News flash

I have some rather large news to report. It is sad, exciting, and scary all at the same time.

Jean Kawiecki (director of Artios Academies, the homeschooler fine arts program) called today and told me that yesterday the board of the Santa Barbara Children's Chorus decided that it was no longer possible to run the Chorus. Oh sorrow! Oh sadness! My first experience into top-notch music! The beginning of my love for choral music! Three years of wonderful memories and great musical growth! (Only three? It seems much more.)

Then Jean continued. Foreseeing this collapse, she had been planning to purchase the sheet music and uniforms from the Chorus for use in the Artios' choir. But she also grieved the loss of a classically-based choral program for the youth of Santa Barbara. Combining these desires, she came up with this plan: not only to take over the Chorus' music and uniforms but to take its name, philosophy, and role in the community. This newly re-formed SB Children's Chorus would be loosely connected to Artios Academies – the same location, the same day – but would be open to the community, not just home-schoolers. She would take any of the former SBCC choristers into the new one at no additional cost.

And at last Jean came to my involvement. This new program would need an Artistic Director to guide and direct the artistic goals of the choir; would I be interested?

I should mention here that earlier in the week, I had received my mid-semester teacher evaluation from Jean. In it, she expressed her high satisfaction with my teaching, including choir. On my choir rehearsals, she had received feedback from my accompanist, who had said that he was impressed with my methodology – that I had a good way of breaking things done to fix problems. I was especially happy to hear this from him, as he has sung and rehearsed under Mrs. Hodson. I do feel more hopeful about my choir than the first dismal weeks of rehearsal, which gives me the confidence to say yes!

That is, I told her that I loved the Chorus and believed in its vision, and I would do anything to support Jean in keeping that vision alive. If she choose to put me in a position of leadership, fully knowing that I have just barely gotten my feet wet in conducting, then I would do my best to deserve such a position.

I'm rather on pins and needles to see what will happen. I'm sure you can see how this potential position would be both exciting and scary.

Oh, that this good news were not so strongly linked to the bad news, that I might fully rejoice!

From the Archives: Oct. 28, 2008