I have gone to more performances this year than I ever have in the past, and I love it. It really makes Christmas a special time. I wanted to share where I (and others) have gone (so far):

Last Wednesday, I took the girls to the Holden Evening Prayer service. I love it, and I wanted Lucy to experience it as well since she is beginning to read. The melodies are so pretty; the words are so simple. It's an excellent piece, and I wish everyone had the opportunity to participate the Holden Prayer service. Here's a link to some audio samples. Samples 13-18 is the prayer service. Isn't it soothing and moving as well?

Then on Thursday night, my mom and I went to see the Seattle Men's Chorus' holiday concert. It was AWESOME! We loved it so much, we're going to see them again in the spring. They did a wide variety of music--there were a couple of Chanukah songs, a couple of songs featured a beatboxer, and there was even a Bollywood-style piece that was a lot of fun. They also dedicated the Kyrie from the mass Lux Aeterna to the four fallen Lakewood police officers. It was very moving. I especially loved the sign language interpreter for the show. That was a performance in and of itself. It was artistic, and emotional, and passionate. Simply BEAUTIFUL.

Last Saturday night, my parents and I went to see the Adelphian Chorus...they're the student choir at the University of Puget Sound. Their performance was phenomenal as well. I love to listen to college groups because they do a lot of stuff that you wouldn't normally hear from a professional group. The entire performance was about light...and they performed pieces from all over the world. I enjoyed the three Latvian carols, and the African piece. They did one piece that was called "Winter Solstice Ritual 1"...very contemporary, and featured a chantress. The choir's harmony and blend was really excellent, but I guess I didn't really get the part of the chantress. It made me giggle. My mom called their choice of music "ballsy", and I have to agree with her. It takes major cajones to put something like that on the program. But they did it, and they did it well. Kudos to them.

Monday night David and I took our three girls, and our niece to a free percussion concert. Lucy was creeped out by the noise, Sadie was a wiggle-worm, and Aiyanna never stopped talking, but Amy was enthralled. I think the driving rhythm, the dynamics, and the combination of instruments really spoke to her on a very deep level. It was amazing to see my ball of never-ending energy sit still for almost an hour for something other than the TV. We left at intermission, but I will definitely take the kids to the next free concert that comes up. I want to expose them to as much culture as possible when they're young so that they feel comfortable with all kinds of music and art and they want to go see events other than rock concerts.

Tonight, we were able to attend the "Singing Christmas Tree" performance at Life Center church. Someone we know had extra tickets, and offered them to us, and we decided to take her up on it. In years past, my brother has played French Horn in the orchestra, and he lovingly refers to this show as "Tacky Christ-fest!" I have to say that he is right. It's pretty cheesy. It's not sacreligious in any way, but they have this HUGE tree (a multi-level platform) that is filled with people, and they sing, and the lights on the tree are choreographed to the music, and there were a couple of hip-hop numbers (fortunately, they weren't sacred carols), and it was a mix of Praise The Lord sacred tunes and the commercialized Santa stuff. I'm not sorry I went, but I do have to contend that my brother is right. Any group that performs "O Holy Night" in the style of The Three Tenors and a drum beat in the background automatically gets the "Tacky Christ-fest!" award in my book. (That said, the three guys who sang had really nice blend and balance and I rather enjoyed it.) I was quite thrilled with the live animals on stage for the Nativity recreation, and the costumes and lighting and orchestra were extremely impressive. I have to give props to this church for putting this shindig together year after year, and for the high-end sound and light equipment they use, and the obvious amount of preparation that the cast and crew and musicians put in. There wasn't a single delay or mistake from anyone that I could tell. It really is an amazing show.

Well, that's it for now, but there's nothing like going to hear a Christmas concert (or five) to really get into the spirit of the holidays.

More soon...updates on the kiddies and pictures too!