After my dismissal from Broomfield United Methodist Church I was so burnt out on church that I didn’t want to attend anywhere. I just needed time to recover from the trauma of being fired and the unfairness, back-biting and other unpleasant things I witnessed at the BUMC.

A couple of months ago, we started attending the church at the Broomfield Salvation Army. I love it there. It is a very small congregation of about 20-30 people. The services are unpretentious and simple. The pastor, Captain Tom Fenton is a fantastic Bible preacher. He speaks straight from the Word and is engaging, entertaining and dead-on target. He minces no words…just tells it like it is.

The music ranges from acapella hymn singing to a family of professional brass players, the Stonebacks. Ron, the patriarch plays tuba. His wife plays French horn. Their triplet daughters play trumpet and are all completing masters degree work in trumpet performance. A fiance play trombone.

Their sound is so silky smooth and buttery. They can play fabulous pianos and spine tingling fortes. For the postlude on Sunday, the quintet play Sousa’s Semper Fi March. It awesome. Reminded me of when I was kid in Tallahassee. I can remember the FSU band marching down Monroe street in parades playing that march and others.

I am seriously enjoying the services at the Salvation Army.

I got some awesome news yesterday. The Colorado Repertory Singers have been selected by the Colorado Symphony to open for them at their Arvada Center concert on July 15.

Arvada Center Summer at the Center

As the warm-up act, we will have the stage from 6:00 – 6:45.

This concert is part of the Arvada Center for the Arts and Humanities “CenterFest Concert Series” sponsored by the SCFD and the Arvada Center.

This is a HUGE honor and we really have to put our best foot forward. I’m thinking about inviting all the singers that have sung with the CRS over the years and having a CRS Reunion Choir or CRS Alumni Choir.

I’m pumped for this one!!

We are now halfway through Hell Week with dress rehearsals tonight and tomorrow remaining before the show. After two late nights, I am dragging A$$. Hope I can recoup some energy today and store it up for tonight.

The show is coming along very nicely. I think the chorale is well prepared but they are still a little tense. I told them to relax and “Let the force be with them.” They will be super on opening night. There is something about reaching show opening that magically pulls everyone together, also known as “peaking at the right time.”

I conduct the Northland Chorale from Northglenn, CO. (http://northlandchorale.org) We began rehearsing back in February for our show that is coming the weekend.

We just started “Hell Week” yesterday. Rehearsed from 9-12 Sat, from 2-6 today and will be rehearsing from 6-10 Mon, Tues, Wed and Thursday. The shows are Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

Things have been going well. We had a great rehearsal yesterday. Everything seemed to be tight and very close to being ready for prime time. Today however, we took a step back. Could be because we were tired, but tired becomes a part of the process as we work through the week.

We crashed on Moses Hogan’s “Elijah Rock” and on the Eagles “Seven Bridges Road”. Both of those are tough pieces and we just haven’t found the groove yet. But we will. By opening night, we will be kicking butt with them.

These will be awesome concerts. If you live in the Denver area you should plan on attending. They are a great group to work with and I’m really enjoying conducting them.

I joined a Toastmasters club back in October, 2009. This club has a great group of people that all work together and encourage each other to become better public speakers. I’ve won best speech and best table topics several times now. I’m getting a reputation for the stories I tell. I plan on putting the story speeches on this blog in written form.

It is really amazing what we can do when we are encouraged and work in a nurturing atmosphere. Even if one crashes and burns in a speech, the club members are there to catch them, dust them off and stand them back up.

We start at 7:30 and after the meeting we reconvene at Great Scotts restaurant down the street for fellowship after the meeting. I love Thursdays!

My senior high school student, Chelsea, took 3rd place in the Senior division of the Broomfield Fine Arts Festival on Mar. 6. The competition is very strong and she played wonderfully. In the evening concert she playing the Adagio cantabile of Beethoven’s Pathetique sonata.

I was so incredibly proud of her. She will be attending the Berklee College of Music in Boston. She has been a wonderful student and I will miss her.

I received the following kudos from in an email from the mom of Josh, one of my piano students.  Josh is very talented and incredibly motivated to learn.  He is a joy to work with and works hard each week.

June 2008

He is still doing piano!  We landed the most amazing piano teacher in the fall of last year!!!! He has also taken Joshua to new levels and pushes him in ways he was never been pushed before!  If you are looking for a piano teacher, this teacher is the guy for you!!!  His life is dedicated to music and he is truly a gift to us!!  (Thank you Ron!!!)