The 2015 LA SCBWI conference wound down to a fabulous end earlier this week. Filled with inspiring speakers and faculty--including, as Miss Piggy would say, moi!--it was a wonderful event.
Not to be missed. And sold out.
In a moment of random serendipity, I got to sit next to author Michelle Knudsen (Library Lion) at the Golden Kite Luncheon, where she received the Sid Fleischman Award for Humor for her novel Evil Librarian. (Can't wait to read it.) Lucky me!
That's her in the photo up there, with her award, along with SCBWI Prez, Stephen Mooser.
I met so many talented, kind, inclusive folks! If you're the twitterlicious type, you can check out my Twitter feed (@NanetteMcG).
What a high-powered, high-energy weekend.
Coming back to earth, aka, the SF Bay Area, I'm gearing up for tomorrow's rehearsal of Elektra. Many years and a number of books ago, Joseph Kerman described Tosca as a "shabby, little shocker...," one of those phrases that sticks and ignites debates. But if you take out "shabby" and "little" you've described Elektra in just one word. The opera's short--one intense act--but it doesn't feel little at all. Starting with a huge orchestral scream, the opera is steeped throughout in a brooding cauldron of fin de siecle angst. A number of my colleagues are singing in it--Ross Halper, Lisa Houston, Jennifer Boesing, Raeeka Shehabi-Yaghmai, Heather MacFadden, Shawnette Sulker, and Richard Mix. This Elektra will be performed at a private house concert in Berkeley (invite only), conducted by the California native Maestro Kent Nagano and directed by Jessica Clarkson, with Jerry Kuderna at the orchestral piano.
What I'm reading: an ARC of The One Thing by Marci Lyn Curtis (courtesy of Rotem Moscovich at the conference, thank you!); Drama by Raina Telgemeir; Minnie by Annie Schmidt; The Family Romanov, by Candace Fleming; Hook's Revenge, by Heidi Schulz
What I'm listening to: West Edge Opera's Il ritorno d'Ulisse in patria--tonight!--in Alan Curtis' edition, with Gilbert Martinez conducting, Kindra Scharich, Jonathan Smucker, and others singing. Can't wait! Mozart Piano Concerto #24 in c minor.
What I'm working on: Well, there's that Fifth Maid in Elektra ;). And I was requested to sing "Both Sides Now" for a church service recently. Who'd a thunk? Starting in on some Handel--Elisa from Tolomeo for January, and brushing off some of Agrippina.
No comments:
Post a Comment