I just returned from the 22nd International Gilbert & Sullivan festival, now in Harrogate, England, where I music-directed my second show with the Savoynet Performing Group. The show was "The Pirates of Penzance", a show I've loved deeply and have been itching to conduct for about thirty years. It was a terrific production with a splendid cast, and it went beautifully and was very well-received. The way the festival is set up, you only get one rehearsal with the orchestra, the day of the show. This makes the experience somewhat terrifying, and adding to this, the Harrogate Royal Hall pit was very deep. I found myself having to double-conduct, one hand up for the cast to see, one down in the pit for the orchestra. Awkward, but it worked. Anyway, overall, it was a lovely experience and we'll find out next week at the end of the festival how we fared in awards. I am now headed straight into rehearsals for Blue Hill Troupe's "A Little Night Music", a show I adore as much as "Pirates", and have also been itching to conduct for many many years. We go up in November. I'm also in contention for a different musical job with BHT, and have an audition coming up for that early next month. Cross your fingers! |
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