It was an unseasonably warm weekend in Costa Mesa, CA, which suited me just fine. Two days of short rehearsals, and we were off to the races. My experience, again, was amazing working with Maestro David Lockington. His feedback clear, with no doubt of what I could do with all of his information. I am grateful for his help and to have his trust on stage. After the precision work in the rehearsal is down, it is truly there that we create a new reality. There is freedom in the notes on the page, and he always leaves room enough in his clear conducting for ...possibility. Wow! What a pleasure! People have heard the MESSIAH so many times, and this performance gave me such inspiration to be bold within the structure. Take chances. We were all in it together. What a delight!

The soloists were fantastic! The Pacific Symphony sounded amazing and I can hardly say enough about the chorus. They were so precise in their movement, their interpretation and understanding of all the music and text. Their voices clear, filled the several thousand seat hall even in the hush of "Since by Man Came Death", my favorite chorus in the whole piece. Such extremes in emotion, dynamic, texture and I have no idea how many seats. I should've asked, but 3000-4000 seems about right in the 4 tiered, state of the art hall. I was nearly overcome to see that many people stand during the brisk, joyful Hallelujah chorus. Then realized I needed to follow that....eek. But, it was my final solo, and one that I have always felt from the bottom oh my toes when singing, "I Know that My Redeemer Liveth". There I stood, score about waist high, looking up and out to that audience to tell this part of the story. In rehearsal I had struggled with some of the breathing, but as usual, I had done all the tough work and now was time to let go and tell the story. That is what happened and it went beautifully. One of the soloists said she saw one of the patrons crying, "and it was an ugly cry." If people are touched by what we do, then we are doing it right. Why question something so real?