Gigs and Gratitude

This weekend...I have a gig!  Yes, at long last, I will be getting on a stage and singing for a live audience.  As a soloist.  I haven’t done that since 2020.  The virtual opera performances were wonderful in the interim, and of course I’ve been singing at church, but...this feels special.  

The preparation process has felt pretty normal–score study on your own, hammer out notes, work on lines...the list goes on.  But once we started our group rehearsals, it was instantly different.  Aside from seeing friends I’ve not seen since before the pandemic, which was definitely a nice perk, being back in a live rehearsal like this just felt right.  It really illustrates the difference between keeping up with someone on social media and actually interacting with them in real life.  I’ve seen many of these people in posts and updates over the past 2 years, but I haven’t seen them face-to-face.  That immediate personal connection, being able to talk about life on the brief breaks, laughing together as a cast when someone cracks a joke or does something truly hilarious in an aria or duet...I missed those things so much.  

Speaking for myself, that first rehearsal felt so familiar and instantly comfortable.  It felt like no time had passed, although we all know that A LOT has happened since the world was last “normal.”  It wasn’t perfect, we all made mistakes, and we all went home thinking about the stuff we needed to tweak and improve.  But there was a tremendous feeling of gratitude for being back in a live rehearsal setting, preparing to put on a show.  I am very fortunate to have my life filled with music all the time, but this definitely scratched that itch in a way that hasn’t totally been scratched since the before-times.  

I’ve said it before, I’ll say it again: live every day with a grateful heart, and try as best you can to live IN each moment and appreciate them as they happen.  We have all lost a lot in these past few years, and there is tremendous upheaval and suffering throughout the world.  If you can bring a little joy to the world through your music, your art, your writing, your...whatever...do it.  And even if the small corner of the world that is reached by your creativity is only one other person, or even if it’s only yourself, still keep creating and sharing.