Whew!

Crazy week, and CRAZIER weekend. After rehearsing since January, my choir, the Choral Arts Ensemble of Portland, is finally in the midst of performing Beethoven's Missa Solemnis, which he actually considered his finest work. I must say, I am having a blast doing it--it's probably my favorite choral experience so far--but it has certainly made this week a little bit insane. On top of my usual internship load, we have ha"d rehearsals almost every evening this week, leading up to our performance Friday night (packed house, yay!) and our last one tonight. I should be home around 11pm, and just like that, it will be over. I decided to take tomorrow off, or at least to not go to my sites, but instead catch up on paperwork and housework, which were both quite lacking last week, due to the craziness. However, it has definitely been worth it. I love this sort of thing and always have. Our choir director wrote this in his conductor's notes in our program: The British poet Wilfred Owen who dies on the battlefield in the last days of World War I wrote "I love music, with such strength that I have had to conceal the passion, for fear it be thought weakness..."

The Missa Solemnis, in my opinion, is one of the most beautiful settings of a prayer, and for me, a powerful experience in combining my love for music with my even stronger love for the Lord. What a blessing!