new focus

This blog has taken a turn, not that it had any readers before. 

I've finally found something I want to write about -- what my life is like with Asperger's Syndrome; how I was diagnosed, how my life changed after diagnosis, past and current challenges, especially in my chosen career of being a choir director.

I know I take a risk by being so open. But every time I swear that I'm not going to talk about it, life backs me up to a wall and forces me to be honest with myself and those around me. So I figure, why not be open? People are going to find out anyway. If I help someone else out by writing this, so much the better.

So let the fun begin...

LOL of the week

So Mary Z. came down to the Angeles Chorale rehearsal with me this week. Mind you, we're in the thick of preparing Haydn's Creation, so I told her to bring her score. Turns out she had Robert Shaw's edition, which is completely different than the EC Schirmer/Novello edition the rest of us are using. She told Don Neuen that after rehearsal, and Don proclaimed that Shaw's edition Creation was the silliest thing that Shaw ever did.

That's just one of the many reasons that I love working with Don. He's not afraid to tell it like it is -- even if that involves slamming his teacher, who was just about the greatest choral conductor this nation has ever produced.

Don keeps it real. So real, I just may sing the Missa Solemnis again, just to see Don work with it. It may rehabilitate the way I feel about the piece; I truly think singing that in the AV was the beginning of my vocal stress.