Checked-in and waiting to board at the Stuttgart airport on my flight to Denver via Frankfurt. Sitting here exhausted and spent. Don’t know why. Didn’t sing nor conducted any during the last two weeks. All that walking, intense German, salty (VERY salty!) food must’ve gotten to me.
Got some wonderful ideas about a summer festival and a Bachakademie in Colorado. A Summer Bach festival in Colorado!: Colorado would be great for that! with German Lieder, Chamber music, cantatas, the passions, etc. Wouldn’t that be nice? Stay hungry, stay foolish; A great visionary preached.
Last night was a culminating performance of the B minor Mass at the beautiful Markuskirke. It was overwhelming to see one of our students from CSU participating in this amazing work with a world-renowned conductor in a beautiful church in Stuttgart, Germany. I am so proud of you, Gene Stenger. This was meant to be.
The concert continued without an intermission; only a brief pause and another tuning before Credo. Nobody moved during that short pause. Everyone attending seemed to be meditating. I soon realized that people in the audience were truly appreciating the music, not the performance. The music became real for them; meditating on the text and how Bach proclaims through his music.
Can’t believe how beautiful this music is! Heavenly! It rattled my soul during the entire performance, and I was completely disappointed to learn that I am indeed living on the earth after the performance. Soon after…I realized “I GET TO DO THIS FEW MONTHS LATER”! Lots and lots of preparation, and MORE preparation I must do. But it will be totally worth it, and I can’t wait to experience it with everyone involved in Colorado.
Also very nice to meet and get to know Anne-Kathryn Olsen (one of our soprano soloists) during this time. I had an opportunity to interview this beautiful young lady with a wonderful voice and a very interesting background. We plan to feature her in our first eNewsletter.
I am ready to go back now. A journey to Stuttgart is ending, but another journey awaits me as I return home to face the challenges. Bring it on!
I am hungry, I am foolish…