Ojai and Ravinia, Part Deux

Saturday, June 10

Chamber Chorus’ a capella concert was what awaited us this morning. We listened like crazy and sang our little hearts out. The program was:

MESSIAEN: O sacrum conviviumTALLIS: O sacrum convivium VAUGHAN WILLIAMS: Mass in G Minor TAVENER: Song for Athene DURUFLE: Four MotetsCOPLAND: Four Motets

Paying homage to Robert Shaw, we sang an encore of “Saints bound for Heaven” which ended in a boisterous and ringing G-Major chord. The crowd went completely bonkers for us after this little ditty. What an exciting morning. It was 12:30pm, and we had already had an artistic triumph. Then we had a gastronomic celebration at Tutti’s. Michelle, Sarah, Elise, and I went to downtown Ventura and had the most amazing burger, pizza, and soup of our lives sitting outside in a courtyard with a wood burning fireplace, which was not being used at the time. I had a couple of glasses of pinot noir which meant that I was a very happy camper for the afternoon. After lunch we took another walk down Main Street and stopped at a Crap Emporium. We’re not too sure of the shop’s real name, but it was filled with crap for and from all ages. We found these plastic pirate hats for $.99, and it was too good to pass up. You see, in our last concert of the festival we are to perform Oceana, a cantata by Golijov. Well, in the first page of the choral score it directs the men to sing “like pirates calling our to their ocean goddesses.” Nothing would do but for us to fulfill his wishes. Our plan was to pull these hats out and put them on during the afternoon rehearsal. Stay tuned to see how it went.

The afternoon flew by, and in a flash it was time to get ready to go back to Ojai for Luciana Souza’s concert. By nightfall the temperature had dropped like a rock, and needless to say I and the rest of the girls who went to the concert were ill-prepared. Even though I sat shivering through the night it was still one of the best concerts ever. I was clearly being transported to Brazil. The second half was filled with De Falla’s El amor brujo (Bewitching Love) and some De Falla settings of Spanish Folk Songs—not bad, but not great either. Hey, you win some you lose some. When I got back to the hotel the kids were still in the hot tub, and I still had that bottle of Petite Sirah that I bought from Natalie’s Eclectibles. Well, we made it work. Once again we convinced the guards to let us stay way past the 11pm deadline and had a great time.

Sunday, June 11

For those of us who had to go see Dawn’s concert, we were troopers. She sang the Berio Folk Songs and Golijov’s Ayre. If you do not know it, get it. There are primal emotions expressed and incredible vocalism. Also, her back-up band, Eighth Blackbird, had a really hot violinist who looked a lot like a young Nigel Kennedy—uncanny. The fact that she could sing this stuff at 11am was a thing to be admired, and you know that is quite something, coming from me. Right after her concert ended we prepared for our Oceana rehearsal. At the appropriate time we donned our pirate hats and wore them proudly. Okay, there were only six of us, but I think we were noticed.

Other than a few technical issues, things were clicking right along, and we could not wait to perform. After rehearsal we had a couple of hours to walk around Ojai, get a cup of tea, and off we went a sangin’. The electricity in the air was palpable, and we all performed the hell out of the concert. The crowd even enjoyed the orchestra’s first half, which included John Adams’ Chamber Symphony, which is difficult to play so says the composer. We ended the concert and the festival with “Dona nobis pacem” from Bach’s B-minor Mass—a rather romantic and Stokowskian interpretation, grand and romantic. I know I almost reached 75 percent of my top volume while singing this piece, and I was not alone. So, you know it was pretty darn loud. Amazingly, there was a reception following the concert with food, so most of us got there pretty quickly. After we pirates got our picture taken with Robert, there was much exchange of plans as to how various groups would continue the party. We settled for a quick jaunt to the liquor store and then to the pool. I think they should engrave our names on the hot tub. Though it was a bit sad to leave our temporary home, I was ready to see my honey pie.

Monday, June 12

It was a long travel day. Ahh, home sweet home. I’d better rest up for Ravinia.

Wednesday, June 14

After a long and luxurious rest, the orchestra and us Ainadamar girls headed up to Chicago and the Ravinia Festival. Traffic was from hell, but we finally did get to the hotel, leaving us no time to go anywhere or do anything. Oh well, the rough life of an artist. After getting a bit to eat with a pint of Guinness, a nap was most needed. Michelle took a shower to warm up and promptly snagged her nose ring, which cost her a bit of relaxation time. I had a hard time getting up from my nap, and we were nearly in danger of being left at the hotel. When we got downstairs to the buses they were just getting ready to pull out. Whew, we made it.

Traffic was even more from hell, and we got to Ravinia with just enough time to do a twenty minute sound-check. Robert wasn’t worried and neither were we. By now we had made this piece our own. No one could touch us. We were ready to rock. One of the most beautiful moments of our 2003 El Niño performance at Ravinia was looking at the beautiful lights that illuminated the pavilion as the sun fully set. It was just as glorious the second time. I made sure to take a few extra breaths to soak in the atmosphere—music-making at the highest level with hugely talented and down-to-earth people. It was a privilege. The night was magical. As Robert held the last chord fading to nothing, the audience was speechless, waiting to exhale. He held his arms in the air a little longer than usual, and the crowd responded in kind. They got it. They realized what this liberty and freedom meant, and the silence was spine-tingling. After what seemed like forever, thunderous applause began. There were tears, much joy, and laughter. We did good. Ozzie seemed really happy too.

It is virtually impossible to calm down after such an exhilarating experience, so nothing would do but to gather in the hotel bar and drink a lot. All I’ll say is that a few G&T’s passed through these lips and I did not hurl (see picture of me, Michael, and Michelle). However, I’m pretty certain that I was still a bit tipsy the next morning as we headed back home. Still, no hurling. Yeah! The tour was a success, declared by all.