Well, last week rehearsals ate my life.

I performed Felix Mendelssohn's Die Erste Wahlpurgisnacht with the New York Philharmonic for four nights straight. On the plus side, I feel that I have grown at least somewhat, as a singer and musician by watching Kurt Masur rehearse and perform a masterwork. I also got to hear people keep saying "I really like this piece."

Perhaps it's indicative of my own love of nearly all music that I am irked by other performers who consistently bitch about how much they hate the current piece we're working on. Whether it's Mozart's Requiem ("I've already sung this piece 75,000 times and I'm 19."), Arvo Pärt's Te Deum ("It's just so boring."), Poulenc's Gloria ("I don't like the chords he used."), or whatever piece being performed, everyone at these performances genuinely enjoyed the piece itself. It was a refreshing change.

Last night I attempted to make Beef Stroganoff, but it ended up being Turkey Korma-noff. Pretty good all things considered. A fabulous night of substitutions: Beef became lean ground turkey; egg noodles became spaghetti squash; non-fat sour cream was used, but the bulk was actually 0% greek yogurt; shallots filled in for onions; garlic, mushrooms, and worcestershire sauce . . . were right, strangely enough; tarragon was replaced by tarragon vinegar; and the crowning achievement—cream of mushroom soup was replaced by korma simmer sauce.

It was delicious.

Still is, now that I think about it.

( Today, nothing much of note occurred, with the exception of an infuriating driver. )

And in two days, I get to hear the premiere of my first orchestral work, Cloudscape by the Westminster Conservatory Community Orchestra! I'm taking off the night from work to hear it performed. I'll most likely have tons of things I want to revise from it (assuming I don't just chuck the entire thing) but hey, you only have your first time once.

Speaking of work, I should probably get there soon . . . .