Blier’s Blog: “Letters from Spain” / Day 5

DAY 5:  April 26, 2015 I do most of my programming staring at my computer screen. I don’t sit down and play through the show before finalizing my NYFOS concerts. I just…gaze at my Mac…and imagine how it’s all going to work. This method seems to be working for me. The...

Blier’s Blog: “Letters from Spain” / Day 3

DAY 3 April 23, 2015 There are some recipes that require you to mix ingredients in two different bowls and then combine the contents before cooking them. That’s what happened this week: Alexey could work Monday but not Tuesday, Corinne and Theo could work Tuesday but...

Blier’s Blog: “Letters from Spain” / Day 1

DAY 1 – April 21, 2015 We’ve had two days of rehearsal on LETTERS FROM SPAIN, a program about which I had some trepidation. No surprises there—I am always freaked out before I start a project, certain that I have miscalculated in some fatal way. So my dominant...

Blier’s Blog: NYFOS@Caramoor / Days 5 & 6

DAYS 5 and 6, March 13 and 14 So much drama. Friday we did a presentation for a bunch of high school choral singers. The kids didn’t seem too interested in Michael or me, but they were really into the singing, absolutely fascinated to hear full-throated, sophisticated...

Blier’s Blog: NYFOS@Caramoor / Day 4

DAY 4, March 12, 2015 The atmosphere was, as I expected, a little different today. No guest coaches, just Michael and me—and our first work-through in concert order. Michael, Chris, and I decided who would be playing which songs on Sunday (with some possibilities of...

Blier’s Blog: NYFOS@Caramoor / Day 3

DAY 3, March 11, 2015 Wednesday is usually when we start to see where the glories and the rough spots of the program are. It is also the last day when we permit ourselves to feel carefree and pleasantly exploratory about it all. “What key did you decide on for that...