Hilltop Diary, September 6, 2023

This entry will be short!  Every day for the last two weeks I have been listening to great music and looking at great art and tinkering with notes to find the right path forward on my third movement of the new “English” Symphony No. 3, the movement titled “The Lady of Shalott.” I finally have the first minute or so of music, but this time it was the product of struggle. That is sometimes the case. The listener will never know which movements were a breeze to write and which were a struggle. I have been very influenced by the Waterhouse painting of the Lady, the one where she is on the boat, as well as the complex sadness of Tennyson’s poem.  

I took the most endearing video of Crystal in her tap shoes clicking away like a pro on the concrete floor of our garage, in preparation for an upcoming audition, but alas, she forbids me to post it!  Haha. But she did study tap and is so good! Her rehearsals for Anastasia continue, but this tap number is for an audition for another show. People have no idea how hard some of these performers rehearse to audition for a role they very well might not get.

I had production meetings in the last two weeks with the director of my upcoming musical production, Dear Miss Barrett (March 2024), and the production team of my upcoming ballet, Raffaella (June 2024). It somehow feels like progress and not much progress at the same time. But the day will probably arrive sooner than I imagine. I’m happy to say I think this is going to be a very good production (Center for the Arts, Murfreesboro), if we can get a good cast for a show not yet known by anyone. Please contact Keri Boe on their staff, if you are interested in auditioning.

Crystal had some theater ladies over to our house for tea and a meeting of the book club they formed, to discuss their current book. and I was composing in my studio but heard nonstop laughter from the other room. They were really having fun! Later I came out and remarked, “Wow, I didn’t know Moby Dick was a comedy.”

I had a contract meeting with my new choral music publisher and (I think) we finally ironed out all the details.

The travel reservations were made for my upcoming trip to give a talk in Washington D.C. in a couple of weeks, but I will say more about it at the time, maybe.

The deer keep drinking down our fountain pool in the back garden to near empty, which has to be refilled every morning, but I am happy to be supplying them some much-needed water in the 90 to 100 degree F temperatures we’ve been having. This morning we got some rain, at least. A lot of our formerly lush garden is losing its blooms now. Such is the way of the seasons. Suddenly it will turn too cold for them instead of too hot. It’s nice to know that most of our flowers are perennials and will be back next spring, all on their own, like old friends.

Well, that’s all for now!