Winter is officially here. We had temperatures below zero this morning (that would be below -20 for you Celsius scale types), with a wind chill somewhere around -21 (-30 C). I don't mind the cold...but I don't like a nasty wind with it, especially since my apartment - and the school - are on the western edge of town, with absolutely nothing to break up the blast.

Ah, well...

The music calendar is very rapidly filling up - big surprise, since it's closing in on December...

HSO performances are this Saturday and Sunday. I've missed the last three rehearsals...for our concert, playing at the football game in the Metrodome, and the rescheduled-to-Tuesday-to-avoid-Thanksgiving one last week. Normally, I'd be a little concerned about missing 3 of the last 4 practices before the concert. However, the music for this one is easy enough that with the exception of a couple sections of Messiah, my high school bunch could play it passably well with only 2-3 rehearsals.

Madrigal performances are the second weekend of December. I'm getting a little sick of those rehearsals, to be perfectly honest. The group just isn't jelling the way we did the last two years. It certainly doesn't help that we haven't had a single rehearsal with everyone there (at least, not that I remember...Duke Juan said we did have one three weeks ago). It isn't nearly as much fun as it has been in past years. Maybe having the 6-hour drive each way to get to rehearsal has something to do with that...

After the heavy-duty weekends, school concerts roll into sight. The orchestra concert is on the 13th. HS Choir concert on the 18th (doesn't involve me directly, other than as a general dogsbody to help out MF). Then, on the 22nd, I'll be playing cello in a quartet with some students for a wedding. I kinda saw that coming...since the cellist who played with them last year isn't around. The one who got the wedding gig lined up asked me this morning at the before-school practice if I'd mind playing with them, "because I haven't found time to ask anyone else to play". I'm not thrilled with the tunes we're playing (have I mentioned recently how much I hate Pachelel's Canon in D, especially if I'm playing the bass part?), but it will go well.