A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM, opera a cappella now available at Albany Records

Wednesday, November 25, 2009

Lights of Christmas

This is a concert song (2003) with lyrics by Hugh Moffatt. The pdf is over on the right side for download. This performance is by Mark Walters

Lights of Christmas frame the houses,
Welcoming the dawn of winter.
I remember as I struggle like the new born sun to rise.

Long ago a star came shining,
In the night and dawn of winter,
Beckoning to us to follow through the darkness to the light.

Lights of Christmas still they shine on
As the day begins to break.
There is still a star that guides us,
lighting ev'ry step we take.

Mary's child laid in the manger,
In that hopeful dawn of winter,
Given by the Lord of all a son of peace to light our way.

How we've fought and how we've failed him.
Darkening the dawn of winter.
Can't we see that all are welcome in by the light of Christmas day.

Still we hope and still we name him,
Light of love for Light of love for ev'ry nation.
Ev'ry man and ev'ry woman,
Jew and Gentile, Christian, Muslim
All are one and all are are welcome
In the light of Christmas day.
In the light of Christmas day.
In the light of Christmas day.


Wednesday, November 18, 2009

Under Review

It's a sad sign of the state of newspapers, but we didn't get a review for our production of COSI FAN TUTTE in the Commercial Appeal. We did get nice coverage before the show, and I suppose if one were to have to choose, before is better than after.

Wednesday, November 4, 2009

Robert Ward


Composer Robert Ward is in his nineties and still going strong in his and living in Durham, NC. He is still writing music and thinking about big issues like world peace, the environment, and how humanity can get along better. It is going to be great to catch up with him while attending SoJam, an a cappella conference.

I owe to Bob much of my compositional sensibility--write music for audiences and performers--and my sense of collegiality--to be willing to mentor and to be frank without being cruel. An added plus was to get to meet his friends Phil and Georgia Nelson, both former Deans at Yale.

Cosi Fan Tutte is done

The second of two performances of COSI went well. In general the audience liked the set up with the orchestra onstage and upstage of the singers. The sets and costumes did the trick and all in all it was the liveliest COSI I've ever been part of. I think we will try GPAC and the orchestra setup again sometime!