all done!

I arrived home from Union this evening -- our final concert (a 9/11 memorial this afternoon) was a success and a great way to end the festival. I've been asked to come back for their Oktoberfest next month for some German lied recitals. It's exciting -- I love giving recitals, and try to do at least one or two a year. Usually, though, I have to put them on myself (finding musicians, choosing music, printing programs and program notes, making translations, finding a space -- it's fun, but quite a job!) and having someone else organizing (and paying me to sing!) will be a real treat.

I'm in that odd space that I often find myself in when coming back from a gig or audition trip. This festival, like many gigs, was an intense experience -- a beautiful setting, lots of great music-making, getting to know some fantastic new friends and colleagues and catching up with old ones. Even though I was only two hours away from home, I've felt a million miles away from "real life," and it's a bit disconcerting being back. Usually, I'm good about keeping up with things while I'm away, and it was my intention to be good about it this time as well. I was pretty successful for the first few days, but I must admit I got caught up in just being in such a lovely place surrounded by lovely people, and as the rehearsals and performances got in to full swing, things started piling up. As a result, I have lots of phone calls and emails to return, applications to finish, piles of music to learn (including some new German lieder -- exciting!), and a messy office to get organized. I'm sure that all this, along with some yoga and meditation, will help me feel grounded again. I find that I always come back from traveling feeling like things have been stirred up inside of me, and often this leads to great periods of introspection and growth as things settle back in new ways, enriched by new experiences. But for tonight anyway, I'll allow myself to relax in front of the tv and veg out a little.