Excitement!

Life sure has its means of pushing you along.  I remember growing up, my dad asking me "what's wrong," and in the likely case of responding "I'm bored," he would say, "well, do something."  Now to be fair, my brother complained about being bored more often than I did, but I would just sit around depressed wondering why I didn't have something to look forward to.  One thing always leads to another, and we somehow ended up in time-out for fighting.  Boredom = Trouble.  Even today, when I get bored, I immediately find something to do.  This unfortunate compulsion has led to many months of performances, the stressful completion of my doctoral exams, and several seasons of Mad Men on Netflix.

The latter end of 2012 was definitely the most stressful and least boring of my life, and now after a long month off, I am back to furiously not being bored.  Last week, as you may recall, I performed in a children's opera, "How the Camel Got Its Hump".  It was a terrifically cute production, and most importantly the kids loved it!  Essentially, we told the Rudyard Kipling story in a 35 minute opera, where we opened a giant toy box and played "Make Believe."

I'm a sad Horse because the Camel won't help the other animals with their daily chores

Now that it is finished, my days are becoming increasingly involved in accomplishing other goals.  I have been furiously applying for jobs at colleges and universities all over the place.  I am preparing for a recital and several major Bach-related solo performances.  And yesterday, I was asked by the Kansas City Symphony to perform on six educational concerts, similar to what I did last year, starting in April!  I always love a chance to perform with the Symphony and in Helzberg Hall.  Amazingly, I will perform at Helzberg Hall 10 times in a span of only 4 weeks!

I also was invited back to perform and record with the Simon Carrington Chamber Singers in June.  It was an amazing experience last year, our next album will be released in the Summer, and I cannot wait to perform again with some of the area's best singers and with one of the world's great minds for choral music!

If that wasn't exciting enough, I and several other Kansas City Chorale members had a Skype session with our managing agent about the Grammy's next week (I can't believe it's already so close!).  It is an interesting and exciting experience as we received our red carpet schedules, press releases, a list of talking points for interviews, and the list goes on.  It will certainly be unforgettable and I will have LOTS of updates on my facebook page - www.facebook.com/pinkall - as well as on this blog.

BUT that isn't even the most exciting and certainly not the most unexpected news lately - the most unexpected news being that I stepped ankle deep, both feet, socks, and shoes, in wet cement.  The most exciting news is that I had an interview this morning with the Organizing Committee for the Olympic Games via Skype from Moscow!  I applied in August for a leadership or Director position within the area of Ceremony Music and Protocol for the next Olympics in Sochi, Russia. They are the Winter Olympics of course - but it is a somewhat unknown location to people on this side of the pond.  Sochi is on the coast of the Black Sea and even in winter it is warm and green with palm trees and all.  Many of the outdoor events will take place on the slopes of the adjacent mountain ranges while the indoor events and ceremonies will be held in the beautiful coastal resort city.

The interviewer was efficient and asked questions from "Why do you want to be a part of the Olympic Games?" to "Describe a time where you went beyond what was asked to complete a task."  The group interviewing me was in Moscow, which meant that I was awake VERY early this morning to catch them during work hours.  I was very happy and excited to take part, so some of my answers were...well, I could have given infinitely long answers on some topics.  They wanted to know my organizational habits, accomplishments, skills, thought processes, and even what makes me angry.  They even paused to find some quite specific supplemental questions to ask including, "Have you ever performed in front of large masses of people?", "Are you afraid of large masses of people?", "Are you afraid of heights?", and "Have you been a part of a large scale production or media event?"  I have had many great experiences in the recent past and have a working knowledge of what they are needing.  Hopefully, they will want me on board.  I thought the interview went really well, I thought they were very interested in my responses, and I'm very excited and anxious to hear back from them.

With so much excitement and so many things to look forward to, I shouldn't get into any trouble anytime soon!

Celebration at the Station LIVE

Watch the outdoor concert at Union Station in Kansas City tonight (Sunday, May 27) at 7:30pm CT.  Tens of thousands of people gather for this special Symphony concert of Americana, fireworks, and cannons.  This PBS broadcast will be shown nationally on July 4th.  WATCH LIVE TONIGHT 7:30!

Eclipsed

If you missed it last night, there was a magnificent solar eclipse across much of the US.  My wife and I went out to watch it at sunset and it was amazing.  My dad captured some of these amazing images.  Pictures are incredible, but it is such an amazing sight in person!

Since my last update - I have been "vacationing" at home, learning TONS of music.  Some of it will be amazing music, and some of it is really frustrating and annoying to learn, but that is the life of a musician.

But before I get to that I must first mention that last week one of the most significant classical singers in history died: Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau. He was a baritone who is universally recognized as the greatest lieder singer in history. For those who don't know, "lied" is German for "song", and in classical music, lieder are German art songs. Here is one of the most glorious songs in music history - Der Erlkönig - music by Schubert, poem by Goethe about a sick boy being carried by his father on horseback as they race home. During the ride, the boy sees and experiences images and sounds that the father does not. In the end the boy screams that he's being attacked by an Elf King.  When the father reaches home he finds that the boy is dead. The song is very exciting, you hear the horse galloping in the piano, and the singer must play the part of the boy, father, and narrator - at times quickly going between the three.

This week, as I have mentioned, I have a lot of music to learn! I am preparing to make a recording with the Simon Carrington Chamber Singers next week, and we will have several live performances in the area as well. If you don't know, Simon Carrington is one of the most influential choral conductors in the world, and I am THRILLED to be part of his professional choir - a handful of singers have flown in from all across the US to do this, and we have high hopes for the recording!

I am also planning the 34th Summer Choral Institute which begins June 3 at Kansas State University. It will certainly be the best Institute ever, and the students and staff are absolutely incredible. SCI is a summer program for gifted high school Sophomore and Junior singers. They come from across the US to make music, sing in concerts and recitals, and train at the highest professional level for one week every summer. Students who were accepted received a full scholarship to attend, courtesy of K-State and The Master Teacher Institute for the Arts. It is one of the most amazing weeks of my year!

I am also learning my role for an opera in Pennsylvania late next month. I will have much more about that as the time nears, however this weekend is the annual Celebration at the Station here in KC. Last year, I was SHOCKED that 60,000 people attended this outdoor symphony concert of Americana, fireworks, canons, etc. in the area between the National World War I Memorial and Union Station in KC. If you are in the area and decide to come, you will find me and wife and some friends on the lawn with a cooler full of beer, watching the events - classical music would be more popular if tailgating were a vital part of its tradition.

Finally, last week I surprised my mom for Mother's Day by driving 4.5 hours to their home. They were renovating their house, so I helped move all kinds of furniture. While I was there, I filmed my puppy Kiah doing her tricks.

Mouth Shapes

Life has been a bit crazy lately.  Last week, I sang with Washburn University Choir and Topeka Symphony as a soloist in Haydn's Lord Nelson Mass.  It went very well, but the most disturbing event was that my tuxedo pants came unhemmed at some point.  Thankfully, I don't believe I looked too much like Charlie Chaplin with my slightly too long tux pants.  By the way, this isn't the first time that I've had a fashion emergency.  In the first voice competition that I have ever won, I was without my glasses or contacts and wore two right foot shoes (I had a friend hastily buy shoes for me from a tux shop hours before a concert on a day that I was busy, and sure enough, he bought two right foot shoes).  I also had an unzipped zipper moment in 2010 during my Master's conducting recital and in 1999 when I played a crow in The Wizard of Oz, wearing full body tights in a dress rehearsal, I didn't understand that when you wear tights, they stretch and people could see my tighty whities underneath my featherless legs - it could have been worse; at least I wore underwear.  Nevertheless, I had a great time in Topeka with a wonderful conductor and I enjoyed learning about the careers of the Washburn Professors whom I shared the stage with.  Oh, and the choir sounded veraciously exciting!

Guess what vowels we are singing...I hope we aren't all singing the same word! My wife pointed out the by making an "oo" sound with these mouth shapes it sounds like a seal's mating call.  Photo courtesy of the Topeka Capital Journal

Of course I made my rounds with the Spring Commencement exercises this weekend singing the National Anthem.  It went very well of course, but my excitement at the moment is with the Kansas City Symphony.

Today, I had a very long dress rehearsal with the Symphony who is performing several sold-out concerts for their Education Series.  It is an amazing event, where the students, who have been learning about music all year in a curriculum funded by Carnegie Hall and the KC Symphony, have come to join the Symphony to learn and participate in a concert in the world renown Helzberg Hall.

I showed up early, and while I was sitting in the performers entrance in the "cleavage" of the two theaters at the Kauffman Center, in walked a group of folks with ACDA (American Choral Directors Association).  They were touring the center as they were selecting a venue to host their National Conference, which is pretty much the Super Bowl of choral music.  Of course, I was really excited when I overheard their conversation, so I jumped in - rudely - but hey, I really think that Helzberg is the greatest venue for choral or symphonic music; greater than any other place that I've experienced on earth.

Well, the ACDA folks (Dr. Tim Sharp among others) picked a great day to visit.  They first heard Aretha Franklin do her bit and they somehow got through the army of secure fences and border police.  Literally, the workers cleared out the entire area and put up a restraining fence to keep anyone in the building from bothering or listening to Her Highness practice.  I love Aretha, but it would have been fun if they were a little more lax on the secret service side of things; she even had guys dressed in black suits with glasses and ear pieces and all!  There were very few people in the place, so it seemed like they went a little overboard with the security - and unfortunately, I was unable to meet the Queen herself, but maybe I'll get another opportunity.  

The Symphony played portions of Beethoven 5, Le nozze di Figaro Overture, and I sang with the Symphony as well...however, some of the songs, are a little less than classical in nature.  I sang a catchy Brazilian dance song in Portuguese (no, I have never studied Portuguese, but I had some coaching) and other pop tunes created for the event and even moments from Carmen, with my friend Chris Carr as the awesome toreador Escamillo, and for all the music nerds out there, we are even performing an Arvo Pärt piece for the elementary kids - how crazy is that!?  I'll let you know if it effective or not, but I think it will be shockingly cool.

In the end, I am really excited for our concerts with the kids - they get to "accompany" with their recorders on one song...literally, 1200 kids playing recorders to Blue Danube - who can't smile (or laugh) thinking about that!

Also, I got an awesome private dressing room!  I even enjoyed a catered meal in my room - it was a sandwich lunch of turkey on rye with wine-soaked onions, spinach, and a raspberry cream dressing with Swiss cheese, a salad of mushrooms (which I loved!), and a pear!

Lastly, I must mention the passing of Maurice Sendak.  He had an impact in the world of opera in a rather interesting way, by making the opera Brundibar into a picture book in 2003.  I will make a special post about it later this week, but the opera was written at the concentration camp that I visited three years ago in Terezin, Czech Republic - I think it is a very important story to tell.  If you do not know about it, here is a short wikipedia article http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brundib%C3%A1r

May Days

Oh beautiful May!  For two decades you have ushered in the highest levels of anxiety, looming ever so devilishly amid a procrastinated school work-load; But this year, I will relax!

School ended for me on April 30!  This is the first time in my life that I have not had school into May, and not just any school - May is a time that teachers and students alike procrastinate the biggest assignments and tests, making one last push to cram-memorize/cram-teach all that one physically can with as minimal sleep as possible.


Amazingly, my schedule in May consists of teaching voice lessons and a few awesome gigs.  First, I will be a tenor soloist with Haydn's Lord Nelson Mass at Washburn University in Topeka.  If you are in the area, you should definitely come - large choir, orchestra, awesome soloists!  Downbeat is 7:30 on Friday at White Hall on the campus of Washburn University in Topeka.

Also, I will be singing the National Anthem and Alma Mater for a graduation on Saturday, but my Sporting KC gig has been moved to June 16 - right before I leave for Pennsylvania.  If you don't know, I will be singing the Canadian National Anthem at that televised soccer match.

Next week, I will be singing with the Kansas City Symphony at Helzberg Hall in their Education Series concerts.  I am a very lucky person in that my first day (May 8), Aretha Franklin and I, share the same practice time at the Kauffman Center, so I am very excited to see if I can get an autograph, hug, photo, anything...

Then, I will be singing with the Simon Carrington Chamber Singers at the end of May.  We will be recording an album and we are hoping to submit it for some awards (possibly a Grammy!).  I've never been a part of a process like that, so I am very curious to see the workings of a professional choir and a professional recording.


Last weekend, I was able to sing a recital in Salina, KS at the grand opening of the new sanctuary at the church I used to work at.  I was met with great memories and the smiles from many friends.  I miss those folks very much, and I was honored and excited to sing for them all in their incredible new sanctuary.  In fact, if you are in Salina, KS and you are a musician, you must find a time to make some music in the sanctuary of University United Methodist Church.  It is certainly the best music venue in town - I truly mean that.  It is live but doesn't dampen the resonance, and even with a domed ceiling, performs very clean.

Also, last week, the 2012 Kansas City Vocal Institute Celebrity Auction ended.  It was very successful, and I want to publicly thank my mother for all of her help, and thank all of the bidders as well.  We are now able to provide over 100 more free lessons this year for underprivileged children and families in the Kansas City metro area!

Next time, I will be posting some pictures of the various events of this week as well as give you more info on the KC Symphony gig!

CLICK HERE TO SEE MY PERFORMANCE SCHEDULE

Too Much Excitement!

I have some great news to share with the world!   First, I just found out yesterday, that I have been awarded the Ellen Battell Stoeckel Fellowship from Yale University!  With recommendations from some amazing people and through a rigorous application process, I was selected to be one of the singers performing at the Norfolk Chamber Music Festival, which is held at Yale University in August.  The Festival is North America's oldest music festival and attracts many of the world's leading composers and musicians.  Essentially, I will be performing - and rehearsing - the whole time.  This fellowship is a prestigious honor to me, since it recognizes academic achievement in a real way - one that collaboratively makes music with the world's leading musicians.  Plus, I've never been able to be of interest to an Ivy league school, so now I can gratuitously flaunt my new-found Connecticut accent - obviously in boat shoes and fluffy cravat!  I am very excited and I hope that this will help me in many ways.  http://music.yale.edu/norfolk/

Second, I was asked early last week by the Kansas City Symphony to sing as a soloist on their upcoming Education Series concerts.  These concerts have been sold-out since sometime in November.  I will be singing at Helzberg Hall in a unique situation.  If you are old enough to remember, Leonard Bernstein offered Young People's Concerts on national television from the Symphony Hall at Lincoln Center.  He had the New York Philharmonic play famous music for children who would come and learn about what a whole-tone scale was, or what instruments played a duck or hunter in Prokofiev's Peter and the Wolf.  Bernstein would begin each piece by (passionately) describing what was going to happen, and then the Symphony would play the piece.  Kansas City is doing the same thing, and it is a great way to teach music, inspiring many children to dream big, and dream to play in a symphony and in one of the most magnificent halls in the world.

Not only that, it is almost completely free.  The children and teachers get books, a semester-long curriculum, instruments, a concert ticket, busing to the hall, for only $5 per child.  Also, the orchestral scores are all free and the kids participate in the concert in various ways.  It's an amazing program produced and provided by both the Kansas City Symphony and Carnegie Hall - the children have spent all semester learning many pieces including pop music, Brazilian dances, classical music like Beethoven's Fifth, The Blue Danube, The Toreador Song, even an Arvo Pärt piece.

Helzberg Hall - Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts
Home of the Kansas City Symphony

With all that said, I was honored and excited to be asked.  I had a meeting this afternoon to find out exactly what I will be doing, and IT IS INTERESTING - some of it is kind of funny too...but, I will keep you on pins and needles in the meantime.  Soon, I will be providing more information, details, and perhaps video, but since it is at the Kauffman Center, you never know who might have a dressing room nearby - one time it was Placido Domingo, another time Itzahk Perlman, then Yo-Yo Ma, and Juan Diego Florez, but as luck would have it, this time it'll be with royalty - a certain Queen of Soul.  Well, I'll leave you hangin' but I'm excited to give you some video and pictures of everything going on in the coming weeks!

A Famous Hat

Third, the 34th Summer Choral Institute (sponsored by the Master Teacher Institute for the Arts) ended its application process and we completely shattered all of our applicant records.  I am the Administrative Director of the Institute and it is one of the most amazing weeks of my year. More students applied this year than ever before - students representing 12 states and many, many schools.  I am so excited to bring together some of the nation's most talented high school singers and some of the most amazing conductors and musicians that I've had the high privilege to know for a week of awesome, life-changing music.

Fourth, the Kansas City Vocal Institute is holding it's online auction through Monday.  Items include an autograph of a Star Wars score by John Williams, and lots of other autographed items by Melissa Etheridge, Chanticleer, Norah Jones, Betty White, the Kronos Quartet, Donald Trump, Joyce DiDonato, Juan Diego Florez, Zubin Mehta, Martina McBride, and Yo-Yo Ma.

Finally, I have an intense upcoming schedule.  Tomorrow, I will attend the Barber of Seville at the Kauffman Center with the KC Lyric Opera, then perform in the other hall at the Kauffman Center on my birthday (Saturday) with the Conservatory Orchestra and Singers - performing the famous Rite of Spring and Chen Yi's new Chinese Myths Cantata, which features me in the fourth balcony singing whole-tone scales in complete darkness, in Mandarin (Chinese) no less, with eleven other singers!  And, on Sunday I will be in Salina, KS singing in a church service and an afternoon concert to commemorate the new sanctuary at University United Methodist Church.  The following week, I will be the tenor soloist for Haydn's Lord Nelson Mass at Washburn University in Topeka, sing at a UMKC graduation in Kansas City, and sing the Canadian National Anthem at a Sporting KC game.  (not to mention that the KC Symphony stuff begins in earnest after that!)

So, it's a busy and exciting time!!!  I will try to bring you videos and pictures of all the excitement.

Muriel Kauffman Theater - Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts
Home of the Lyric Opera of Kansas City

Livestrong Sporting Park
Home of Sporting KC

Fun with Flags

Hello, my name is Bryan Pinkall.  Welcome to the One Hundred Fifty-Second episode of Bryan Pinkall's World of Opera.  Weekly, I have inundated the internet with many of my more abstruse passions.

This week, I will dissertate a topic that captured my liking at an early age - FLAGS.



I originally didn't watch the Big Bang Theory because I thought it was too corny.  I believe after only one episode, it was clearly apparent that what my wife was laughing at, wasn't necessarily the corny jokes about the Higgs Boson, but at Sheldon Cooper - who makes jokes about the Higgs Boson.  Why? Well, my poor wife has to deal with his social unawareness, his stubborn arrogance, his unrelenting certitude, and most annoyingly his ability to speak without end on the world's least interesting subject in real life.  Unfortunately for her sake, I am her Sheldon Cooper.

And, as fate would have it, I have had all of the national flags of the world memorized since I was 7.  Why? Well, I had a primitive CD that played the national anthems of each country while a little picture of the flag was raised.  Since then, and as with much of what I do, I became obsessed.   And with that knowledge, I cannot help but critique this hilarious yet somewhat misinformed portion of The Big Bang Theory.  Even while it was airing live, I talked ceaselessly through it to my wife who was laughing hysterically at me on the couch.  She was laughing because I was correcting all of the "truthiness":

1) Even though Oregon is the only state flag that has two different sides, there are many other flags that have different obverse sides.  Obviously all flags have two sides, but I'm assuming that's not what they were arguing.  Paraguay has two different seals on the front and back of their flag.  Most notably, the Soviet Union had nothing on the back side of their flag - the hammer and sickle only appeared on one side. Obviously there are flags that must reverse the picture so words would read correctly, like Saudi Arabia

2.)  There are many non-rectangular flags - most notably, the state of Ohio and Nepal.

3.) The Hoist is most accurately described as the entire half of the flag that is closest to the flag pole

4.) Just a little tidbit - Germans call "Bavaria" Bayern - but, to correct their flag choice, they are showing you a flag that has the correct field (background) with the Bavarian Coast of Arms.  However, this is not the official flag of Bavaria.  Bavaria has two official flags seen below.

All of this has reminded me that I need to get "on the ball" with my whistling.  So, hopefully by next week, I will have a new whistling video that I will submit to the world whistling championships!

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This past week was quite busy and interesting.  I auditioned for Union Avenue Opera from St. Louis on Tuesday.  It really didn't go that well in all honesty.  My voice sounded tired, perhaps because I have been practicing too much recently, but it was a struggle to get through both Lenski's Aria and Dalla sua pace.  It also wasn't the smartest that I have ever sang either.  Unfortunately, when one thing goes wrong, it is easy to start a chain of wrong events.  Nevertheless, that is just part of being a singer.

I was also invited to sing at Kansas State University for their Vocal Arts Day.  I was very honored to be invited and I had a great time with my friends.  I sang Verborgenheit by Wolf and Torna a Surriento.  It was quite interesting mainly because my voice had some pretty thick low resonance - thanks to the mold fairy.  Unfortunately, it was one of those times that I would have been much more assured if the situation was a little different, but like my audition on Tuesday, it's all in the past now and there's nothing that can be done to change it.  So, I am forced to be content!

This week, I will be singing with the Kansas City Symphony in Mahler's Resurrection Symphony.  It is one of my favorite pieces, and since I'm a singer I rarely have a chance to connect with these large orchestral pieces. The first movement is a violent funeral march based on the Dies Irae chant, the second movement remembers the happier times of the deceased person's life, the third movement has the famous "death cry", the fourth movement includes a mezzo soloist who longs to be in heaven, and the fifth movement is the famous resurrection - "with wings I have won for myself, I shall soar upwards".  The coolest part, besides the end is when the chorus comes in for the first time, they sing pianissississimo, almost at a whisper, "auferstehen" - which calls the soul to rise...it is so freaky and cool.  Here is Bernstein conducting the finale, unfortunately it is after the auferstehen part, however in this clip, Mahler wrote for the chorus to sing "with maximum force"!!

Also, I will be a soloist for a Bach cantata on friday.  Here is the most famous portion of it (beginning at 3:57)



Finally, I will be competing in the Kansas City NATS competition on Super Bowl Sunday - by the way, I have the Patriots winning...not that I care too much, since the Browns came up just short of glory once again.

Unforgettable: Opening the Kauffman Center

Kauffman Center Grand Opening Week: More to come!

A completely unbelievable night, last night! But yet, there's still more to come with the Grand Opening to the Symphony Hall! And, I'm invited to the ball afterward!

Yesterday, though, was magical. Here are my facebook posts from yesterday:

10:00 AM - "Today will be a good day! First sing some Bach Evangelist, then some West Side Story!"

1:00 PM - "At the opera house...in the dressing room...ready to go! last dress rehearsal before the Grand Opening...CALLED TO STAGE!...I'm going on..."

2:00 PM - "Dress rehearsal went awesome...plus, got to meet the Canadian Brass!"

2:30 PM - "on stage with Domingo!!!"

3:00 PM - "Dress Rehearsal done...now it's time for the big show!"

5:00 PM - "Security is tight...internet access is even tighter...can't wait for this thing to start"

6:00 PM - "House is open, in costume...30 minutes until the opening...what a night! Listening to the red carpet interviews on KCUR while I wait for my call..."

7:00 PM - "Curtain Up!"

9:00 PM - "IT WENT GREAT!!!! Met with Placido...UNBELIEVABLE!!!!"

10:00 PM - "‎"Tonight, won't be just any night"...it was the most amazing night ever! Sang and acted at my very best, got to meet with Domingo and Patti LuPone, and received the most unforgettable, gracious praise from the Kauffmans and Helzbergs...just amazing!!!"

I have a lot of video still...so much more still to come!

Kauffman Center Grand Opening Week: Show Time!

Tonight is the night! I have a lot of video from today and I am so excited to share it with you all. You can follow me throughout the day at facebook.com/pinkall.

I have met and seen many people today and I just got off the stage with Placido Domingo.

More posts and videos to come!!

Kauffman Center Grand Opening Week: A Sneak Peek Behind the Scenes

Kauffman Center Grand Opening Week: Another First Look - The Symphony Hall

Kauffman Center Grand Opening Week: Rehearsing

Howdy folks!  Here are some photos taken by another cast member that I found on facebook.  Enjoy!

I will have more either very late tonight or most likely tomorrow on my first experience in Helzberg Hall, the new Symphony Hall!



CLICK HERE TO VIEW MY UPCOMING SCHEDULE

Kauffman Center Grand Opening Week: First Rehearsal in the New Opera House

I will be posting daily this week...some of the posts may be late, depending on when I can get to the internet after rehearsals.  Anyway, please go to www.bryanpinkall.com to see my updated website, with new images, recordings, and schedule!  You can also read my blog on it as well.

BIG ANNOUNCEMENT

I will be a featured soloist (Tony) in an ensemble performing "Tonight" from West Side Story, at the Grand Opening Event of the opera house at the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts - featuring Placido Domingo, among others - on September 16, 2011.  Tickets are sold out (they were so cheap to begin with - see below for details).  The following was my initial post (that I got in trouble for posting too soon - oops!) about the event, fully uncensored for everyone's enjoyment along with many articles.

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Growing up, I was always captivated by the grandiose productions of the Olympics, the Three Tenors specials on PBS, and even the high school marching band.  In these I dreamt dreams and felt feeling that led me to forget the world and live within an imagined box of extremes.  I shot the game winning basketball shot in the NCAA finals, I sank an eagle putt to win the US Open, and I had an awesome police car and chased down bank robbers.

But as I got older, the realization never really came, that my impossible dreams were just of my mind and couldn't actually happen.  Of course I knew failure very well.  Even though I wasn't the best basketball player didn't mean that I couldn't live the excitement of sinking the game-winning shot in my head.  The dream that I could be like Pavarotti or be like Tiger Woods always was possible to me.  And in a way, when I would get great opportunities later in life, my reaction to them was always more muted than what I imagined as a kid.  So I stuck to my imagination - it was much more exciting than the glories of the real world.

I had a childhood infatuation with marching bands - the power, the militaristic uniformity, the emotion from the music.  In high school, I auditioned to be the drum major (I didn't get it).  But, as a small kid, if given that opportunity, I would have made that as important as life itself.  As a child, if I had known that I could be the high school drum major, I would be proud and nervous and excited that I had a future capable of something so great.  I tend to forget the simple enthusiasm.  I forget that I have had many accomplishments and projects that I should give the full joy of my youth - even to the things as simple as auditioning for the high school band drum major.

Recently, a small bit of news, an opportunity, arose that caused a flood of these childhood emotions of pride, nervousness, excitement.  I don't believe I ever said "yes" but instead I said that I was "horribly excited" for the opportunity.  Of course I meant "yes", but it never came out that way.

Here in Kansas City, what will likely be the most expensive performing art center (about half a billion dollars) and one of the most architecturally complex structures in the entire world will open in September, with the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts.

I have been trying my hardest to find a performance opportunity there, in their inaugural season.  Performing there is not the only part that I was wanting to do.  I knew for about a year - with the rumblings and rumors around the arts circles in KC - that Placido Domingo (and for those under rocks - he was one of the Three Tenors) would be singing at the Grand Opening event.  It was then announced early this year that there would be two Grand Openings, the first for the opera house and the second for the symphony hall and would feature Placido Domingo, Itzhak Perlman, Diana Krall, and others.  It would certainly be one the most important music events in the nation this year, but I can not afford a ticket.

(I guarantee you'll know the end of this, even if you've never gone to an opera)

The offer that was presented to me in the phone call - seemingly out of the blue - was to sing the role of Tony in the "Tonight" scene from West Side Story at the Grand Opening of the opera house at the Kauffman Center.  My mind exploded!  I immediately knew the importance of the event and who all would be singing with me.  I would be performed would be performed with the Kansas City Symphony under the baton of Michael Stern along with a large company (about 50) of singers and dancers.  More information flooded through the phone conversation, including that it is being produced by a Hollywood production company - presumably filmed, recorded, lights, etc.  The performance will take place on September 16, with rehearsals beginning on September 11.

Beyond the shock of the news, it took a long time for me to realize that I would be on the same concert as Placido Domingo along with other great artists.  The tickets alone, which range from $1,000 to $70,000, are enough to pressure any performer to taking a quick shot of tequila, trying to forget that people actually will pay that much to hear you sing.  And, shortly into the scene, Tony begins his solo with the "tonight" theme. The thought of it is still so exciting - I would be singing a solo at the grand opening of the opera house at the Kauffman Center, with the KC Symphony, a full house that has paid out the wazoo to be there, 50 singers and dancers, a Hollywood production company, and with my name on the same program as Placido Domingo - the most famous living opera singer, and one of the greatest tenors in history.

This is an amazing opportunity, that I will not waste, and I will live it with the passion of my childhood.  Who knows what the future holds, but as for right now, I am so excited to live in the moment - just like a kid.

So, now that the world knows, I will be posting press releases (so far they haven't been updated since earlier this year) about the other performers and all the events involved with the opening of the Kauffman Center.  I hope this will make Kansas City a great destination and capital for music.  I am so honored and excited to be a part of it.

CHECK OUT THE LINKS AND PHOTOS BELOW:

Opening Gala Press Release
http://www.kansascity.com/2011/08/23/3094607/kauffman-center-gala-producers.html

Information About Grand Opening Tickets (good luck!)
http://www.kauffmancenter.org/events-tickets/grandopening/

Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts Wikipedia Page
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kauffman_Center_for_the_Performing_Arts

Kauffman Center Pictures from July
http://web.me.com/rein4kc/Site/Kansas_City/Pages/kauffman_pre-open_tour.html

Kauffman Center Official Website
http://www.kauffmancenter.org/

NPR Kauffman Center Blog
http://soundandglass.org/

Secrets

Today is the first day back at the Conservatory for my second year of my doctoral study.  I am very excited to begin and I have some very exciting things planned - the most exciting of which I am doomed never to speak of.  Oh the torture!!  If you don't already know, I divulged the information of an incredibly exciting opportunity on my blog last week, and a few hours later had to censor most of the post because I got in trouble for sharing some secrets.  Well, I will post the whole thing on September 17, but until then I must continue to wait until I have permission to say anything - you can read the censored version here.

(actually, I received an email hinting that I may be able to announce something soon - oh I am so excited.  There is more about "the secret" later in the blog)

In other news, I will be singing some demonstrations for the Conservatory in September over the recitative in Bach's St. John Passion and the recitative in Purcell's opera Dido and Aeneas - obviously singing the role of Aeneas. These are both very old and are sung using specialized baroque performance techniques.

(you really should listen to the whole thing, but if you're lazy, fast forward to about 7:30 and watch to the end)

Also, I have accepted a gig to sing the Evangelist in David Lang's "Little Match Girl Passion" here in Kansas City in May - which won the 2008 Pulitzer Prize in Music, one of the world's most prestigious composition awards.  It is obviously a modern piece, but it is based on the Hans Christian Anderson fable by the same name.  Listen to a little bit of it.

It is, for lack of a better description, a minimalist minimalist piece (or minimalism on steroids).  I mean this because it is built on a significantly small scale, but is a very large work, whose harmonic progression is very slow - this doesn't mean minimalism isn't exciting though, personally I absolutely love it.   It appears really simple - perhaps too simple, but is actually super complex; it requires great precision in tone, pitch, and the hardest part of all for singers - counting!  Minimalism makes for some great ambiance, emotion, and best of all - it glorifies perfection - just like the classical era of Mozart, Haydn, and Beethoven.  Because minimalist music doesn't quickly evolve - unlike doo-wop or rock musicians playing four chords in relatively quick succession - it is more important for the music to transform between the chord areas over a longer amount of time.  This transforming style works great with the heartbreaking story of the Match Girl: a poor and abused girl, who sells matches, transitioning from life to death, lighting matches so as not to freeze during the night - watch the beautiful Disney animated short film about the story (the music in the Disney film is not from the production we're doing, but it is beautiful as well).

Yesterday, I started my new church job at Village Presbyterian here in Kansas City, the nation's fifth largest Presbyterian Church.  I will be responsible for singing, probably a lot of solo singing, and conducting whatever they need, whenever they need it.  It appears that they will be flexible in working with my INSANE schedule, which I am very thankful for.  I sang for a pot-luck dinner (where the food was so good, you'd think they were Methodists), and met many of the wonderful people that I will be working with, many of whom are highly educated musicians.  They have three choirs, a brass ensemble, three handbell choirs, the Kansas City Wind Symphony, a youth choir, a youth orchestra, and children's choir.  WOW!  I will certainly have a lot of fun.

As to my future schedule, I will of course be doing my cross country audition circus again this fall.  I have selected some exciting things to audition for, and I am very confident - the most confident that I have ever been - going into the new audition season.  I have made a small vocal change over the summer that has brightened and freed my sound very much.

Also the Conservatory will be performing La Nozze di Figaro (the marriage of Figaro) and Carmen coming up, so I may be performing in those.  The auditions will soon take place for those operas and I will give you all the details about that soon.

Okay now, back to some news regarding "the secret":  as you may know, I will be singing with the Kansas City Symphony Chorus during the year, and we have been rehearsing for some coming events, and for a performance of Brahms German Requiem...one of my most favoritest pieces!  However, I was quite humbled last Monday when they announced my news, the same news that I cannot announce publicly yet, in front of all the singers.  I stood and they applauded - I felt so very honored.

But so as to not make too many people upset at my teasing - I have decided to just keep quiet for the moment, trusting that I will be able to simply make a statement at some point beforehand, even if it does not involve any significant details.

Sorry mom, but you probably shouldn't say anything to local newspaper yet...but I won't be able to stop you if your bible study group wants to pray for me, naturally by putting me on the prayer chain...I know some good gossip gets around that way (wink, wink).  

My Summer at Sugar Creek, Kansas City Symphony Chorus, & Planking

What an amazing last several weeks!  I had a great time at Sugar Creek, met so many wonderful people - it was hard to leave some of them knowing I may not see them again - but hopefully I will see them all soon.  The performances went great and the audience was very gracious.  The cast was terrific, the orchestra was superb, and the maestri and directors and stage managers all made the experience wonderful.

I have some incredibly exciting news about an upcoming gig, but I can't say anything publicly about it yet unfortunately.  It is so so so exciting though - certainly one that I will remember for the rest of my life!!  There will be many postings about it in the future, but until then I just wanted you all to be curious...

Yesterday, I auditioned for the Kansas City Symphony Chorus, which if you don't know, has expanded to over 160 members - that's larger than any of Robert Shaw's choirs.  I wanted to be a part of it this year because their season is spectacular, as it will be the first season in the new Kauffman Center.  We will be performing Brahms' German Requiem, Handel's Messiah, Mahler's Resurrection Symphony, and (wait for it) Beethoven's Ninth Symphony (the gates of Music Heaven open with six-winged fat, horned Brunhilde serphim operatically lauding the mere mentioning of the piece).  Plus, we will be performing some Wagner on the opening night Gala Concert of the Kauffman Center's Orchestra Hall on September 17.  This is a HUGE event featuring Yo-Yo Ma, Diana Krall, and Itzhak Perlman.  Tickets start at $500, so good luck with that if you want to go.  I am so thankful that I get to see and sing in the opening of what will be one of the world's greatest performing halls!

But on to some pictures - here are some memories of my time at Sugar Creek - remember I stayed on a farm...

The view driving up to my homestay - you wouldn't believe the view at night - so many meteors and other cool things that the city lights would flood out

Yeah, so...singers and farm equipment obviously go together...nevertheless, I was so curious about it all that Marv decided to show off his toys and tell me about how he works.  These combines, and for the opera singers out there combines harvest the crops, drive by satellite - perfect to within one inch!

Me in a wheel...something that I failed to mention on this blog is that Marv, the farmer, fixed my car for me after the starter broke.  If you remember, my wife and I recently had to buy a new car because her car broke, and here I was in Illinois with a broken Diane (my car's name) as well.  Thank you Marv!

Let's talk about the food around here.  IT TORE ME UP!  Not to make too many judgements, but it was obvious that the people up here are not too concerned about what they eat.  At this diner, my friend David and I got some breakfast.  Now, I always eat everything, and usually have plenty of room to spare (insert angry comments from women here) and I haven't gained any weight in eight years (insert more comments/cursing here).  I felt like death after nearly drowning in my tar pit of biscuits and gravy.  However David finished a plate of toast and eggs (you can barely see it but it is an entire dinner plate full of eggs) and a giant stack of plate sized pancakes.  By the end, there was only a quarter bottle of syrup left as well!  It was the greatest eating feat that I have ever witnessed!  The lady at the diner said people rarely finish the pancakes, let alone another plate of eggs and toast - leave it to an opera singer to push the boundaries of human achievement.  He later ran six miles...

Chicago skyline from a water taxi...

My brother and my mother planked at the Hancock Building in Chicago.  If you haven't heard of "planking" it is when you lie face down in a public place.  If you are wondering why people do it, it is mainly to be funny.  I love how the people in the background generally don't care what is going on.  Evidently everyone up in Chicagoland has social-blindness, we saw a man take all of his clothes off except for his tighty whities, and we were the only people staring.  That incident happened at Shedd Aquarium, where we also learned about the birds and the bees from the sea otters.

What diverse people...a shirtless man walking with his wife, a little girl and giant in the same picture (seriously he was significantly taller than 7 feet)......(I still can't stop laughing at this picture!)

Well, now back to the grind.  These last three weeks have made appreciate the opportunities that I have received so much and I feel so lucky to be able to be a professional musician.  My friends at Sugar Creek, I will hopefully see you again somewhere, sometime.  As for Kansas City - I'm excited to start my second year of my Doctorate, and participate in what will be one of the most exciting musical years of my life.

Stay tuned for my upcoming performance schedule...I won't post it until I can say something about the gig that I can't tell anyone about yet...(biting nails)

The Pied Piper

If you build it, I will come...evidently...like a child following the pied piper.

EXAMPLE #1

The Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts will be opening soon!

As you may know, I auditioned for next year's Lyric Opera season and was not hired, however I have been in touch with them recently and they are very interested in having me with their company in the future.   I was sad that I could not perform in their new opera house this, their first season.

However, I did not give up and have talked to the Kansas City Symphony at least six times about their program with the Symphony Chorus.  Unfortunately their auditions are held at the same time that I am in Chicago in an opera production.   Well, thankfully, they are allowing me to make a special audition on the day that I return to Kansas City from Chicago - which also happens to be my 2nd wedding anniversary to my wonderful wife, Dusti.  Hopefully, the audition will go really well, and hopefully I will be able to sing on their season this coming year in the immaculate new symphony hall.

Click on the picture for a closer look!

From all accounts, it is expected to be one of the greatest halls, acoustically that is - and that's all that matters, in the entire world.  Unfortunately, I do not expect that I will be able to witness the Grand Opening Events for each of the halls.  The events will feature Placido Domingo, one of the greatest tenors in all of history (whom I had the great honor of seeing live, with my dad - by the way, Happy Fathers' Day dad - notice the correct placement of the apostrophe), and Itzhak Perlman, the violin virtuoso.  I can't go because to attend the Grand Opening of the Opera House, tickets range from $1,000 to $50,000!!! Comparably, with a little luck from under your couch cushions, you can attend the much more affordable Grand Opening of the Symphony Hall with tickets ranging from $500 to $30,000 - what a bargain!  Want the best seats in the house for both nights? Well, you get a $10,000 discount if you buy the Platinum Package - you'll get to see both concerts in the best seats for a meager $70,000. Interested? Here's the order form.

SIDENOTE

Nonetheless, I got an audition for the Symphony Chorus.  And, this week I also had an audition to do some solo work for Village Presbyterian Church, the fifth largest Presbyterian Church in the world.  They do almost exclusively major works by the greatest composers (Bach, Beethoven, Brahms, Mozart, etc.) as well as other chamber music of legitimate classical music traditions - which means to me that their congregation must be very well educated and cultured...just my kind of people.

I mention this because (college music students listen up!) as soon as I started the audition, they asked me first to sing a solo.  So, I did.  Then they asked me to sight sing - just like a college proficiency test.  For example: Sing the following example below - you don't get to use an instrument or piano - this is the first time you've seen the music, and you must sing it correctly a capella (alone, solo, without help)

Seems impossible, huh? Well, that is what I had to do.   In college, musicians learn tricks to help us with these kind of things.  Then I did a rhythmic dictation test - it is similar to the example above only if I clapped the notes in rhythm. Lastly, they gave me a German paragraph and Latin paragraph to read, read correctly, with correct diction, and with the correct accents (Americans are horrible at this).  Then we talked for a while about the program.  Well, I just found out hours ago that I got the job.

It should be a great thing.  I feel that they are very anxious to have me on board.  It's nice to feel wanted and needed instead of used, but I haven't felt that way in a long time; the last church I was at, UUMC in Salina, KS was a amazing place for me.  I am lucky to be hired and treated as a professional musician.

SIDENOTE OF THE SIDENOTE

Which brings me to another tangent - I am excited that the job doesn't involve Praise and Worship music!!!  Some I suppose will never understand why most musicians don't enjoy this.  The reason is that we spend years, passionately learning and perfecting music, and then we are required to perform the simplest, and sometimes the most abusive forms of it.  Wouldn't that make you crazy?  To me, art music is an education; popular music is a drug.  It is great to rapturously enjoy music (the drug), I certainly do, but in music we can also experience our mind, character, and stretch the bounds of our natural abilities (the education).

EXAMPLE #2

This last week I visited the new Livestrong Sporting Park to see the US vs. Guadeloupe Soccer match.  Like most things in life, I am wildly passionate about soccer.  And this was my first game in the brand new stadium in Kansas City and my first game seeing the US National Team...my favorite national team of course.

The US National Team won 1-0 and advanced to play Jamaica in our Continental Championship, the Gold Cup - the "World Cup" of North America, Central America, and the Caribbean.  But that's not all, I will also be singing at the Sporting KC game at Livestrong Sporting Park this weekend when they play Vancouver.  And since they are playing a Canadian Team, I will be singing O Canada as well as The Star-spangled Banner.  I hope to see you at the game if you can make it - 7:30 on Saturday, June 25.  That's THIS COMING SATURDAY!

And for some special fun for any geeks like myself out there, click here to visit the virtual venue where you can view the stadium from any location.  Can you find out where I was sitting from my picture above?

EXAMPLE #3

My love of sport has begotten my love for sports architecture.  And what is the pinnacle of sports and architecture?  THE OLYMPICS of course.  Now, I have a special place in my heart for the Olympics...better yet, I have a special heart for the Olympics.  It is one of the most exciting times in my life...it is all consuming - be that good or bad - I love it.  And, many don't know this, but I was so captivated by the 1996 Opening Ceremonies in Atlanta, because it was staged almost entirely as an opera depicting the history of the South, that it inspired me to become a musician.  It is just one of those unique events, where money is almost no object, and the imagination and creativity of the world comes together to create a piece of art unmatched in scale and appreciated by everyone on earth.  How often does art effect so many, so effectively?

Anyway, one of my friends from college happens to be an architect at Populous, an architecture firm here in Kansas City.  They used to be called HOK, but they are significantly one of the world's most prestigious sports architecture firms - click here to see a list of their past projects.  And, if you notice, they have designed sports venues including Livestrong Sporting Park and stadiums for every Olympic Games since 1996.

Well, my friend offered to let me take a tour of their work on Thursday.  I am not sure what I will be seeing but I am incredibly excited.  I know that they have been recently working on the Olympic Stadium for the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia.  They may be working on a different project now, but I will find it all fascinating!

EXAMPLE #4

Dusti and I went to Shakespeare in the Park, in Kansas City and saw Macbeth last night.  It is packed with people and runs for 18 straight days, until July 3.  I am loving the culture of our metro area.  It is so energetic compared to many other places in the US.  

And, lastly, next week we'll take a look at the Art of Singing for tenors.  Here's an example of the glory to come...

UPCOMING PERFORMANCE SCHEDULE

June 25 - National Anthem - Sporting KC vs. Vancouver - Livestrong Sporting Park - 7:30pm
July 21-August 7 - Sugar Creek Opera - Daughter of the Regiment - August 4, 5, 7 - Watseka, IL (near Chicago)
August 8 - Audition - Kansas City Symphony Chorus

much, much more to come!...

Remembering...

Last night, my wife and I went to Celebration at the Station in Kansas City.  And it was so incredibly awesome, that we have decided to make it an annual tradition.  Essentially it was a classical patriotic concert, with over 60,000 people packing a quarter-mile swath from the amazing Union Station, to the National WWI Museum.  Plus, the weather was nice!   I really can't describe it, or how big it was, but it was certainly the largest outdoor classical concert that I've ever been to.  And, it made me very proud to be in Kansas City.  The music culture of this place is great.  This was a huge event after all; I only see PBS specials like this from Vienna, New York, or Washington D.C.  The architecture is amazing; we visited Union Station for the first time and it's beautiful - certainly in the same kind of majesty as New York's or D.C.'s Grand Central Stations.  Plus the WWI monument is great as well.

As you watch this, you cannot really tell the distances between the stage and WWI monument because of a small cliff in the middle of the lawn, but they are a quarter-mile away from each other.  Below is the playing of Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture.  Some musicians think this piece is corny (the canon firings in this piece are actually written in the music) but I think it is incredibly exciting!  Oddly enough, it is a piece glorifying Napoleon's defeat to the Russians.  It has nothing to do with America.

It is of course Memorial Day.  Please sit up in your chairs, take your Brunhilde horned helmets off, and observe a caesura in remembrance of the opera stars who have been chosen by the Valkyries to spend the afterlife in Operatic Valahalla.

In chronological order beginning Memorial Day of 2010. (Age at death)

Giuseepe Taddei (93), Christine Johnson (98), Giacinto Prandelli (96), Maureen Forrester (79), Peter Sliker (86), Cesare Siepi (87), Luo Pinchao (98), Laszlo Polgar (63), Dolores Wilson (82), Ulrik Cold (71), Richard T. Gill (82), Shirley Verrett (79), Peter Hofmann (66), Gianna Galli (75), Armando Chin Yong (53), Antonin Svorc (77), Robert Tear (72), Donald Shanks (70), Anthony Rolfe Johnson (69), Dame Joan Sutherland (83), Roxana Briban (39), Hugues Cuenod (108), Frances Ginsberg (55), Solange Michel (98), Helen Boatwright (94), Dame Margaret Price (69), Sona Aslanova (86), Vincenzo La Scola (53), Alda Noni (95)

Deaths of note - how appropriate for opera

Roxana Briban (39) - Romanian opera singer, committed suicide.  She was a very famous soprano, who starred on many of the main stages in Europe.  Her death was also a world-famous tragedy that played out on facebook.  On the day of her suicide she posted to her facebook page a disturbing youtube clip of herself singing "Addio del passato" (so closes my sad story) from Traviata. It is Violetta's aria right before she dies from disease. Click Here to Watch.  But that's not the shocking part, her last facebook profile picture was a picture of her bloody hand (from an opera production I'm assuming). Click Here to See.  She died several hours after posting this by cutting her wrists.

Dame Joan Sutherland (83) - Australian soprano, died of heart failure. One of the most celebrated opera singers in history.

Hugues Cuenod (108) - Swiss tenor.  He was the oldest person to debut at the Metropolitan Opera when he sang the role of the Emporer in Turandot in 1987.

Vincenzo La Scola (53) - Italian tenor, died of a heart attack.  He was one of the world's leading operatic tenors who sang at most of the world's most prestigious houses including the Met and La Scala.