maestro de Waart was recently named our symphony's principal guest conductor, a role created, I suspect, specifically because we love him so much but he doesn't want to be traveling all the freaking time (he is 77, after all). I've only sung for him once (Beethoven 9), and the experience exceeded even my stratopherically high expectations. I know he's going to make Mahler 4 as vital as it is beautiful, all with exquisite balance. SO STOKED!
And speaking of stoked, the Eric Hoffer Awards, to which I submitted mah book, has announced their awards schedule for this year. The first finalists (da Vinci Eye for cover design, Montaigne Medal for thought-provoking works) will be announced next Monday. The next sets of finalists (First Horizon Award for first book of any type) will be announced on April 2nd (probably good that it's not on April Fool's Day), and the winners for those categories will be announced later that month.
The whole shebang shortlist for the Eric Hoffer Awards will be announced at the end of the month, and the whole shebang winner will be announced in early May, including press and category distinctions/finalists. While I did submit my book to the Publisher's Weekly BookLife Prize, which seemed to be focused on skimming mainstream-appropriate work out of the indie publishing pool, the Eric Hoffer Awards seem to be actually be about delving into the diversity of indie, small, and independent presses, which gives me hope. My book is a truly weird little duck, and while I adore it, it was not a good fit for the Booklife Prize. Here's hoping it's a good fit for this contest!
Every writer who puts their work out there craves acknowledgement of some sort, and I'm certainly no different. I'm trying not to put all my hopes in one basket, and the Hoffer Awards is only one of five active contests I submitted the book to, ranging from local to international candidate pools (Eric Hoffer Awards, Next Generation Indie Book Awards, Independent Publisher Books Awards, San Diego Book Awards, IndieReader Discovery Awards). So I'm not gonna put the kibbosh on daydreaming, because what fun would that be? Someone's gotta win, and I wrote a unique and fun book. So here's hoping for something, even being a finalist who doesn't win. It gets slightly easier to convince people they should read a book like mine when I can demonstrate that people who don't know me still found it noteworthy. So here's hoping for good news before my first Book-i-versary on April 23rd. Though I certainly don't mind good news after then, too!
OK. Office-mate is out sick again, and I've got a huge-ass pile of reimbursements. Time to put on some Baroque or Renaissance jams and get some of that off my desk. Also send out the final schedule. Which hasn't broken... AGAIN... yet.
Smooches to All,
Mun42
PS AM just posted this video on FB and I can't stop laughing. It's just such a beautiful slice of life. And the title "Ron Sneezes and Scares Deer" is just so pure...
PPS NICE, RAHN.
Last night's rehearsal was wonderful. So much Tallis and Purcell and Ferrant and Hurd and all manner of wonderful music. SN also announced that she is organizing another section leader/choral scholar fundraiser recital, this time an all-Handel recital that benefits the church's capital campaign. I think it's an absolutely splendid idea, and have already call dibs on "Let the Bright Seraphim," which I had to learn for a wedding last year and quite enjoy singing. I might see if I can sneak in a coaching sesion with MS before the recital in mid-April, because I want to wow people, including my fellow musicians, with it. I might also chat with AM about ornamentatoin, since it's a da capo aria and ornaments are expected on the recapitulation. And improvising ornaments is not currently a skill I possess. I can try to steal ideas from recordings, but many are not exactly tasteful, era-appropriate, or in my range. Listening to Dame Kiri now and hoping for the best. Although there is already scooping. *sigh* Off to look for historically informed performances.
But! Tonight Mr. 42 and I have a symphony concert, and it's a doozie: Edo de Waart, whom I adore, is conducting Mahler 4! The first half includes Delius and Barber, and I'm so stoked! Maestro de Waart was recently named our symphony's principal guest conductor, a role created, I suspect, specifically because we love him so much but he doesn't want to be traveling all the freaking time (he is 77, after all). I've only sung for him once (Beethoven 9), and the experience exceeded even my stratopherically high expectations. I know he's going to make Mahler 4 as vital as it is beautiful, all with exquisite balance. SO STOKED!
And speaking of stoked, the Eric Hoffer Awards, to which I submitted mah book, has announced their awards schedule for this year. The first finalists (da Vinci Eye for cover design, Montaigne Medal for thought-provoking works) will be announced next Monday. The next sets of finalists (First Horizon Award for first book of any type) will be announced on April 2nd (probably good that it's not on April Fool's Day), and the winners for those categories will be announced later that month.
The whole shebang shortlist for the Eric Hoffer Awards will be announced at the end of the month, and the whole shebang winner will be announced in early May, including press and category distinctions/finalists. While I did submit my book to the Publisher's Weekly BookLife Prize, which seemed to be focused on skimming mainstream-appropriate work out of the indie publishing pool, the Eric Hoffer Awards seem to be actually be about delving into the diversity of indie, small, and independent presses, which gives me hope. My book is a truly weird little duck, and while I adore it, it was not a good fit for the Booklife Prize. Here's hoping it's a good fit for this contest!
Every writer who puts their work out there craves acknowledgement of some sort, and I'm certainly no different. I'm trying not to put all my hopes in one basket, and the Hoffer Awards is only one of five active contests I submitted the book to, ranging from local to international candidate pools (Eric Hoffer Awards, Next Generation Indie Book Awards, Independent Publisher Books Awards, San Diego Book Awards, IndieReader Discovery Awards). So I'm not gonna put the kibbosh on daydreaming, because what fun would that be? Someone's gotta win, and I wrote a unique and fun book. So here's hoping for something, even being a finalist who doesn't win. It gets slightly easier to convince people they should read a book like mine when I can demonstrate that people who don't know me still found it noteworthy. So here's hoping for good news before my first Book-i-versary on April 23rd. Though I certainly don't mind good news after then, too!
OK. Office-mate is out sick again, and I've got a huge-ass pile of reimbursements. Time to put on some Baroque or Renaissance jams and get some of that off my desk. Also send out the final schedule. Which hasn't broken... AGAIN... yet.
Smooches to All,
Mun42
PS AM just posted this video on FB and I can't stop laughing. It's just such a beautiful slice of life. And the title "Ron Sneezes and Scares Deer" is just so pure...
PPS NICE, RAHN.