Dashing through the gigs....

Friday night - Heathman Hotel

Saturday night - Arrivederci

Sunday afternoon - ORS at St. Mary's Cathedral

Sunday night - "A Wilsonville Christmas" at Abella Italian Kitchen

Last weekend was a whirlwind of holiday gigging, and I love seasonal music - so it sure was fun!

Friday night was at the Heathman, with Lucia Conrad on violin, Nikki Graybeal on cello, and Bill Athens on bass. The room was decked out, with lights, greens, and a big Christmas tree with the hugest ornaments I've ever seen. People packed in, on both floors, some on the stairs.

Some of my favorite moments:

- Lucia's violin solo in "Christmastime is here". To try to describe in words: soulful double stops and blissful trills. Simply beautiful.

- Nikki's cello lines in "Winter Song", by Sara Bareilles. First off, amazing song. Add a talented cello player to play the changes on the haunting chord progressions = rip-your-heart-out loveliness.

- "Noel": We played the original arrangement of this song, which I wrote a few years ago. This year the Oregon Repertory Singers are performing my new arrangement for choir, so it was a treat to perform the old one with strings. Quite a few of the Singers were there to hear it!

I just love performing with string players. What a magical night!

Saturday night was at Arrivederci - a duo gig with my friend Michele Van Kleef. I love the vibe at Arrivederci. Down-to-earth good Italian food, fine wine, and a real living-room feel to the performing area.

Michele and I performed a mix of originals, holiday tunes, jazz standards and covers. Some of my favorite moments:

- Michele's song "Paint you red". Yes, it makes another "favorite moment" list. I love that song!

- "Lo, how a rose 'ere blooming" - I'm trying out a modern arrangement of this old song from the 16th century. A musical style mash-up!

- "Santa Baby" duet. Michele is a very talented, classy woman, but she also knows how to deliver the cheese and/or ham when a song calls for it. We giggled through the whole song!

Sunday afternoon was the first performance of the Oregon Repertory Singers' Christmas concerts at St. Mary's Cathedral. It was our first time performing "Noel". To have something I've composed performed by 60+ musicians to a crowded cathedral was truly a once-in-a-lifetime thrill! And, we get to perform it 3 more times next weekend! I was amazed and overwhelmed by the experience. More info about the upcoming concerts can be found at www.orsingers.org.

After ORS I dashed down to Abella in Wilsonville for the final gig of the weekend: "A Wilsonville Christmas". My friends and neighbors Michele and Christina joined me for some 3 part vocal harmony. So fun! Favorite moments:

- Christina's rendition of Joni Mitchell's "River". She made it her own!

- Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah" - we each took a verse and then did some echoes / harmonies in the chorus.

- "Have yourself a merry little Christmas": Christina sang lead while Michele and I came up with some impromptu extra vocal parts. Harmonizing on the fly is a bit of a rush - add another person making stuff up at the same time and you never know what you'll get!

We all stuffed ourselves with ravioli after the show. It was great to do a show in my neighborhood! Christina, Michele and I all have children at the same Wilsonville pre-school, so the kids' teacher and a bunch of parents from the school showed up. Seasonal music + great friends + ravioli = a great night.