Next Wednesday night we will be singing three major new compositions for the first time. We're working very hard! Among other things there are the following languages to pronounce properly: English, German, Greek, Italian, Quechua and Arabic. Matt sought out a young Iraqi student who works in his neighborhood to try out pronouncing the several Arab words in Shawn Crouch's piece, one of which is habib, which means love. Now we know. Shawn's piece is to texts written by a former soldier in the Iraq war, interspersed with poetry by Rumi.

Rehearsal is a collaborative process...

On Thursday Shawn Crouch and Mason Bates will come to rehearsal to hear their music for the first time. That's always an awesome moment - for composer and singers alike. We're looking forward to hearing their thoughts and getting their help.

They're ready for us in Shanghai!

This will be an amazing spring! We will soon present three world premieres ( Bates, Crouch, O'Regan) here in the Bay Area, then tour in Connecticut, New York,Georgia and Minnesota, including Youth Choral Festivals in Darien, Connecticut and Hibbing Minnesota. China seems a long way away, but in two months we'll be there, and, as you can see, they're ready for us!