Wow. It is past the halfway point of February. On the one hand, 2019 has barely started, and on the other, it feels like it should be August already. I’ve been beyond busy so far this year, so let’s recap before seeing what’s on the horizon.
I’m about to enter the heart of Show Choir season with John Burroughs High School. As always, the choirs, under the direction of Brendan Jennings, all have an amazing line-up of shows this year. And this week is Pop Show 40, where students prepare a ton of amazing solo numbers in addition to their competition sets. After this whirlwind week of rehearsals and shows, competitions start next week. Our national trip this year is to Boston, and I’m looking forward to competing there as well as catching up with some family on the East Coast.
In addition to my busy show choir schedule, I’ve managed to squeeze in several subbing gigs. I played bass for Lizzie, a rock musical about alleged (but never convicted!) axe murderer Lizzie Borden, subbed on guitar for Scissorhands: A Musical Inspired by the Film at the Rockwell, and filled in for my buddy Matt Hornbeck with singer-songwriter Michelle Vezilj. Throw in a show with Bianca Gisselle and the first concert reading of Modern, Selda and Derek’s new musical about Amish Rumspringa, and you can see how it’s been an incredibly busy first month and a half of the year.
I’ve had a fantastic time playing at Open Temple in Venice, CA the past few months as well. Under the direction of Rabbi Lori Shapiro and music director Josh Goldberg, OT provides an amazingly fresh, progressive take on what a Shabbat service can be. Getting to play U2, Bob Marley, and David Bowie covers (in addition to Josh’s excellent original music), makes this a favorite gig for sure. I was fortunate enough to play their January and February services, but it looks like I won’t be back until July or August :( Good news though, because that means my schedule is JAM packed for the next few months (too full, in fact). So full, that this recap has taken up the full length of this post, so I’ll have to preview what’s next in a future one!
