Enunciation!

Last night I had an incredible musical experience. I heard the Cleveland Orchestra Chorus in a performance of the Bernstein Chichester Psalms and Vaughan Williams A Sea Symphony.

Oh! My! Gosh! All I could think of during the performance was how badly I want to sing with this chorus. Miles don't matter. Hours don't matter. The apex of my musical career would be singing with this fabulous chorus.

The enunciation was incredible. The closing consonants of words were there, crisply, precisely. Their "s"es didn't sound like they were snakes without a pit to hiss in (as Bruce Chamberlain loves to say). Intonation was perfect. Rhythm was perfect. At the end of each movement of both works, I found myself saying "wow" under my breath.

This morning Tyler asked how I enjoyed the concert. I told him I *must* audition for this chorus. He and Jaci both looked at me like I was crazy. "Mom," he chided, "it's an hour-and-a-half drive. Can't you just be happy singing with the Akron Symphony Chorus?" When I told him I was thinking of doing both, he seemed to seriously believe I had lost my mind.

Maybe I'll just sing with Cleveland this summer at Blossom in Carmina Burana. But I must audition for this chorus, and now while I've got my courage up. If I don't pass the audition, fine. But if I don't audition, I'll never know if I could have gotten in.

The other portion of my evening was an elegant dinner in the restaurant at Severance Hall, sitting at the bar, reading my book for the next book club.

Then the preconcert talk was given by our dear friend Hugh Ferguson Floyd, who is like a mid-generation son to me (as dear to me as my sons, but not young enough to be my son).

And the hall. Oh my gosh, Severance Hall. For someone used to singing in the Kennedy Center or, more recently, the Tucson Music Hall, this hall feels so intimate. And the decoration! It's a Jane Sassaman quilt done entirely in ivory and gold, or an elegant sheath worn by a mature bride.

The evening was just incredible. I was proud of myself for getting out all alone for this amazing adventure. And I plan to do it again and again.