Make Your Garden Grow

Last year my husband and I attended a wedding that resulted in two more plants being added to our humble collection.  Both were Phalaenopsis orchids - one small and one large.  We have other plants so we were up for the challenge.  While orchids are beautiful, they require a lot of care to keep them alive.  In their native habitat, orchids grow in the rain forest attached to trunks of trees.  Their roots are mostly exposed and the daily rain doesn't seem to bother them.  New leaf growth is very important because the junction of the leaves is where new stems like to form.  The mid-Atlantic has a slightly different climate than the rain forest.  Somehow we made it through the winter and in March we were blessed with four huge flowers on the large orchid.

My sister Becky's plants put our orchids to shame.  She has plants everywhere in her Illinois home and she is very knowledgeable about all of them.  She can tell you which one will get re-potted in the spring and which one will get divided.  She has stories about which one is a rescue and which one is a gift.  She knows which plant gets watered once a week, twice a week or once a month.  She remembers which plant she didn't have a clue what to do with at first, but made some good guesses along the way.  Some of her friends call her "Crazy Plant Lady" or CPL for short.  She doesn't mind that nickname, and when I look at my Wandering Jew, I can't help but think about that nickname.  It came from her own Wandering Jew that she took a cutting of, rooted and then shipped to me in a padded mailer. 

Similar to my last post, cultivation is a lot like preparation.  While preparation is usually for something with a date or goal attached, cultivation is much more open ended.  My sister is patient when it comes to cultivating her plants and the result is astounding. 

Cultivation is a major part of relationships.  Whether it is with your spouse, sibling, co-worker or friend, the relationship is a result of the cultivation efforts of both sides.  Some are a little harder than others, and some seem so effortless.

Musicians are continually cultivating their relationships both with their instrument, and with their fellow musicians.  When I am the cantor at church there is comfort in knowing the organ will be there at the right time for the Responsorial Psalm.  I'm sure that our two talented organists adjust accordingly to each cantor they accompany.  When Paul Carroll conducts an orchestra during the concert series he has the opportunity to continue cultivating several musical relationships simultaneously.  It must be very rewarding to tap into something that you know will work and to be pleasantly surprised when something new and rewarding happens.  

Yesterday morning, as I was watering our plants, I spied a tiny new leaf forming on our smallest orchid.

Prepare Ye...

A few months ago as I was making some decorations for my wedding it occurred to me that the actual making of the decoration itself was not that difficult or time consuming.  It was the preparation that was time consuming.  That particular decoration was some ties for the back row of the ceremony chairs.  My original idea was to have one tie on every other chair but as a result of a happy mistake I bought too much fabric and ended up making two ties for each chair.  I admit that I am not a skilled seamstress but I can sew a straight line.  I knew that I couldn’t just sit down with ten yards of poly satin and start sewing without taking some time to prepare everything first.  So after several hours of measuring, marking, pinning and cutting I was able to sew twenty chair ties in far less time that I imagined possible.  My now husband offered to iron them and my mom offered to hand sew the open edges.  (I’m sure there is a correct seamstress word for that)  The end result was beautiful and I was and still am happy with my decision.

                    (Photo credit: Becky Pippenger)

 

If “preparation” were a person, it wouldn’t be very popular.  Often times we groan at the very thought of preparation and wish that we could just do the end task.  After all, it’s the end task that we enjoy and want to showcase for ourselves or others. 

My husband, Charles and I enjoy going to concerts at the Strathmore and are frequently amazed at how flawless the performances are.  The orchestra, the choir, conductor and the guest performers all make it look so easy.  It must be nice to be able to sit down at a piano and produce amazing sounds that are able to take your breath away.  And then I have to wonder, how many collective hours must it have taken to get that performance to that caliber.  How many scales has Brian Ganz played in his lifetime?  He probably lost track a few years ago.  How many parents endured their son or daughter scratching out tunes on a violin in their youth? 

There is a boy in my neighborhood who has a trap set and days where the windows are open, we can all hear him.  I’m sure most of us have either been to or have seen a You Tube of a youth band or orchestra where it is almost cute how horrible they are.   My sixth grade band had two tuba players, one who could barely get a sound out and the other who overcompensated for the trumpets that were vying for attention.  But that was no match compared to the sixteen clarinets.  (Give or take one or two, after all that was more than twenty years ago.)  If Brian Ganz has lost track of all the scales he has played, Mr. Sherman, my band director, has lost track of all the clarinet squeaks he has heard.  By the time we were in high school we had grown into a band getting top scores at music contest.  All because of our preparation.  

Soon the 2012-2013 St. Louis Concert Series will be announced. With every concert comes a lot of preparation to bring our spectators a wonderful Sunday afternoon.  In addition to the talent preparing their respective pieces there is the behind the scenes efforts to make the concert come together.  The music has to be distributed to the performers, rooms have to be reserved, schedules have to be coordinated, etc.  What works for some concerts may not work for others so the preparation is an ever evolving process. 

In that regard, preparation, whether it is for something musically related or in our personal lives, is actually a gift!  Not all gifts come wrapped in pretty paper.  We might even procrastinate at accepting this one.  All of us, myself included, can probably think of a time in our lives when we didn’t prepare well enough and ended up frustrated at the results or when we did make the necessary preparations and ended up with something we could be proud of.  Now, the time to prepare for everything in our lives?  That’s another blog entry by someone else entirely.  I’m still trying to figure that one out. 

Oh, and that kid in my neighborhood?  Whoever he is, he’s getting really good. 

Singing in the Summer 2012

Singing in the Summer 2012 is upon us! As we finished Day 3 this afternoon, we made the video below. Please join us for the Closing Concert on Thursday, June 28 at 7:30pm in the Social Hall of the Pastoral Center at St. Louis Church. Come and hear 7 students from 5 area high schools play a variety of music and styles.

Concert Series News

Summer time is here! With the wonderful, warm weather upon us some of the choirs and ensembles at St. Louis take a well-deserved break. For many of us, however, this change of season means an exciting time of planning for the year ahead. Stay tuned for information about the upcoming 2012-2013 season of the St. Louis Church Concert Series. Also, stay tuned for new and exciting stories from Susan Carron Lepple, the new producer for the Concert Series.

Susan, a St. Louis parishioner, brings a great deal of experience, energy, and enthusiasm to the Concert Series. Her experience as a stage manager and project manager along with her graduate degree in Arts Management  place her in an ideal position to take on this role. Donna Douglass, as the previous Concert Series Producer decided to pass the reigns at the end of 2011. She leaves especially large shoes to fill. I would like to take this opportunity again to thank her for her years of work from the beginning of the Concert Series in 2006. I'd also like to thank Larissa Sanders, Associate Organist at St. Louis, who jumped in as acting producer for the March and April concerts this year.

High School Music Opportunities at St. Louis

 

With summer upon us, I write with information about 3 upcoming opportunities at St. Louis for high school musicians. 

 

First, I share a reminder that our the Classical Coffeehouse is approaching on Saturday, June 23 - 7:00pm-10:00pm. Space remains available for acts - soloists and small chamber groups are encouraged to play in the informal and relaxed setting of the Social Hall. Pianists are available as needed for collaboration. For more information and to sign up, contact Alex Palting at (240)-383-8997 or email. 

Second, registration remains open for Singing in the Summer 2012, a 5-day intensive choral program for high school students (those just completing grades 8-12). This year is the third year of the program and it will run June 24-28 with a concluding concert on Thursday, June 28 at 7:30pm in the Parish Social Hall.

 

For more information and registration form, visit here. 

 

 

 

Third, I am excited to announce the 2nd Concerto Competition of the St. Louis Church Concert Series. All students in grades 9-12 during the 2012-2013 school year are invited to participate. The competition will be held on Sunday, January 20, 2013 (snow date January 27) and the winner will be invited to perform their concerto with orchestra at the Spring Concert - Sunday, April 21, 2013 at 4:00pm. The deadline for receipt of applications is January 11, 2013. Applications will be available in early fall.

Ebates Challenge from the St. Louis Church Concert Series

With this post, I send a challenge to all readers. Ebates is a free service that offers cashbach shopping for online purchases that you already make. Many mainstream online retailers have partnered with Ebates as means of furthering their advertising.

How does it work?
After you sign up for a free account, simply visit the Ebates website before making online purchases in order to click through to your choice of over 1500 retailers. Each retailer offers a percentage back for each purchase.

Why is this information on a Music Ministry blog?
If 100 people click through this blog entry and sign up for Ebates between now and March 31, 2012, the St. Louis Church Concert Series will receive $1000 from Ebates.

Is there a confusing part?
To clarify: by signing up by clicking on the link below, a new Ebates customer is helping the St. Louis Church Concert Series by becoming a referred member. That's where the Concert Series benefit ends. All rebates offered by merchants for purchases are paid directly to the Ebates member. Of course, if you choose to donate those rebates to the St. Louis Church Concert Series, that would be encouraged as well!

The Ebates Link for Sign-up.
http://www.ebates.com/rf.do?referrerid=C2TwQCXxexpFV251kkFXEA%3D%3D

Action-Packed Weekend Recap

Today I write after an action-packed weekend at St. Louis. It began with a wonderful showing from the ever-growing and ever-advancing St. Louis Children's Choir under the direction of Theresa Suhar. The Children's Choir sings a variety of music - both old and new from chant to modern music.

**The St. Louis Children's Choir is comprised of students in grades 2-8 from throughout the parish. The choir usually sings at the 4:00pm Mass on the first Saturday of the month. New members are always welcome. Please contact me for more information.**

Yesterday afternoon, the latest concert of the St. Louis Church Concert Series was entitled A Little Afternoon Music. It featured musicians from near and far. First, Italian organist Ennio Cominetti traveled to St. Louis from Varenna, Italy as he began his US tour. In addition, the Lenore Trio represents local musicians, Larissa Sanders, the Associate Organist at St. Louis, with Eddie Sanders, a Washington based bassoonist, and Denis Karp, a Baltimore based flutist. A great thank you goes out to everyone who took the time to help in the preparation such a great afternoon for a good-sized and very appreciative audience.