Jordan begins the morning with a foreshadow of what is to come. “Where Have The Actors Gone?” is a haunting Morten Lauridsen tune unlike any of his others. You can hear a decent version of it CLICK HERE If you listen to it you have to dig through the meaning. It’s not about actors on a stage and I would argue that Jordan didn’t play it this morning as an allegory on a relationship either.

Here are a few of the important quotes from the lecture:

• “People will sing as their spirits are able to sing”
• “You’re job is certainly not done”
• “Choirs perceive only what YOU perceive.”
• “If you are fully aware it will invigorate a choir”
• “There is tons of research that if a conductor stands in front of singers and isn’t at least empathetic towards breathing, they can’t lift the soft palette”
• “You must work out of your own silence, not knowing but trusting”
• “You are all deeply UNcomfortable with the silences”
• “When you go home think about things you need to do to stay connected with your singers and the ones you love.”

There were a few other odds and ends and then a nice long break.  A small group of us went for coffee/tea.  The same group that had really met one another at an impromptu coffee just days before. (along with Stephen Darlington, a delightful professor)  We sat there and watched life (and many others from the class pass by)  Then I returned back to the room just in time to slip into my Tux and get ready for the 4pm concert.

Now make no mistake.  This is a big choir is every sense of the word.

I spent the first several pieces being a little nervous.  They were in as good of voice as I had heard them and for most conductors seemed to use every ounce of artistry they possessed.  A few songs before I was to take the podium I admit I zoned out a bit from what others were doing.  I decided pretty much then that with our teachers, friends and (surprise guest) composer Paul Mealor in the front row that my only option was to simply do the piece for myself and the choir.  If I worried about every note that James Jordan and James Whitbourn and John Hudson gave me I would bounce from measure to measure without even hearing the music.  (I had done that at the “dress” rehearsal.)

Here is what happened. (You might have to turn up your sound)

I should say, I have not watched the video or even listened to it yet.  I have the sound from that evening in my ear and their faces in my mind.  One of these days I’ll watch it.  Probably when I need it for an audition.  The rest of the concert was wonderful.  Every conductor did a great job.  A few in particular were breathtaking.

We finished the night as a group with all of us filling up two different pubs (the first one ran out of Pimms and had the nerve to close at midnight, the Irish Bar was much more accommodating) and just soaking up the afterglow and our last few hours together as a community.