Choral Potpourri: Time to Recharge and Reboot

“Nature recharges me.” Lidia Bastianich

Our last concert of the spring is this coming Sunday; I am really looking forward to it. The last couple of rehearsals have been great so I am hoping our concert will be equally as great. I really need a break from my singers; but mostly from what we have been working on. I love our concert repertoire but am ready to move on since I’ve been “living” with this music for about 18 months. And don’t get me wrong; my singers are wonderful people I enjoy working with. While I will miss seeing them every Tuesday evening, it’s time for us to be apart, if only until our annual July retreat.

We usually do two concert cycles a calendar year, and often another break-out concert or festival or special worship service or something in addition to our usual. Sometimes an AGO event or community festival wants us to use music we already know or are in the process of working on. Often we have to learn something in ADDITION to our usually challenging concert repertoire. That’s what takes a toll on me and my singers; we need to regroup during the summer.

I will take a week to do as little music-related things as possible, with the exception of filing music, and will do a bit of staring into space. I do have a voice lesson the day after our concert so am not completely abandoning music, just dialing it down for a week or so. I have found I really need a chance to reboot and recharge after our concert season.

I am looking forward to some gardening, preparing our yard for my middle son’s law school graduation barbeque party. I want to try some interesting new recipes (perhaps for the party) and be able to relax on the patio with a cool drink for a few afternoons. I have a stack of books, both conducting related and arts management related, to read on said patio. I have some novels and magazines (both professional and not) I am going to read when I have to wait. I should be able to take one or two workshops but it’s up in the air depending on a few things around here. I am excited to be able to goof off, with no one depending on me NOT to goof off. I have two girlfriends (three if you count my BFF from grad school who sings with me—I’m looking at YOU Shari!) I want to have a nice, gossipy, leisurely lunch with before the end of the summer.

I still have music related things to do but I will be able to take my time. Our fall concert is just about completely programmed, with all the music in hand or ordered. The only thing I have to do is decide on our spring concert rep, schedule the date and venue, and order music. I won’t think about it until a week or so after Sunday’s concert. I have been approached about one or two break-out concerts, but have not gotten details as yet so am not gonna worry!

I hope you are able to recharge and reboot yourself this summer. It often has to be planned so think about trying to carve out some time just for YOU. Sitting outside with a dish of ice cream can make a difference in your mental health for the rest of the year, so don’t feel guilty, just DO IT!