Good morning everyone. I trust you all managed to have some semblance of normality this weekend! Sat in the garden on Sunday morning, sipping tea and enjoying the sunshine gave me just a few moments of peace and I think it really helped. Amidst the ups and downs of social media and the need to report everything, no matter how big or small can really tip the balance on your perspective. Apart from the press conference from the Prime Minister I watched no news or press coverage at all over the weekend and it truly helped. It is important to stay informed and act responsibly, but equally important to be measured and calm. So, I did much needed tasks over the weekend. Household jobs, that had taken a back seat….and those blinds really did need cleaning! Much needed pruning in the garden….I can actually see it now! And how proud am I of my newly numbered bins! House numbers bought a year ago and now finally stuck on! It took 2 minutes! Today, becomes my first week of what would have been a normal week. I was due to be adjudicating at a festival last week, returning home only yesterday, but as many of you know I came back last Monday, so this last week has been devoted to adjusting myself to a new situation. Being at home! This week would have seen me teaching, rehearsing, supporting a student in an external exam, at York Theatre Royal with Wasteland  and a concert with Chesterfield Phil! Instead, I am emailing my ‘musical notes’ to each of my choirs on rehearsal day, writing a blog, undertaking two meetings on Zoom, catching up on admin tasks at home, reading, and the normal things like eating and sleeping. It really is important to take one day at a time and I am doing that. Happy reading!

Well, I have a large gin and tonic in my hand whilst I write this and have to admit to feeling tired today. We are in unprecedented times and there is a fair bit of confusion still. But, we have never had to deal with anything like this before and to some extent because no-one knows its true course are improvising. Everyone is needing guidance and support and perhaps a little more patience too. I may not be a key worker, but I have significant communities in my working life and I want to make sure they are all ok! For my choral world, we have lost that which binds us…the shared goal of singing and to be together. I have experimented with Zoom and have had two positive face to face (albeit remote) interactions. We have been pleased to see each others faces (mostly), we have laughed, and we have even tried to sing together (not terribly successfully), but we are all embracing new technologies. For my Festival community, we have cancelled many opportunities for our performers, but these cancellations have been necessary and have been made with a very heavy heart. Many performances have either been cancelled or postponed and my teaching is suspended too. But, one underlying theme is coming through – we all care for each other, we all need each other and we won’t let each other down! https://youtu.be/xjKWBAGYH6Q

Don’t worry folks, I haven’t suddenly become profound, but I have on my desk “a wise quotation for every day” calendar. It was given to me by Unlimited Voices Merseyside on 3rd July 2016 and I have used it ever since. So, the title of the blog is today’s quote from Ralph Waldo Emerson. I have been busy multi-tasking – well doing different things, getting distracted and so on! I spent an hour in the garden cutting back some ivy which has been wanting doing for ever – so job done! More work cancelled today, but it is totally understandable and everyone is in the same position. Never before has the ability to communicate by the internet been so valuable. No-one could ever have imagined the situation we currently find ourselves in and the importance of being able to stay in touch. Social media is on the whole being used positively and I am sure we are all grateful for the interaction. Tonight I shall be trying a musical gathering via Zoom, so I will let you know how that goes. I have started the first of my “Corona Chronicles” – my ‘musical notes’ that I shall be sending out to each of my choirs on their usual rehearsal night. In the absence of singing, I am hoping to keep us connected and together. So, I am now going to settle down for a cup of tea and a cadbury cream egg! Keep smiling!

Well…..I do have the time. I haven’t quite established a routine yet, but I am working on it. There are, as I am sure most people will be experiencing many variables about how and when we will return to normality! But it has been important to communicate, ensure everyone is safe and make decisions based on all the available information. This I have done with all of the groups and organisations I work with and each have been supportive and understanding on how we move forward. On a positive note, we are seeing organisations postpone events to a later date, which should give us hope that this situation will pass. I appreciate it’s not going to be next week, but in order to safe-guard our well being, we as a community will inevitably plan for the future. I have noticed many on-line attempts to engage and this is really good for those who can; let’s remember there are still some people for whom social media and the internet are a mystery. I will be sending a ‘musical note’ round to all of my choirs on their normal rehearsal day to keep them together and connected and I have encouraged those who are on social media to engage with each other and perhaps to support those that are not to become so. But, I know my groups will work hard to reach out to everyone. In the meantime – here’s something to make you smile! https://youtu.be/oM-A38vXmvI

Well…I suddenly find I have rather more time at home than I would usually have, so perhaps it is a good time to start blogging again. So, what do I know? It is going to be a very strange feeling being at home in the evening when for over 20 years I have been conducting three nights a week! I am not sure how I am going to find things, but one thing is certain is that the support I have received from my choirs has been incredible. Suspending three sets of rehearsals and postponing concerts has been quite a mammoth task, but by the end of last night this had been done. I cannot applaud the committees enough, each has risen to the challenge of dealing with quite significant issues. Conversations today though, have been about keeping in touch, looking after all of our members, especially those who are alone or vulnerable. What an amazing community the choral world is! We will continue to look after each other and be mindful of our need to get back  singing as soon as we can. Stay safe and together we will sing once more!

So, it was March when I last wrote and my blogging hasn’t got any better, so not much chance of anything going viral. Since last time I wrote, I have been busy and it has all been terrific. Highlights have been – presenting awards at the Elena Cobb Star Prize Winners concert at the Royal Albert Hall. Various concerts with my three choirs, quite a bit of adjudicating and the final performances of COAL in Recklinghausen and what a terrific way to finish two years of touring this fantastic show. I had my usual round of Summer concerts and then it was holiday time. It was lovely to recharge the batteries and relax and read. September has come round again, but for me it was slow getting here, so I was able to enjoy the summer.

There was a sadness too, as a good and long standing friend passed away suddenly, which has left an emptiness as I was unable to say my goodbyes at the funeral mass.

But, at least I can remember the many memories we shared and celebrate our friendship.

As for the remaining months of 2018, it is going to be busy – but 2019 gets even busier, with lots of exciting projects in the planning. So, in the meantime ‘take time to laugh, it is the music of the soul’.

I have had a busy couple of months, so I am very happy to be taking a few days off to recharge my batteries. January started slowly which was nice after spending Christmas and the New Year in Spain and then February kicked off my a busy period. Festivals, workshops, COAL, teaching, Festivals, Meetings, Festivals, Snow, Festivals, Snow, Festivals Snow, concerts with Lesley Garrett, Carlton Main Frickley, Festivals, COAL in Belfast, Meadowhead concerts and rest….and to come are concerts with my three lovely choirs.

It really is nice to know that I have some time off after such a busy period. I have worked with some of the best recently and their enthusiasm and passion for what they do continues to inspire me to want to carry on being creative.

My days off are tinged with sadness as we say goodbye to a good friend, who whole heartedly welcomed me into a new setting  back in 2006 and helped and supported me and many others through many rehearsals, concerts and memorable singing trips. I have many fond memories of Micheal Beard and he will forever be in my heart.

But, he was a realist and I know he would be telling to get on with things, as indeed I will, but I shall frequently raise a glass of prosecco to a very special person. Thank you for sharing your friendship with me.

There are some exciting projects coming up later in the year and for 2019 as well, but you know I do like to plan ahead, but is 2023 too far? Well, not for some people! Anyway have a lovely Easter weekend. Cheers!

Well, I can confirm I am not very good at blogging and I doubt I will ever go ‘viral’. But one thing is certain, when you have worked hard and constantly for such a long time, it is a bit of a revelation to find you have free time for yourself, family and friends. I made a big decision to stop doing something I enjoyed last July and it does not seem like twelve months ago since I did! I keep an interested eye on how things are progressing and I am so pleased that many of you are still singing and travelling and enjoying great camaraderie and making new musical memories. But, I have to be honest, that I really am enjoying ‘time-out’. I am still busy with my various projects, but now have time to breathe, reflect, catch-up or do nothing! I do so enjoy what I do, but I am always looking for the next challenge or a new road to travel down, experiment and see what happens. The rest of the year looks exciting and I am very much looking forward to new projects in 2018! As I write I am mindful of a quote by the late, Steve Jobs.

“Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking. Don’t settle. As with all matters of the heart, you’ll know when you find it.” I’m lucky……I have found what I love!

So, I’m actually not very good at this am I! Well, today I reach the end of a journey. One that has produced so many memories, that it will be impossible for me to forget. But it has been a good journey and it has taught me a great deal. I have had the pleasure of meeting and working with many musicians and singers over the last 13 years, conducting over 200 concerts and I have lost count of the number of rehearsals I have taken. But, looking forward and taking a different path is what is on the horizon, well actually it’s just around the corner and I am looking forward to it! There are still many things that I am involved with, but my decision is based on having some time for myself. None of us really know what’s coming next, but I am going to stop for a while and simply be me, with just a little more time to relax and reflect. So a massive thank you to everyone that has been on this journey with me. Cheers everyone! Maybe now, I will blog a little more often! 🙂

Well, this isn’t going too well is it? I last wrote in January, wishing everyone a happy new year! Where has the time gone? I am just about to start a full-on work schedule after quite a relaxing few weeks and it has certainly made me realise the benefits of getting away from it all and recharging your batteries. I have had a lot of time to think lately and it is so important that we stop and think of ourselves sometime. We live in a hectic world and for most of us, we don’t stop and give ourselves the opportunity to simply ‘be’. None of us know what is around the corner and it is essential that we live our lives as we would want to and should try not to live our lives according to others demands. I am not saying that those around us are not important and should shape our days and months, but we must never lose sight of what we want ourselves. I am fortunate to be doing what I love, yet I should always be true to myself as a person and as someone who tries to be professional in all my various roles. I don’t know whether it is a sign of getting older, or just becoming more comfortable with myself, but there has definitely been a change. I have experienced so many wonderful things this year and looking at my diary have many more fabulous things to look forward to in the future. I already have work as far ahead as 2021 – eek! Now, that is scary; but comforting in a way to know that I can plan that far ahead and that people still want me to work for them. I did some new things this year, including working with one of my past students on a dance project. It was humbling, special, inspirational and gave me so much more than I had expected. I have made new friends and become reacquainted with old ones, but there just doesn’t seem to be enough time! I know I should make time, but when there is still so much to do, to learn, to read! I am backing myself in a corner here and I know it, but I have become hungry for knowledge and want to know more about everything. But I shall be content in what I know and do and have made a promise to myself to ‘stop’ occasionally and just slow everything down and watch and listen and be ‘present’! So, having got that off my chest, let’s see if I can write something before 2016 comes round. We shall see!