Variety

It's the spice of life, right?  That's what they say about variety.

So I had a kind of spicy weekend, then.  Musical variety.

I met a friend in New York Friday night at a concert venue to see one of my favorite singers, Chris Wallace (he's the third selection on my "Not Afraid of Jumping" playlist ~ 4/18/13).  He's young and has had his first solo album out for about 6 months.  I like every song on it.  He's a positive upbeat person with a whole lot of energy.  I guess you'd say he's a pop singer but I'm not a big fan of categories.  His lyrics are witty and and sincere and the music is fun with strong melodies.  Afterwards he came out to take pictures with fans so we lined up (crushed up is more like it) with a small throng of people, most of whom much much younger than I.  It was great to meet him and tell him how much I enjoy his music.  He gave a wonderful performance and I hope he becomes a huge success.  His song, Invincible, will stay with me forever:

After the storm is gone
The sunlight shows you the way
Follow your heart
Let's go and dream out loud
Gotta look inside
Won't believe what you will find out

The concert was over early-ish so my friend, a New York resident, suggested we head to Birdland, the iconic jazz club where we enjoyed the 11:00 set of the band, The Yellow Jackets.  I hadn't been to hear live jazz since I last heard my brother perform in public years back.  I'd forgotten how interesting, complex and energizing live jazz is.  Sitting there and listening to the intricate solos and watching how those vastly experienced professional musicians generously supported one another reminded me of my classical musical roots too.

So today's Music at St. Peter's concert brought me full circle.  The concert this afternoon included one of my favorite choral works, Faure's Requiem.  The choir's performance was wonderful.  The soaring melodies and rich harmonies of that piece are so beautiful.  The soprano solo was sung by a young lady I've watched grow up from a tiny child.  Her maturing voice still surprises me--I'm continually amazed by how our kids are children one day and so very grown up the next.  The program today had lots of musical surprises and I'm glad I didn't miss it.

So lots of variety this weekend.  Throw in the country music that plays continually in my car, the reggae style of Michael Franti and contemporary Christian vocals of Jason Castro who accompanied me on one of my walks, and the miscellaneous artists on my favorite playlist and we've got a lot of variety. 

I'm glad I'm not stuck in one particular genre and that I enjoy listening to all types of music.  Each musician and type of music is important and fills a particular need.  I'm blessed to have this richness in my life.  I hope you have it, or something like it, too.

Chris Wallace, Push Rewind

Yellow Jackets, Tortoise and the Hare

Gabriele Faure, Pie Jesu & Agnus Dei from Requiem

St. Peter's Choir of Men and Boys (This is pretty ancient and not the choir that performed today.  My son sang in this choir from 2nd through 8th grades and has many wonderful memories of his experiences.  Why are there no recent videos of our fantastic choirs? Someone needs to work on that.)