Local Women Composer's Concert

...or how I gave my week to women composers.

One of the women in my a cappella group asked if any of us were interested in singing in a local women composers concert. I said yes, because I have been looking for songs to sing for my eventual audition into a music ed program, and I was specifically hoping to sing pieces composed by women.

So I got the music, and I talked to the woman organizing the event, and had a rehearsal on Saturday morning. She gave me postcards and brochures for the event, and we quickly went over most of the music. We had another rehearsal scheduled for tonight.

(This was happening, btw, during the music marathon that is Holy Week).

Tonight, I got another new piece, and I got to meet the composer, Sebastiana (I can't remember her last name). Sebastiana speaks at least three languages, and she set the song to a poem by Goethe. It's gorgeous. It's not an easy piece, but somehow, it is easy to sing - I think that's the mark of a good composition. This one will be performed tomorrow evening, so that's an additional concert I just found out about today.

We also went over another piece, one that the organizer asked me sing tenor on, and this one kicked my ass and then played a game of keepaway with it. Ho. Lee. Crap. I'm not sure I'll be able to get this one. It's one of these pieces where it's not so bad when you sing you're own line, but as soon as another part is singing, it all falls away.

Then the organizer asked me to go to another location where the other choir was practicing for another concert, which will take place on Saturday evening.

This is probably getting difficult to follow, so I'll just point you towards the website for the event, which has been going on all month: The 8th Annual Women Composers Festival of Hartford.

(oh, and hey, there's Sebastiana's last name: Sebastiana Ierna, from Sicily. Which means she speaks at least 4 languages: Italian, English, German, and Portuguese.)

So I went down the road to the other rehearsal, they were just finishing up with the SATB pieces (S-soprano, A-alto, T-tenor, B-bass, for the non-singers), and I had just enough time to get all the music and practice 2 pieces, both of which were lovely.

So, if you're in the Hartford area and you would like to either meet me, hear me sing, or are generally interested in women composers, I will be in the following concerts:

Wednesday, March 26, 2008: 7:30 p.m. at the Hartt School of Music, Konover Building - Women of the World Concert.

Saturday, March 29, 2008: 2:00 p.m. at the Unitarian Meeting Hall, Bloomfield Avenue, Hartford - Local Woman Composer's Concert.
AND

Saturday, March 29, 2008: 7:30 p.m. at the Unitarian Meeting Hall, Bloomfield Avenue, Hartford - Concert Pro Femina

And as my choir director would say, I'm putting the music under my pillow.