Over Christmas break, reminiscing about what I used to do with my time before work and family started intruding on my whims, I was moved to check out the Notre Dame Lit Choir website. Elise and I sang with this group in college and have very fond memories of that time, and the winter tours are a choir tradition. Sure enough, I found that they were coming to the Boston area this year. I quickly alerted our good friends Tim and Kathleen (also lit choir alums) and scheduled a babysitter. I spent a couple of weeks eagerly anticipating the concert, and not just because it meant a Night Out Without Kids.
Tonight the choir treated us to two hours of wonderful music. Some of the old favorites were on the program, including Mendelssohn’s There Shall a Star, Viadana’s Exultate Justi and of course Ain’a That Good News – still a little too slow for my taste, and still a little square, but I wouldn’t have it any other way. However, a couple of new-to-me pieces really grabbed me: Hail Gladdening Light by Charles Wood, and Anton Bruckner’s Os Justi. Can’t get enough of that Bruckner.
I get to performances like this so rarely these days that the music transfixed me, though the fact that the performance was of outstanding quality certainly helped. I must admit that I don’t think we ever sounded as good as the current group. Gail Walton did her usual trick of extracting an exquisitely blended and dynamic sound with barely perceptible direction, which to this day leaves me awestruck. As Elise noted, we are more than fortunate to have studied with someone so talented and so obviously enthusiastic about her work. She opened a beautiful world to us, and every time I find another piece that I like, I think of Gail.
The other neat feature of events like this is that we generally run into people we haven’t seen in a long time, and tonight was no exception. Laura H – she’s something else now, of course, but I won’t dare trying to spell it – and Eileen…uh, somebody help me here…sat right in front of us. Eileen drove from New Hampshire to see the choir. Now that’s love!

Another heartbreaker in South Bend today. We could barely watch – both emotionally and literally, as our TV has been acting up and decided to quit after the final BC touchdown but before Ohliger delivered the coup de grace. We get a two year hiatus, thankfully. I think I’d rather play USC twice this year.

In case you missed it yesterday, Mariel Zagunis became the first American in a century to win an Olympic medal in fencing. She’s also starting at Notre Dame in a couple of weeks. The fight is on…

Reunion was back in June and I’m just now getting around to posting the pictures. I blame the USA PATRIOT act (seems popular) and the fact that I’m still using a film camera. Takes us forever to use up a roll and remember to get it developed. This time around, all of the pictures were upside down on the Photo CD and the transfer was really noisy – the digital image quality isn’t great, but the film prints look pretty good. I’m shopping for a digital camera now so I don’t think I’ll have to put up with that again.
Here’s my original blog entry on reunion that links that great video clip. I swear I’m gonna pull that one out when he comes around the house with his prom date.

On Monday we returned from my 10-year college reunion and I must say that it was as much fun as I hoped it would be. Seeing old friends and meeting new family additions was a thoroughly refreshing experience – as entertaining as Boston might be, I need to be reminded from time to time that life goes on outside of 495.
I didn’t shoot as much video as I thought I would but this clip of Andrew and Matthew riding their trikes near the Dome is the weekend’s “money shot.” Here it is in Windows Media (1.0MB) and QuickTime (1.2MB) formats for your viewing pleasure.

JeffJournal: I really need more cowbell
According to a quick IM session this morning, Jeff Squyres’s thesis defense went well and he’s going to walk in May. Only took ten years, thanks to a couple of long hiatuses courtesy of the green machine.
All hail Dr. Jeff!
Yes, this is a weak excuse to try out the trackback mechanism, but it apparently works.