The Importance of celebrating life this season at the Shaw Festival

 Recently I returned to the Shaw Festival for my second of three performances I will be attending this year, and once again I entered the theatre with a bittersweet feeling.  Yes, it was good to be back after three years, most of it occupied by Covid.  But as I mentioned in my last review from Shaw, being there without Sophie now just seems...well, different.

Perhaps unconsciously this season I made my three choices with Sophie in mind; these three likely would have been the ones she would have wanted to attend, so those were the ones I went with and so far, as usual her likely choices have proven to be most entertaining indeed.

That brings us to The Importance of Being Earnest, the Oscar Wilde play that first premiered on St. Valentine's Day in 1895, just days before a trail began that changed Wilde's life forever and eventually resulted in a sentence of hard labour that ultimately broke him.

The irony is of all of Wilde's plays, this last one stands as perhaps his purest comedy of manners, full of wit as only Wilde could write.  There is not much weight here, but the froth is fun, and the sad part is we can only imagine what heights he could have achieved had his personal life not led to his eventual downfall.

Shaw Festival Artistic Director Tim Carroll takes the reigns as director of this production and with a sure hand guides it through the ins and outs of Wilde's clever dialogue, making sure to take advantage of every nuance along the way with a strong, veteran cast of Shaw favourites.

The play, of course, concerns the fortunes of John Worthing, played by Martin Happer, and Algernon Moncrieff, played at the performance I attended by Mike Nadajewski in place of Peter Fernandes.  Worthing has an eye for the ladies, well, one in particular, and while in town assumes the name of Ernest as for some reason the woman he wishes to woo thinks it's such a solid, respectable name for a man.

Algernon, meantime, has an imaginary friend named Bunbury who provides Moncrieff with all sorts of opportunities to avoid certain social situations he would rather avoid by simply saying he has to tend to his poor friend Bunbury instead.

Both young men have specific ladies in mind:  Worthing has his sights set on the Honourable Gwendolen Fairfax, while Moncrieff eyes the young Cecily Cardew, played at the performance I attended by Olivia Sinclair-Brisbane, filling in for Gabriella Sundar Singh.

Enter into the fray Moncreiff's Aunt, the indomitable Lady Bracknell, played by Shaw stalwart Kate Hennig and possessing an opinion on almost every subject imaginable.  It is hard not to think of the Dowager Countess Violet on Downton Abbey while enjoying Lady Bracknell in The Importance of Being Ernest.

Almost without exception the cast is exemplary.  Happer's John Worthing has just enough of the rake about him without being over the top, and Nadajewski as Moncrieff makes the most of his lines with his inflections and mannerisms.  Both carry the day here in fine form.

Julia Course as Gwendolen Fairfax is suitably refined and Olivia Sinclair-Brisbane has a youthful charm as Cecily Cardew.  

The joy of an ensemble with the depth the Shaw Festival possesses is that even when an understudy takes over a pivotal role, as is the case twice with the performance I attended, you don't think of them substituting in that role; they have assumed that role and made it uniquely their own for the time they assume it.

The rest of the cast is strong as well, from Neil Barclay having some musical fun as Lane as the curtain goes up to Graeme Somerville as Merriman and Ric Reid as the very, well, earnest Reverend Canon Chasuble.

The sets are imaginative and fun, thanks to designer Gillian Gallow, and the costumes elegantly reflect the Victorian era, designed by Christina Poddubiuk.

From start to finish the collective tongue is firmly planted in the collective cheek in this new production of The Importance of Being Earnest, and it stands as one of the bright lights of this year's 60th Anniversary Shaw Festival season.

The Importance of Being Ernest plays at the Festival Theatre through to October 9th and rates a strong 3 out of 4.  

For tickets or more information go to Shawfest.com. 

Have a great weekend!

August 6th, 2022.

Remembering two years ago and preparing now to move on

 My weekend arts blog is a little later than usual on purpose this weekend, as I deviate from my usual arts reporting for a brief update on things as the two year anniversary of Sophie's passing looms large tomorrow.

I thought things would get easier for me after the first year but that turned out not to be the case.  If anything, I found the second year much harder than the first.  I have no idea why, but I suspect it has something to do with a lot of time spent this winter and spring disposing of a lot of Sophie's things, including piles of things she never used stored in the basement, and of course a lot of her clothing and jewelry.  I still feel like a criminal going through her things in a way, as Sophie was such a private person.

But it simply had to be done and I was the one who of course had to do it, with occasional help from dear friend Kathy Brophy, my so-called Girl Friday.  Now I see some relief in sight as the second anniversary arrives tomorrow, and I hope I am correct in that assessment.

I have stated here more than once the entire ordeal has been the hardest thing I have ever had to go through, and I still feel that way today.  Losing a parent or sibling can be devastating too, but losing your spouse is just so much more difficult I find.  You are all alone in the house you once shared together, and you are surrounded by that person's things.

Here it is especially so as Sophie surrounded herself with such beautiful things, and when we moved in to this house together over 20 years ago most of my modest possessions were either relegated to the basement or the garage.  A precious few made it to the upper floors of the house!

In the past year, however, I have begun introducing some of the pieces my family held dear for many years, and they all blend quite nicely with what was always here, and I am quite proud to show them off now.  No doubt they still would not pass muster with Sophie but hey, what can you do?!

Anyway, as difficult as this year has been and this weekend in particular, I am optimistic for the future, and hope the passing of the anniversary tomorrow will usher in some happier, sunnier days ahead for me.

Sophie said in the hospital she hoped I would fine happiness with someone new and I hope that will indeed be the case.  But as I so often tell her even now, even if that happens I will never ever forget her, and she'll always have a special place in my heart.  How could Sophie not?

I do have a good feeling about the coming months, for no particular reason at the moment actually, but I just sense the tide is turning and the dark days are now largely in the past.  Most of Sophie's estate is now settled and I am working on making the house more reflective of my present situation than it has been in the past, so that will make me all the more comfortable going into the future as well.

I picked up roses last weekend to mark our anniversary together, which would have been 21 years this past July 27th, and again this weekend to mark the coming anniversary of Sophie's passing.  Tomorrow I will pick up a special arrangement to mark the actual date, and that will be it for awhile.  I didn't have to do all this of course, but I wanted to.  In fact, I found comfort in the actions.

What's next?  Well I should point out tomorrow I will be largely absent from social media to mark the anniversary, although I will post a picture or two of Sophie during the day of course.  And I think it will be time to draw away just a little bit from more frequent posts such as this one.  Oh, I still have plenty to say and if I feel the need I will use this space again, but for the most part, I think it is time to start to move on.

I think Sophie would agree the time has come, and I also suspect she would be saying something like "Mike, will you knock it off and get on with your life?!"  She could be sentimental that way!  And so I will.

Sophie will always be in my heart, always with me, always watching over me.  But perhaps the time has come to welcome new adventures and see where life takes me.  I think Sophie would be proud of how far I've come, and how much the future holds for me.

Here's to a glorious past with Sophie, and renewed promise for the future wherever it leads me.

I'll keep you posted, of course.

Have a good rest of the weekend!

August 1st, 2022.

My first trip back to the Shaw Festival in 3 years

 Due to the ongoing pandemic and my own personal situation after the loss of Sophie I was reluctant to rush back to live theatre and concerts anytime soon, and when I did I knew I would have to be careful and take it slowly. 

Last season, although I sympathized with live theatre including the Shaw Festival as they struggled to cope with the realities of operating during the pandemic, I knew in my heart I was not emotionally ready to handle that next step in my recovery yet.  Give it another year, I said.  And so I did.

This season most of our major theatre and musical festivals are in full swing or are about to, and people are more than ready to return to what most would consider to be a more 'normal' routine again.  But was I?

The only way to find out was to actually go and experience live theatre again and see how things went, so I did.  My good friends at the Shaw Festival in Niagara-on-the-Lake were kind enough to invite me back to review some shows again this season for the first time since the pandemic began, and I was happy to take them up on the offer.

My first show of the season was the big musical at the Festival Theatre this season, the baseball-themed Damn Yankees by Richard Adler and Jerry Ross.  The book is by the great George Abbott along with Douglass Wallop, based on Wallop's novel "The Year the Yankees Lost the Pennant."

Now before I get to the show itself, a word about pandemic protocols.  Most theatre companies, though not all, have relaxed their restrictions regarding vaccinations and mask wearing at this point in the season. In the case of the Shaw Festival there are not obvious restrictions in place, but I chose to go the cautious route and like the staff at the theatre, I was fully masked for the entire performance.  The only time I removed it was while outside at a safe distance during intermission.

Am I overreacting?  I don't think so.  Look, I had people on either side of me, neither wearing masks, and I am not going to ask their vaccination status.  So my only line of defence now along with being fully vaccinated along with two booster shots is to wear the mask.  It is not onerous.  It is not a big deal.  I feel better for doing it.

Okay, enough of that, now on to the show. 

Director Brian Hill has pulled together a superlative cast that works especially well in the ensemble pieces, creating the excitement one would expect from a baseball team on the road to glory.  I found some of the production numbers a little bit long, but overall the show moves at a good pace even though you will be there for two hours and 45 minutes with one intermission.

Damn Yankees tells the story of the sad sack Washington Senators baseball team, watching the hated New York Yankees waltz their way to yet another pennant at the end of the season.  But can they be stopped?

That was the thinking of middle-aged Joe Boyd, a die hard Senators fan who basically thought if there were some way to stop the inevitable from happening, you should at least try it.  Enter Mike Nadajewski as Applegate, the devil in fancy dress who hears Boyd's wish and decides to make Joe an offer he just can't refuse.

You probably know the rest of the story.  Paunchy Joe Boyd, played by Shane Carty, is magically transformed into hot-hitting new baseball phenom Joe Hardy, but of course there is a price to pay.  He has to sell his soul to Applegate do achieve his dream to become a great ball player and that means leaving his loving wife Meg forever.

Sounds complicated but wait.  Joe has remorse during his successful baseball run and wishes to go back to the loving arms of Meg, but Applegate has other ideas.  He employs the services of lovely Lola to tempt Joe to stick with the plan and not return to his wife as Joe Boyd at the agreed-upon cutoff time.

The rest of the story you can figure out for yourself but suffice it to say it plays into the time period in which the musical was written, 1955, and the desire to live the great American Dream.  Dated?  Yeah, a little, but most people in the audience at the performance I attended were quite happy to check their reality at the door and just live the dream along with Joe and to hell with the pandemic, along with those Yankees.

The cast is uniformly good, even with a replacement in the key role of Joe Hardy.  Drew Plummer was still in the role originally featuring James Daley, who has been out for awhile due to an injury.  Plummer actually looks like a more fit and younger Joe Boyd than originally planned with the first casting, but by the time you get to the show later this season I would imagine James Daley would be back in his assigned role if he is not already.

Carty as Joe Boyd is solid; Patty Jamieson as his stalwart wife Meg is very good and consistent throughout.  Kimberley Rampersad sizzles in the role of Lola, having great fun with her signature tune, "Whatever Lola Wants."

But this show belongs to Shaw bright light Mike Nadajewski as the nefarious and aptly-named Applegate. His inflections in his voice just drip of evil at times, and he makes the most of his big showstopper tune in the second act, "Those Were The Good Old Days".  He also has a wardrobe many men - and perhaps women - would kill for!

So, as far as musicals go, does this carry the banner for the Shaw Festival's 60th Anniversary season?  Well I think their 50th Anniversary season fared better with My Fair Lady but hey, given the trials and tribulations of the pandemic, I think it does quite nicely thank you very much.

Damn Yankees is darn good and rates a solid 3 out of 4 stars.  And yes, it's great to be back.

The show continues at the Festival Theatre until October 9th.  For tickets, call the Shaw box office or go to www.shawfest.com.

Have a great weekend!

July 23rd, 2022.

Summer music festivals are in full swing in Ontario

 I am thinking it is time to try to get back on the so-called horse again and start reporting on the arts, as I have done for many years now in this space.  It has been a difficult process for me as I have written previously, as a lot of things in my life just didn't seem as important anymore once I lost Sophie almost two years ago.  But the desire to write again is slowly coming back, so let's see how this goes...

Thanks to COVID many summer music festivals in the province went virtual the last couple of years, and only this year are starting to come back as in-person events, and it seems the public is ready to take the plunge as well.  Having said that, it is wise to check with your festival prior to booking tickets to get the latest updates on protocols (if any) in place in that particular venue for the date you are going.  

For me, I am taking a gradual, slow approach to returning to the arts this summer, having made two trips to the Shaw Festival in Niagara-on-the-Lake so far this season, wearing my mask the entire time I am in the theatre.  I have had a difficult transition to doing these events alone again, of course, and I will be writing more about that and my return to Shaw in my next report in this space.

Most summer music festivals are either in full swing now or just about to, and I must apologize to my friends at the 2022 Collingwood Summer Music Festival as their events ended last night.  The week long festival is still a young event and will continue to grow in the future but for now, the 2022 edition is now completed and in the books.  My apologies again for not getting to this post before this weekend.

I've chosen three festivals I have grown quite fond of over the years, although one of them I have actually yet to visit.  But the location, in Parry Sound, looks amazing and I always enjoy visiting that part of Ontario, so maybe next year I will be able to pay a visit.

Locally, Music Niagara got their 24th season underway back on June 17th at St. Mark's Church in Niagara-on-the-Lake.  Artistic Director Atis Bankas has assembled a great roster of performers for the remainder of the run, through to August 20th.  Some of the upcoming highlights include a performance of Richard Strauss' 1897 melodrama "Enoch Arden", scored for narrator and piano.  Pianist Victoria Kogan accompanies Shaw Festival Artistic Director Tim Carroll for this performance tomorrow afternoon at 4 in the friendly confines of St. Mark's Church.

Almost all the performances this season are at St. Mark's in fact, with performances continuing July 23rd with a programme entitled "From Pergolesi and Bach to Stravinsky and Part, and July 31st with Portuguese pianist Artur Pereira presenting a programme entitled "A Fresh Look at Beethoven".  

On July 9th a recital was held at Navy Hall featuring Julie Nesrallah and Guy Few, and the Toronto All-Star Big Band will perform August 1st at Club Italia in Niagara Falls.  These were the only two events scheduled this season outside of St. Mark's.

Tickets for any and all of Music Niagara's events are available by going to www.musicniagara.org.

Week Two of the Elora Festival is in full swing and always worth a drive to the picturesque village of Elora, just north of Guelph.  Last evening the Canadian Brass performed in the Gambrel Barn on the outskirts of town, and tonight that venue will be dark as there is a late-breaking concert postponement to report.

Autorickshaw was scheduled to perform with the Penderecki String Quartet and The Elora Singers in a concert entitled "Kaleidoscope" in the Gambrel Barn tonight, but yesterday afternoon I received word the event was postponed.  No specific reason for the delay was given and so far there is no update on if and when the event might be rescheduled.

There are however two smaller events happening today:  "Stars and Heavens" will feature Studio de musique ancienne de Montreal with Artistic Director Andrew McAnerney at St. John's Church this afternoon at 1:30 and a concert entitled "Being Lost" will take place in that same cosy venue this afternoon at 4.  CBC Music host Tom Allen is the narrator and Patricia O'Callaghan is the featured soprano.

Tomorrow afternoon at 4 the Main Stage comes alive again with "Voice of the Weaver", featuring composer Peter-Anthony Togni, poet Mary Louise Martin, bass clarinet soloist Jeff Reilly and The Elora Singers.

Tickets and more information on all Elora Festival events this season can be found at www.elorafestival.ca.

Finally, tomorrow is the first day of the two-week celebration of the arts up in Parry Sound, as the Festival of the Sound gets underway for another season, with most events taking place at the beautiful Charles W. Stockey Centre for the Performing Arts in Parry Sound.  As I mentioned earlier, next year I hope to finally see that venue up close.

The Opening Concert takes place tomorrow with the Elmer Iseler Singers, followed by an Anniversary Concert July 18th with The Canadian Brass.  Highlights this season include Live on the Sound:  A Floating Festival on the Island Queen and the Jazz Canada Weekend.

For tickets and more information on the Festival of the Sound, go to www.festivalofthesound.ca.

Music is again all around us, so as safely as possible let's get out and enjoy it.  Have a great weekend!

July 16th, 2022.

Recollections of Easter weekends past...

 I felt the urge to share some thoughts with you again this weekend, as I have found myself awash in memories of Easter celebrations from the past.  This year it will be quiet again, and I am fine with that.  I have become a more private person in the last two years so a quiet Easter weekend should not be too surprising.

First though, my apologies - again - for not resuming my arts reporting duties in this space.  I had hoped to get back on the arts beat for some time now but to be perfectly honest with you, I have not found the passion I once had.  I hope to reclaim it again as the year goes on but for now, occasional memories in this space are about all I can manage.  Sorry about that.

I was thinking today I cannot recall much at all about my last Easter with Sophie in April, 2020.  We were all in lockdown of course, so you couldn't go anywhere.  I know Sophie would have created an amazing vegan Easter dinner, happily enjoying her break from her regular work routine.  And yet, totally unawares of the cancer that was to claim her just four months later.

But I vividly remember our first.  It was Easter 2001, also likely April, and Sophie and I were in that wonderful happy state that courtship and new love brings to a couple.  I had lost Mom in February 2000, so Dad and I were making our way through special occasions together for about a year at that point.  But Sophie offered to make us Easter dinner at her house that year and Dad and I both readily accepted.  

I still remember now Sophie telling me she got up about 2:30 in the morning to start preparing her feast, as everything had to be perfect.  She planned for us to have an early afternoon Easter dinner, shortly after the noon hour as I recall.  This was long before she decided to pursue a vegan lifestyle, so being Greek she made what many Greeks make for special occasions:  lamb.  It was the most amazing meal I think I had ever had!

Afterwards the three of us took a drive for a late Sunday afternoon, and I remember we went to Niagara Falls for a visit.  It was one of those early spring days not unlike today; cool and partly cloudy, but just fine by us.  Driving Dad back to his apartment afterwards we both thought Sophie was a pretty amazing cook...and woman.  And indeed she was.

Sophie I am sure, slept early and well that night.

My second Easter memory was 2009, and it would be Dad's last.  He had grown rather cantankerous about Sophie's formality at dinner in his later years, and I know that caused some friction between them.  But Sophie once again created a memorable Easter dinner at our home, being the ever gracious hostess.

Taking Dad back to his retirement home after dinner it was evident his frailty could not be ignored.  It was a real effort to get him down the front steps and into the car safely, but we managed.  That Easter, also in early April as I recall, proved to be mere days before tragedy struck.  Dad took a bad fall at the retirement home and was sent to hospital with a punctured lung due to his ribs, and it was not long before he got pneumonia and he never recovered.  His funeral was late April.

Moving to my third Easter memory, I vividly remember early April 2017.  I was well employed with Canada Post, we bought a new car in January and had paid off the house the previous year.  So it was time to do something daring.

Now, I have to back up a moment here and explain to those who did not know the details of our earlier years together, our marriage actually never happened.  Oh in the eyes of the law it did of course, but that never pleased me.  We had intended more than once to make it official but for one reason or another it just never happened.

When in the fall of 2016 Sophie dropped a broad hint what her engagement ring should look like, I felt I had my chance.  With great secrecy I had her engagement ring custom made to her exact specifications and my plan was to propose on Easter weekend 2017 when we spent the long weekend in downtown Port Hope.

All was in readiness when we departed for our weekend away, and on the Saturday night we stayed at the historic Waddell Hotel right in the heart of downtown Port Hope, with a room overlooking the rushing Ganaraska River.  On my afternoon walk prior to dinner I found the perfect spot I would propose that night.  There was a newly constructed viewing platform and gazebo directly across from the hotel, overlooking the river.

We enjoyed a wonderful dinner in the hotel restaurant and then, both in need of a walk, we strolled the main street after dark looking at all the storefronts.  My hand was jammed in my overcoat pocket protecting the precious cargo.

Returning to the hotel I suggested before we go in we cross the street and view the river from the new viewing platform and there, on bended knee, I proposed and presented her with the engagement ring.

Her first reaction was laughter.  

Mirth notwithstanding, the reaction was positive and wedding plans were to go ahead for the next year.  But again, for reasons I will keep to myself things were delayed.  And then it never happened.  

To say I was heartbroken is an understatement.  It was all I ever wanted, to fulfill that dream and it was lost forever in August of 2020 when cancer claimed Sophie.  And to this day I think of that glorious moment in Port Hope in the late evening of Saturday of Easter weekend.  I will never forget it.

So I have plenty of emotions swirling around in me this weekend.  Will there be new experiences on a future Easter weekend I will remember fondly?  I hope so but right now I just don't know.  I still tear up this weekend and I can't imagine that changing anytime soon.

Oh sure, we had lots of Easter weekend trips over the years, including Collingwood more than once and in 2012 a memorable trip to Utica, New York.  But none will compare to that golden weekend in 2017.

Five years ago tonight.

I miss Sophie so very much.

Thanks for hearing me out, and I hope you have a very special Easter weekend with you and yours.

Happy Easter!

April 16th, 2022.

Going back while waiting to go forward

 With the New Year here I plan to start writing in this space again, although at first likely not on a weekly basis as before.  It has been a slow process for me to return to anything resembling normalcy of course, so for now I will content myself with simply contributing some thoughts as they happen, usually on an occasional basis.

A long tradition for New Year's Day evening for Sophie and sometimes for me was to tune in to WNED-PBS to watch the annual New Year's Concert from Vienna.  For years we would watch the late Walter Cronkite host it, later Julie Andrews and now Hugh Bonneville of Downton Abbey fame.

Of course I tuned in this year, for Sophie, and the cats and I snuggled as we watched the music play out as it always does.  I noted social distancing at play in the audience of course, with masks present for audience members as well they should be.  Yes, that gilded hall was not full to capacity again this year but those who attended were bound and determined to get their Viennese fix to start the year.

I noted though the orchestra members were not socially distanced and there were no masks on those that could while still playing their chosen instrument.  It's funny how you notice these things now and although from a safety standpoint the optics were bad, I am sure the powers that be made sure they did what they could to ensure the musicians' safety.

As always the concert was a pleasure to watch.  I know a lot of the music is heard year after year, particularly the last two encore pieces, On The Beautiful Blue Danube by Strauss the younger and the Radedsky March by Strauss the elder.

There were some tantalizing diversions though, such as a collection of the short dances by Beethoven, which prompted me afterwards to dig my copy of the complete set out of my CD collection to listen to the following day.

After that bright and happy start to the New Year, I started searching through the collected shows still on our PVR of earlier concerts and I found two:  the New Year's concert from 2020 as well as an open air summer concert from 2019.  Before I touch on those, though, a bit of a technological diversion here.

We acquired our PVR in 2018 as part of the package of phone/television/internet services provided by our chosen supplier, currently Bell.  It took awhile for Sophie to get used to the channel changes and such but she got up to speed far quicker than I did, as she did with the PVR operation as well.  I sometimes simply gave up and handed the remote to her to figure out.

Thankfully I am more or less up to speed now that I am on my own.  With no opposable thumbs the two cats are no help at all...

But it wasn't always that way around here.  Sophie was what you might call a slow adopter of new technology.  We for years simply made do with rabbit ears for television reception until digital signals rendered that practice obsolete.  We started years ago with basic analogue cable which upped our channel selection from about 10 to something like 34.  Sophie was like a kid in the candy store going through the remote and saying repeatedly "Oh! We get that!"

The next big advance, albeit a difficult one, was acquiring our first DVD player.  Sophie never saw the need for anything other than her trusty old VCR player that weighed a ton.  Then one January I took the $50 gift card for Canadian Tire I got at the company Christmas party to buy a snazzy new DVD player on sale in the Canadian Tire flyer.  It was $49.95.

Well.  Sophie was not amused.  "What do we need that for?" she queried.  I tried to sell her on the benefits of the then-new technology to no avail.  But then a wondrous thing happened.  About a week later at dinner Sophie admitted I had made a wise purchase and thanked me for it!  She listed all the things she could do with DVDs that were simply not doable on a VCR recorder or much more difficult.  And oh my, all that bonus material you got on the DVD too!  

She was one happy girl.  I licked my finger and marked an imaginary "one" in the air.  Score one for me!

I mention this because in hindsight Sophie quickly took to the PVR unlike anything else I had ever seen, to the point she probably would have barricaded the door should I ever try to dispose of it.

So that brings me to the collected shows still stored on the thing.  Many early ones Sophie recorded are still there and I will get to them.  Two of those were the aforementioned Viennese concerts.

The New Year's 2020 concert was quite fascinating insofar as it was mere months before the world changed due to the pandemic.  I sat there looking at that full audience, sitting side by side and never dreaming of wearing a mask, and wondered aloud if they even imagined what they were in for in mere months.  

I also wondered - hoped actually - we might be that carefree again while in a public space.  Time will tell...

I also, and this is me speaking as a man who likes to dress properly while in public, scorned more than a few male orchestra members for not having their shirt collars and ties properly done up for a concert being watched by millions around the world.  But that's just me...

The summer outdoor concert from 2019, conducted on that occasion by the young firebrand conductor Gustavo Dudamel was far more interesting on several levels.  This was my first time watching him conduct rather than just hearing him, and the fact he conducted the entire concert from memory with no score present was quite impressive.  I have often thought other conductors surely could do this on a regular basis as well.

Using a baton for most of the concert, he only deviated from this practice once on that occasion, using his very expressive hand gestures to conduct the Barber Adagio for Strings.  It was a pleasure to watch.

The entire summer concert that year was American music, save for a couple of encore pieces.  The music was universally warmly received each and every time.

But that brings me to the outdoor audience on that summer night in 2019.  I noted they were overwhelmingly younger in age, in stark contrast to what you would normally see in North America where symphony orchestra concerts appear to be largely attended by an older generation of music lovers.  Indeed, this is in Europe I told myself, where musical appreciation is much more ingrained into the national psyche in many countries.

I have written in this space many times the need for many arts organizations, not just orchestras, to find ways to lower the age demographic of their audiences if they are to survive, and this concert highlighted the need even more.

On this night, 85,000 concert goers sat on the surrounding lawns and casually dined while listening intently to the music, appreciating every piece, including that very quiet and string-filled Barber Adagio I mentioned.

Of course all ages were represented at this concert but I noted more of a younger demographic was present and that I found encouraging.  If classical and near-classical music is to survive we have to grow the audience from a young age.

During an encore that deviated from the American theme by presenting a requisite Viennese waltz, I was struck by the number of people in the audience, again many younger couples, who immediately got up, moved to an open area nearby and started waltzing with the music.  Beautifully too!  Would we ever see that here?  Perhaps, but not often I suspect.  

It was noted during the broadcast the government sponsored the event, making it a free event for the 85,000 attendees.  That might be the crux of the problem of course.  State sponsorship of the arts is far higher in Europe than it is here and that is a fact of life in North America.  But what a vivid example of what more state funding of the arts can achieve I thought!

Overall, both flashback episodes from the PVR brought back memories personal and otherwise for me, and I quietly thanked Sophie for having the presence of mind to record them for me to enjoy now.

She always knew what she was doing...

Thanks, love.

January 15th, 2022.

A New Year's Update

 On this New Year's Day 2022 I thought I would update you on my progress since my last report in this space at the end of August.  I made some promises to myself as the old year ended and I put my head on the pillow last night, and they involve increased optimism in the year just upon us.

Yes, I know COVID is still with us and is showing no signs of waning, at least not yet.  But I remain hopeful before the end of this year we might be able to see the end of this long ordeal.  But we'll see.

Amid the backdrop of that dark cloud still looming overhead, I see clearing ahead for me and I hope for you as well.

I generally don't make New Year's resolutions much.  Oh sure, the usual ones cross my mind on the final night of the calendar year:  lose weight and have more sex in the New Year.  Yeah, right.  We know how that will turn out more than likely.

But seriously, I wanted to give you something of a report card on me since my last entry here, and let you know with the dawn of a New Year I hope to finally find the wherewithal to renew my commitment to reporting on the arts in this space in the very near future.  I have missed it but to be honest, the words have not come easily to me the last sixteen months since Sophie passed away.

Sixteen months.  It hardly seems possible it has been that long and yet, there are days I thought it was an eternity already.  The norm seems to be to grieve the loss for a year after a spouse's passing and I thought that would suffice for me.  But in August last year when the year had passed, I found I was not ready yet.  Yes, I know everyone is different and I am usually slow with most things so why be any different with the grieving process...

Things gradually improved throughout the fall, although I would still find myself becoming very emotional when I least expected it, such as a fall Sunday afternoon when I would come in from doing yard work at the end of the day and I was used to hearing the TV on in the kitchen where Sophie was presiding over an amazing Sunday night dinner.  Now, I would come in and there was silence.  It hit me more than once, to the point I almost turned the TV on before I went out in the afternoon to cushion the return later on.

It's little things like that you don't always think about.  Often, it's the little things that seem to affect me the most, I find.  That being said, progress was made this fall to the point when December arrived I found I was ready to do something I didn't do at all last year:  put up Christmas decorations.

Last year, I barely even listened to Christmas music.  It was just too painful for me.  This year as has always been my custom I pulled out some of my favourites at the beginning of December, leaning heavily on choral and much less on pop Christmas music.  It just seemed an appropriate start this year.

I have not put up the big Christmas tree again this year and to be honest, I don't know if I ever will.  In the past I was tasked with lugging the behemoth up from the basement and setting it up in the stand, and then leave the decorating to Sophie.  It was not my choice not to take part; it was just understood the only way it would be done properly would be if Sophie did it.

Ahem.

Anyways, I chose to go what I call quietly elegant this year, whispering Merry Christmas rather than shouting it.  It worked for me and I think that will be the norm going forward.  I chose some of my and Sophie's favourite decorations for the house and ignored the rest, at least for now.  I changed up some things and in the end created a look that worked for me:  it respected our past and looked towards the future.

In a sense, it turned out to be an analogy for my life going forward in 2022.

I will always preserve and honour Sophie's memory as I should, celebrating her amazing life whenever the opportunity presents itself.  But now in addition to that, I feel 2022 brings with it a new opportunity to step out on my own now, reclaim my independence and state I am honouring the past while looking towards the future.

Two words define this New Year for me:  Move forward.  In everything I do now, I will move forward.

To that end, I have promised myself to do some things in this New Year I have not done up until now.  Firstly, I will celebrate myself.  That may sound odd but truthfully, I looked at what I have accomplished in the last sixteen months and I realized I am a lot stronger than anyone, including I believe Sophie, ever realized.

The day she passed away, I knew the journey in front of me would be hard, lonely and tough.  But I knew I would achieve what I had to do through my inner strength and the support of so many caring friends and family members.  Although it was not the case, some days it felt the weight of the whole world rested on my shoulders.  But I survived and here I am.

So what will change in the newly-minted year you ask?  Several things I hope.  I still have a tremendous amount of purging to do here at the house, particularly in the basement which basically looks like lighting a bomb down there could not make things much worse.

But I also want to do something I have not done much of the past almost two years, due both to COVID and my personal situation:  I want to dress up more.  The times have been few and far between when I actually put on a suit and tie and made the effort to look my best.  That for anyone who knows me is a sign things are not quite right.  I like to dress well albeit somewhat in the style of a slightly eccentric English gentleman, and even after she is gone, I still want to make Sophie proud.

I realized on Christmas Eve when I dressed for my annual Midnight Mass broadcast, donning my vintage full evening dress, I had to make several attempts at tying my white tie.  I realized it had been a year since I had last done this, and I was out of practice!  It took four attempts but I got it to look perfect, and that prompted me to do this more often as things (hopefully) improve over the course of this year.

It felt good to dress well again, and I want to make the effort going forward.  For me, and for Sophie.

The other thing I hope to embark on this year is to feel love again.  I am not all that old in the overall scheme of things I'm told and feel there is still some gas in the tank to take a chance at love again should the opportunity arise.  Indeed Sophie said she wanted me to meet someone new, but up until now I didn't feel the time was right nor was I ready.

I know COVID protocols will prevent much opportunity in the near future and that's fine with me.  But at some point I would feel ready to at least tentatively dip my toe in the tepid waters of adult dating and see what transpires.  The mere thought of dating again at my age is enough to keep me up at night and not for the right reasons, but I will cross that tricky bridge when I come to it.

But if it doesn't happen, that's fine too.  I am comfortable enough in my solitude that if this is what's in the cards for me in the future I am fine with it.  We'll see...

For now though, I am content to keep the house up, purge, hone my caveman bachelor cooking skills and be ready for better days ahead.  They are coming...for me, for you, for all of us.

Together, let's make 2022 a better year all around.  I think all of us deserve just that.

Happy New Year!

January 1st, 2022.