I'm Just Sayin

In June of 2011 my high school choir will be having a reunion concert. Donald B. Cowan directed the SH Rider High School A Cappella Choir for 32 years (1961-1993). It was known as "The Greatest Choir Ever". The new "Greatest Choir Ever" is the Donald B. Cowan Legacy Choir. This is a significant event for everyone who has enlisted to participate and rehearsals have already begun. No doubt I'll post about this several times in the next year.

Take a listen to the 1973 choir (my Junior year) singing Tchaikovsky's O Praise Ye God.

I asked Mr C if he would be willing for me to compose a piece of music for the occasion. He was thrilled at the offer and my first thought was to use the text from the Prayer of St. Francis of Assisi - "Lord, make me an instrument of Thy peace." 

The composition is complete and the audio file below is a demo version. There are only four singers doing all the parts. It's beautiful, but rough - it's a demo. I can't wait to hear it performed live for the first time by the Legacy Choir.

O Lord, make me an instrument of Thy peace.
Where there is hate let me sow love,
Where there is injury, pardon,
And when in doubt, give me faith,
In despair, I'll find hope.

In the darkness, let me bring light,
Where there's sadness, let me find joy,
O Divine Master, I seek not to be consoled as to console,
Seek not to be understood, as to understand,
May I seek not to be loved, as to love - let me love.

For it is in giving we receive,
It is in pardoning we are pardoned,
And it is in dying that we are born to eternal life. Amen.

The cover, shown above, features a photo of their 1984 European Cathedral Tour. This photo was taken in Assisi, in the Basilica of St. Francis.

Once a year Justin and I get the pleasure of producing a series of 13 bite-size instructional videos for Bernina USA to be posted on The Quilt Show website. Nina McVeigh, National educator for Bernina and Jennifer Gigas, VP of Education for Bernina USA arrived on Wednesday and we managed to tape all 13 videos in one day. The new videos roll out on TQS between May-October this year.

In the meantime - check out the library of videos currently posted.

Hey everyone. I got to spend real time driving a Gammill. Nurse Wanda and her husband Ed have moved to La Veta and her Gammill is set up and raring to go. As you may know, all of my quilting has been done free-motion on a domestic machine. I kinda like giving this a try. 

What do you prefer: long arm quilting, domestic free-motion quilting or hand quilting?

We'll the blizzard didn't spoil my plans. Thankfully if fizzled and I didn't get trapped at home.

One of my Christmas presents was a trip to a hot springs but it couldn't be scheduled until this weekend. Pagosa Springs, a beautiful small town located at the base of the famous Wolf Creek Pass in Colorado is home to the largest collection of mineral pools in the world. There is a rich history to the springs and the famous resort, but the new Springs Resort Hotel is a great addition to that history. There's nothing like a soak in the healing waters to soothe the body and mind. However, notice whose half-naked body you do NOT see in the photo! Yes, I prefer to soak at night.

There are a total of 23 pools in various degrees of warmth. This photo shows how the minerals have built up over the years creating beautiful and colorful mineral flows.

Now I'm feeling a bit refreshed and looking forward to a week of creativity. What cool getaway do you recommend?

I have a song on my Sacred Age CD called Midwinter Dreams. It is a tone poem representing a beautiful snowy, moonlit night where a peacefulness floats over the valley. 

Now it is Spring and the snows are falling big time. Yesterday was so sunny and 'almost' warm that I wore shorts, but another blizzard came through last night and this is what my today will look like. Maybe I'll write a new piece, Spring Dreams.

Today has been scheduled as a play day - my first in months. I'll keep you posted. What do you think I should do?