Every Man Heart Lay Down opens tomorrow night for the first of two performances. This is the third annual production of this musical, with new cast members and new revisions to the script.
Every Man Heart Lay Down is a Christmas musical set in Africa, based on a children’s book by Lorenz Graham. This production was created by choreographer Sandra Organ Solis, musician Daniel Buchanan, and visual artist Karen Capper. It tells the story of the birth of Jesus, using unique modern dance, original music, African folk music, and a lush, vibrant set.
I’m really excited about the production this year. I hope you can make one of the performances! Admission is free.
December 4, 2009, 7:00pm
December 6, 2009, 6:00pm
Every Man Heart Lay Down
An African Christmas Musical
Created by Karen Capper, Daniel Buchanan, and Sandra Organ City of Refuge Church
3150 Yellowstone Blvd.
Houston, TX 77054
I got to Swell Season and The Frames live last night. I loved it! So charming and fun! (Is case you don’t realize, these are the two stars of the movie “Once.”) Their music is joyful and diverse. They invited us to sing along at lots of different points in the evening. They even invited one girl onstage to sing with them, who turned out to be a really great singer! The whole band clearly had a sense of adventure and improvisation about them. The opening song was accompanied by an old Casio keyboard - you know, the kind with the really silly canned drum beats! And then they ended with a simple song sung acapella, all of them standing at the front of the stage. Great music, and just a heartwarming evening. Loved it!
I was SO glad I took the time to go see the final dress rehearsal of Wagner’s Lohengrin at Houston Grand Opera on Tuesday night. I had NO idea that I would experience such a special performance. I have seen several Wagner operas live, but it has been quite a few years. I just remember enjoying certain parts and being a bit bored. On Tuesday night, however, I was not bored in the least! The story is so interesting and compelling. The production is modern and intriguing. The orchestra plays so passionately and gutsy. And most importantly, the singing is TOP notch. The 80-member chorus sings with hundreds of colors and timbres, including my personal favorite: nail-you-to-the-chair LOUD! The principal artists all sing with nuance and beauty. I especially enjoyed hearing Ortrud, played by Christine Goerke. That is a voice I will not soon forget!
I highly recommend that you go see Lohengrin. October 30 - November 15, 2009 at Houston Grand Opera.
I am honored to be singing in performances with the Hope Stone, Inc. this weekend (October 23 and 24, 8pm, Cullen Theater at the Wortham Center). Hope Stone is a totally unique and vibrant dance company. This show promises to be beautiful and exciting. The company is also giving back a great deal to the community, providing hundreds of free tickets to at-risk youth. I’ll be making music with the talented violinist Noel Martin and the lovely soprano Ana Trevino-Godfrey. Here is the Facebook event. More info on my Performances page.
Wired Glass: Santa Fe-based artist with really cool, funky mixed-media sculptures. Website isn’t well developed but he does awesome work.
CORE Performance Company: A crazy dance group that wore crazy costumes and wandered around the festival stirring up trouble. It was totally unique modern dance that I couldn’t stop watching.
Emerson Images: Photographer who has incredible pictures from all over the world. One of my favorites he took -
Every Man Heart Lay Down opens tomorrow night for the first of two performances. This is the third annual production of this musical, with new cast members and new revisions to the script.
