October 19, 2018

Salzburg, Austria

Salzburg is one of those cities that everyone should visit, if they're able to. Made more famous in the 20th century by the wonderful film The Sound of Music, it has for centuries been a beautiful and important central European city - and, for musicians, justifiably celebrated both as Mozart's birthplace but also the home of some of the finest live music in the world. The Salzburg Festival, the Landestheater, the Mozarteum... all produce world-class performances on an almost daily basis. So, it's always a pleasure and delight to sing here for the Bach Festival. Apart from anything else, they give us delicious "Bach Würfel" (Bach cubes) chocolates at the end of the show. Yum.I met up with an old university friend yesterday (now Director at the Landestheater) for lunch and a conducting consultation yesterday. Moving into a new area of music is exciting, and I'm working hard to improve and expand my knowledge of directing ensembles. We spoke about our different musical experiences in life, thus far, and compared our different approaches to singing and interpreting music. I think it was useful for both of us! It shows that we're never too old to learn from a friend or colleague who can offer a different perspective, and I'm looking forward to discovering this both with The Phoenix Chorale and my students at the University of Redlands next year.At the other end of the spectrum, my eldest daughter Bella began learning the oboe around a year ago, and is now playing well as a student. When I'm home, there's nothing I like better than playing to accompany her on the piano and help her to improve. Watching her musicality develop as she begins to put her own personality into her playing is exciting - tomorrow's musician in the making!