November? Tomorrow??

It is the morn of All Hallows Eve - or, as the kids call it, "Halloween". It is also the first Halloween that my wife and I will experience in our new house, in a residential neighbourhood which has evidence of little ones about who will likely be ringing our doorbell starting just before dusk tonight. We have no idea how many to expect ... five? five hundred? We bought enough candy to get through nearly two hundred, however, I'm secretly hoping for a lot less, so that there are enough rockets and chewy treats to get me through the next month, which is shaping up to be one of the most busy choral months in recent memory.

To celebrate the later hours of Hallowe'en, I will be in rehearsal - story of my life for the next little while. In the span of the first twenty two days of November, I have three full length concerts, all with different programs. The first one is a concert with my chamber choir, where I will be conducting all sorts of works inspired by water, in particular, the seas. The next day I'm singing a concert with our city's professional choir in an all male choir program of various remembrance day tributes, Beatles' arrangements, and, yes, even an arrangement of "Sponge Bob Square Pants" for the kids. A week later I will be co-conducting a concert with the Symphonic choir for their CD release. Adding to this is the task of preparing program notes, translations and various other pre-concert preparation duties for the concert on the 10th, as well as setting three music history exams for one of our national music examination boards, and also the week to week preparation of music for my church choir, including preparing for Advent, which is only one month away.

I have to remember not to blink this month - or I'm going to miss something along the way.

Things to look forward to are our one year "house" anniversary, which is tomorrow, the completion of our Kitchen, which will be next Tuesday, and just the every day joy of knowing that through all the hectic preparation of concerts and rehearsals - there is the simple fact that I have a wife who loves me unconditionally and a lovely home to come home to at night. Also the joy of knowing that every day - there is music in my life, and I LOVE what I do.