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So yesterday was Dutch and Lesley’s wedding.  It was really a beautiful event.  It was fun to watch Dutch almost choke up during her vows while Lesley was solid!  I must admit, however, that it does make one begin to question some things.  (Oh, I’m about to get on a plane to Detroit then from there back to Paris for a few days, then I begin rehearsals in Nancy for my all American music program.  I’m very excited about that repertoire, though VERY VERY disappointed that James Norman’s piece was cancelled because of a mix up in getting the parts to France.)  So, it was nice to watch two people decide to take the plunge, but as I sit here in an airport waiting to board a plane and then off to Europe for 12 days, etc.  At the risk of making this sound like a Carrie Bradshaw article, “What is one supposed to do if/when (s)he meets someone they like but their career (and building that career) forces them to hop around the world?”  I’m not, nor do I ever think I could be a “girl in each port” kind of person.  I guess I’ll have to keep trying to route my flights through Dallas… and hope something begins to make more sense and someone feels like the extra work is worth it.

So back to music… (And I’ll quit whining about my sad and pathetic life of traveling all over the world.)  As I said earlier, James Norman’s piece was cut from my program in France because they did not receive the parts by their deadline though why and how that happened is a bit up in the air.  I really like James’ piece, and I thought it was a very good fit for this concert.  Not to mention, it’s good for the French to see that Americans are also writing great music.  I don’t know what will happen now, but I offered to fill in some of the time by talking a bit about the Ives second.  (It is a piece that one could talk about for years.. but I think I can filter it down to a 5 minute overview.)  I think it might be interesting for a French audience to hear a bit more about the piece, especially since so much of it is made up of American folk music.  When I get to Paris, I’ll do my first blog as a discussion of Ives’ second symphony.  (Once I get my discussion organized, though my discussion must be in French, I’ll write it out here in English.)