This week is spring break for me. My week off. I spent the 1st few days cleaning and just unwinding from the semester. Today I started working on composing a chamber ensemble piece. It is sounding pretty good. I then took a break to take a walk on the seawall and check out the spring breakers. Pretty crowded beach. Not SoCal crowded that one can barely find a space to put you blanket, but still lots of people. One thing about living on an island is that you run into people you know everywhere. I saw, said hi or talked with at least 6 current and former students I know. It was pretty cool. As I walked back to my place, ran into my next door neighbor (also a former student. Small island.) and talked about our chimney that fell during the hurricane. I got invited to Rob's a barbecue party. He knows how to barbecue. I made fajitas with the barbecue jalapenos sausage he cooked. It was really good. Also had some brownies baked with rum. Also very good. Then home to continue composing. A true spring break day.
Today Jennifer had to go and buy a bicycle box from a guy she found on Craigslist. The box is used for transporting your bike on an airplane for example. For some reason, I knew it was wrong, but I had in my head that it was cardboard. Well it is plastic with foam in it. So since I had to go from Galveston to Houston to Sugerland (west of Houston. What a name. Sugar. My kind of town.) she would buy me dinner. So I wanted to make a date out of it so I got dressed up and so did she. I decided on a sushi place called
Japaneiro's. It is a sushi bistro Latin grill. Pretty crazy huh. The sushi was pretty good. One was really good which was the Mount Fugi. The salmon nagiri was really good. We then got the box and the went back to the town square and walked around. It was a nice walk and a great date. Thanks Jennifer.
Welcome to an evening of spectacle and entertainment. The theme tonight is Music from TV, Film and Stage.
* From the musical "Annie Get Your Gun"
There’s No Business Like Show Business
Music and Words by Irving Berlin
* From the musical "Something Funny Happened On the Way to the Forum"
Comedy Tonight
Music and Words by Stephen Sondheim
(You know I wasn’t always into just piano and choir.
“One time I tried to learn to play the violin. As it turns
out, I just wasn’t noteworthy.
And now Comedy Tonight.)
* From the musical "42nd Street"
42nd Street
Music by Harry Warren
Music by Al Dubin
(Harry Warren was an Italian-American composer
and lyricist. Warren was the first major American
songwriter to write primarily for film and had more
hit songs than any other composer of the 20th Century.
He also wrote “Lullaby of Broadway” and
“Chattanooga Choo Choo.”)
* From the movie "Casablanca"
As Time Goes By
Music and Words by Herman Hupfeld
Herman Hupfeld was an American songwriter.
His composition “As Time Goes By” from the film
Casablanca was originally written in 1931 for
the Broadway show “Everybody’s Welcome.”)
* From the musical "Anything Goes”
Anything Goes
Music and words by Cole Porter
(Cole Porter is one of the few Tin Pan Alley composers
to have written both lyrics and music for his songs.)
* From the movie "The Pink Panther"
It Had Better Be Tonight
Music by Henry Mancini
Words by Johnny Mercer
(“I would like a rum.” “A what?” “A rum.”)
(This song was composed for the 1963 film
The Pink Panther. In the film, Fran Jeffries sings
the song while slowly dancing around a fireplace
at a ski lodge in Italy where all the principal players
of the film are gathered. In addition to the vocal
performance, instrumental portions of the song
appear in the film's underscore though out the film.
* From the movie "Star Wars - Episode 1"
Dual of the Fates
Music by John Williams
(The text is from a Welsh poem “Battle of the Trees”
and then translated into in Sanskrit for this piece.
The translation is: Under the tongue root a fight
most dread, and another raging behind, in the head.)
* From the movie "Lord of the Rings - Return of the King"
Into the West
Music and Works by Fran Walsh, Howard Shore, Annie Lennox
* From the movie "Sleepless in Seattle"
When I fall in Love
Music by Victor Young
Words by Edward Heyman
* ;The Music of MGM
Arranged by Greg Gilpin
(We end with a medley of songs that came from
the movies produced by MGM studios.
From the end of the silent film era through World War II,
MGM was the most prominent motion picture studio
in Hollywood, with the greatest output of all
of the studios: at its height, it released an average
of one feature film a week.)
There were over 85 people at the concert. A little less that the winter concert but I always have more attend the Christmas concert. Considering we had the hurricane hit in the fall it was a pretty good attendance. It was a great concert and the choir sounded great.