Snow Way

Sammy called me from Alaska last night. He arrived safe and sound and said the weather is beautiful. Well that's just great cause it is snowing in Saint George!

Here is his farewell to sunny St George video.

The Song that Never Ends

Ever heard of the eternal fire? Somewhere on this earth a flame is burning and even if it goes out another is lit. I'm so tired I think concerts are like that.

Somewhere on this earth someone is singing, an orchestra is playing, a musician is performing. It's the song that never ends. I've been to so many concerts lately, I have an incessant ringing in my ears. Of course that could be from sleep deprivations. At any rate, once again I am thankful to my children for dragging me out of the house so that I can enjoy some amazing events.

This first video features Ben waiting for a concert to start, because once he "quit" music, I don't get a chance to spotlight him very often. I was checking my camera/phone and filming his shoes. He noticed and made a circle on his foot. I may not understand the circle game very well -- but I know my reaction is to punch him every time I see that stupid circle. If you don't know what the circle game is, JGI (just google it). Another highlight of this short is the button he made and put on his shoe -- see if you can spot it.

The second video is another awesome Joe Solo. And the last but not least video is Cameron playing with the DSC Orchestra. Joe has now joined orchestra too and will be beefing up the woodwinds.

Naji's Progress

So we've established that blogging is a good way to track progress. Just consider this another pencil mark on the door of Naji's growth. Remember the concert in December, where the early morning orchestra kids played music after only a couple months of training? Well here they are after a few more months. Look how far they've come :}

Midlife Crisis

Yes, I am taking organ lessons. My midlife crisis has officially hit, and here it is:

I don't have much time left on this earth. What have I learned? Not nearly enough.

And so, in a panic, I am trying to learn so much more. Besides working full time, I am taking 10 college credits -- one of which is Organ for Majors. This one credit class includes a one hour lesson, a one hour masters class, and 21 hours of practice per week. It is my reward for working so hard on my File Systems Analysis class, my Small Device Forensics class, and my Criminal Investigations class.

PS I would much rather analyze a Bach Fugue than analyze the hex that represents the bits and bites on a hard drive. But, I suppose somebody's got to do it.

Anyway, if you've made it this far down the blog, I've uploaded a taste of what I am learning in my Organ lessons. I am learning to "add" a touch of flavor to my hymn playing. Below is a supplement to Come, Come Ye Saints that my teacher and I dreamed up for two of the verses. (Verse 2 gets the first ending. Verse 4 gets the second). I know mother has poo pooed the idea of messing with the hymns as it might throw off the congregation, but my ward hasn't been thrown off by mistakes, so why should they be thrown off by awesomeness?

PPS I wanted to play this for stake conference, but as luck would have it, the songs were changed and I wasn't informed until right before the meeting. Crazy, random circumstance or God's intervention? You decide.

PPPS This is NOT me playing. It's a midi. My playing is not this muddy :)

Come Come Ye Saints Organ Variation_final