Nor-Cal Sings - Uh-Oh

(See post-competition follow-up below.) I'm not quite sure what I've gotten myself into, but I'm in. I'd been seeing e-mail blasts from something called "NorCal Sings" addressed to the Sierra Community Chorus, and I didn't pay much attention to them. The messages announced a singing contest: think "American Idol" for Northern California (but not the San Francisco Bay area). Preliminary competitions for singers of all kinds of music, aged 7 to 30+ were scheduled for Fairfield, Santa Rosa, Roseville and Sacramento.

I didn't think much about this competition until I got a call from my friend, Nick Lynch, who, I was surprised to learn, was helping with the promotion of this undertaking. He called to ask whether I had suggestions about judges and venues for the final competition. I gave him a number of suggestions in both categories, but his call made me curious enough to check out the Roseville competition which was about to be held at Borders Books in Roseville.

I watched 3 of the 4 hours of the event. Most of the dozens of singers were very young, though there were a few older competitors, including one man who had to be of retirement age. Most could sing pretty well, and it was interesting to see what they could do a cappella in the one minute they were allowed to sing.

I didn't think much more about NorCal Sings until I got another call from Nick the following week, asking if I'd be a judge. What! I didn't see myself as qualified, but Nick was persuasive, and after all, I've devoted a very large chunk of my life to singing and performing. So with quite a bit of trepidation, I accepted.

So now if you go to the NorCal Sings website (www.norcalsings.com) you'll find my picture on the home page, right below Dave Bender, the weatherman on Sacramento's CBS-13. My job is to judge the semi-finals on Sunday, April 25 (it took some soul-searching to decide to get a substitute for church that morning). At this point, I'm philosophical: I'll give it my best shot, and it should certainly be an interesting, unique experience. When I was in law school, it was my ambition to be a judge. Voilà!

Posted April 26:
That was fun! The semi-final competition was held at the old Guild Theater in Sacramento's Oak Park neighborhood, and it ran from 12:30 to 5:30, with about 60 competitors. They had 3 minutes to show what they could do, with any kind of accompaniment they chose (or none), and they were grouped by age range and style (i.e. classical vs. everything else).

Nearly all these people were highly talented, and quite a few were amazing. Interestingly, it was the youngest group that wowed us the most, especially that little 10-year-old with a big voice and amazing stage presence. But then, there was the 84-year-old who sang "The Lady Is a Tramp" à la Frank Sinatra, who had a remarkably good voice and who strutted his stuff like a seasoned entertainer.

The variety of styles was itself refreshing, and I wasn't bored for one moment during those 5 hours. What I was feeling was anxiety: we four judges were expected to give the contestants verbal feedback, and it was a constant struggle to think of something new, accurate and encouraging for contestant after contestant. (OK, I may have exaggerated a bit and told a few white lies. I was, though, brutally honest on the ratings I gave: up to 50 points for vocal quality, up to 35 points for showmanship, and up to 15 points for appropriateness of song choice.)

Another highlight of the event was meeting the other judges. I sat next to Ruthie Bolton, the only Sacramento Monarchs player to have her number retired, winner of two gold medals for womens' basketball, key player on two Auburn University women's basketball teams to reach the Final Four, etc., etc. I was really fascinating to talk to this accomplished woman, who mentioned that she had her two Olympic gold medals out in the car.

I also enjoyed meeting Ashley Williams, a Good Day Sacramento (Channel 31) reporter -- a delightful, articulate, gracious young woman. It was also a pleasure to work with Shawn Ryan, a successful entertainer with a Grammy nomination, CDs, live shows, acting gigs, etc. to his credit. He was the one with the most articulate comments to Sunday's performers.

Some time today, they'll announce the names of those who will go on to next week's final competition at the State Street Theater (Auburn Placer Performing Arts Center) in Auburn. There will be multiple winners, and they will receive a cash prize, a photo shoot, a 2-song professional recording, free work with a voice coach, and their own music video.

I don't know yet whether I'll attend, but I'll be interested to see how this event plays next year. I know from experience that there is an awful lot of talent in our area beyond what I saw on the stage yesterday, and the organizers' plans for next year are for "bigger and better." I guess that leaves me out.

Another Amazing Opera

The problem with attending shows I have never seen before is that, if they turn out to be spectacular, it's often too late to let my friends know about them. Well, you folks who read this blog in time have just had a reprieve.

I've seen some brilliant productions in the Metropolitan Opera's "Live in HD" series. The very best was the production of "Carmen" back in January. Perhaps the second best was "Les Contes d'Hoffmann" that was staged back in December. The production was absolutely eye-popping, with so many creative, outlandish elements. And the performances were also remarkable. In particular I've thought often since of the fascinating performance of Kate Lindsey: brilliant singing, but even more mesmerizing acting in a serio-comic role. The whole thing was amazing: more amazing still is that it will be broadcast as part of the Great Performances at the Met series on public television. That will take place in the Sacramento area on KVIE2 (one of KVIE's secondary stations; it's channel 190 for Roseville Comcast subscribers) between midnight and 3 a.m. on Monday, April 5. By all means, record it if you can. If you have trouble getting into it or seeing why I like it so much, fast-forward to the segment where the little Asian lady with the big gold crown is singing: she, too, was amazing.

Here's a postscript. Possibly the season's third best production (to my taste) was that of "Hamlet" by Ambroise Thomas that was broadcast in theaters yesterday. It will be re-broadcast on Wednesday evening, April 14 at various theaters around the world. Especially if you haven't seen one of these Met productions, this would be a good one to see -- if you don't find it engaging, maybe opera (even at its best) isn't for you.

And then there's the last "The Met: Live in HD" production of the year on Saturday, May 1. In the Sacramento area, you can see it live starting at 10 a.m. in any of the Century Theaters in the area. It's been described as a "fanciful and magical tale," and I have great hopes for this one.

Bike Safely: Wear a Helmet

Yes, that's me on the front page of today's Roseville Press-Tribune (and Granite Bay Press-Tribune). The picture accompanies an article with the headline, "Bike helmet saves man's life."

Three years ago, I was hit by a car while bicycling. I walked away from the accident, but my helmet was cracked. So although I've worn a bicycle helmet for my last 15 years of riding, that experience made me notice helmet usage even more. And lately I've been appalled at the large number of people I see riding on streets without a helmet.

After thinking about doing so for more than a year, I sent a letter (by e-mail) to the editor of the Roseville Press-Tribune, recounting my experience and noting how common it is to see people riding without helmets. She e-mailed back asking if I'd be willing to be interviewed for a story. I said "Yes," and here is the online version of what came out today: http://rosevillept.com/detail/145796.html.

I've had great fun exploring Roseville and surrounding communities by bicycle, and I recommend it to anyone. But be sure to stay safe: (1) obey traffic laws, (2) make your movements predictable to motorists, (3) stay alert to your surroundings, and above all, (4) wear a helmet.

Support Local Performances

You don't have to go to the "big city" for good entertainment. I've had an inkling of this for a long time, but I've seen it proven time and again since I've been managing the Placer Performance Calendar (www.placerperformancecalendar.com). It covers nearly 80 performing organizations in south Placer County (and Folsom), and I've been trying to attend as many of their performances as possible. As often as not, I've been delighted, even amazed.

Apologies to those of you who don't live nearby, but I'll give some examples. I've seen excellent shows at Roseville's Magic Circle Theatre, including "Big River" and "Anything Goes." Two more great shows were Sutter Street Theatre's (in Folsom) "And Then There Were None" and "I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change," which is still playing and which features outstanding acting and singing. I saw a mind-blowing tap dance show put on by Folsom's Stages/Northern California Performing Arts, and a brilliant dance show by Roseville High School's Dance Department.

That leads me to emphasize the terrific shows I've seen at high schools. For example, the acting in the production of "The Crucible" in Vista del Lago High School's black box theatre was top-notch. I was delighted by the energy and good acting at Woodcreek High School's production of "Arsenic and Old Lace." The boy who played Mortimer looked and acted like a reincarnation of one of the matinee idols of the 1950s. And where did Rocklin High School get 3 boys who were such good singers and actors in the school's recent production of "The Wiz" (which featured a 20-piece orchestra)? And just last weekend I was blown away by the comedic skills of the kids at Oakmont High School's student-directed production of Neil Simon's "Rumors." I think I got more laughs out of that show than anything I've seen in years, and if one of those girls isn't destined to be a regular on "Saturday Night Live," I'd be amazed.

What's happening here? Our local schools and studios are where talent is being identified and cultivated, and their standards of professionalism have risen over the years. And with these young performers, you often see energy and risk-taking that is, by itself, engaging to watch. Of course, it's not all great, but I find that even when a show is full of technical problems or has a lot of so-so talent, there is almost always one -- and sometimes many -- performers on whom one can focus and who, by themselves, justify your time and the modest cost of your ticket.

So I say: "Patronize your local performing arts organizations!" Find out who is really doing the best work, and have fun! You don't have to go to the "big city" for good entertainment.

Flowers and Art

Six years ago, Ginger and I were in San Francisco, spending an afternoon with our daughter, Jessica, before she moved to start her new job in England. It was a beautiful spring afternoon, and we were casting about for something to do, somewhere to go, when someone suggested the Legion of Honor. This is an art museum in a beautiful setting overlooking the Bay, and in the several decades I'd lived in Northern California, I'd never visited it. So we went.



To our surprise, there was a special event going on there. Flower arranging clubs (and other organizations related to flowers) were in the midst of a 4-day event at the museum. Each club took a single work of art, a painting or sculpture, and created a flower arrangement that was inspired by, or evocative of, that artwork. It was art inspiring new art in a new medium.



I'll confess that I've never been especially interested in fine art. I've visited many museums, including some of the most famous in the world, and I've perused their collections. Often I've seen things that have impressed me, but it has been from the perspective of someone who never bothered to study fine art. My appreciation was limited, and frankly, I had (and still have) no motivation to go deeper.



Nothing I've seen in those famous museums stirred me like what I saw at the Legion of Honor that day. The wonderfully creative flower arrangements, drew me into the original artwork to see things that I might not have seen otherwise. The flower arrangements presented similar colors, similar lines, similar effects -- and I found myself studying both the flower arrangements and the original paintings or sculptures in more detail than I would have imagined beforehand.



This, I discovered, was an annual event. And in all the intervening years, I haven't returned: I've always remembered it too late in the season. But I was sharing this experience with friends recently, and it prompted me to do some Internet research.



What I found is that this year's event, called "Bouquets to Art" will be at San Francisco's de Young Museum, April 20-24. I've found the website listed as either http://bouquetstoart.org/ or http://www.bouquetstoart.org/, but as of this writing it appears to be down. Still, one can (and should) order tickets in advance through the de Young website.



I apologize to my friends outside Northern California for this "teaser" that you can't take advantage of. And to those in Northern California, I urge you to experience this unique event.

I Don't Listen to the Radio Anymore

I used to, though. I would get in the car, and as I drove, I'd hit one after another of my programmed buttons, hoping that the disc jockeys would choose one of my favorite songs or that I'd be able to catch something interesting on NPR.

Those days are gone, thanks to Internet radio. There are many forms of "Internet radio," but my focus is on the 3 examples that I'm really enjoying at the moment.

The first is "Pandora" (www.pandora.com). To use this service, you set up a free account with your e-mail address as your username and a password. Then you can start making your own "radio station." One way is to choose a genre. I began by selecting "New Age" from among the 19 genre categories. Then I chose "New Age Instrumental" from among the 7 subcategories under "New Age." With that, I had my first "radio station." When I clicked "play," I began to hear songs from one after another of my favorite artists, including artists who were new to me. If they played a song that I didn't like, I clicked on the "thumbs down" icon, and the song immediately stopped, and another song came up. In this way, I've had hours of music that I really like, with negligible commercial interruptions.

The other way to set up a "radio station" in Pandora is to choose an artist or a song that you particularly like. I think the first I chose was the Oak Ridge Boys. Having made just that much selection, I had a new station with just music from the Oak Ridge Boys and similar groups. I've gone on to make new stations based on Fleetwood Mac, Steve Winwood, Sarah McLachlin, and Clannad. When I navigate to Pandora, the last "station" I was listening to starts playing. One click, and I can change stations.

Now here's the coolest part. Pandora has an application for the iPhone that coordinates with one's account on the Internet. I open the Pandora app on my iPhone, and there are all my "stations," and I can choose among any of them. Connecting my headphones to my iPhone, I can listen to my favorite music anywhere. And when I'm in the car, I connect my iPhone to the auxiliary input on the car stereo, and Pandora plays through my car's excellent speakers.

I'm beginning to forget what the buttons on the car radio are set to. Why should I listen to those stations anyway?

Another service, called "Slacker" (www.slacker.com) is similar, and I use it, too. There, you can also create a station by genre, or by artist or song, but when the station is created, you get a long list of similar artists, whom you can individually include in or exclude from your new "station." Slacker, too, has an iPhone app that links to the account I set up on their website.

Finally, there is the NPR iPhone app that I mentioned in an earlier post. Any time of the day or week, I can listed to "Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me" or "Morning Edition" or "All Things Considered" or whatever -- on demand.

Is it any wonder that I don't listen to the radio anymore?

Why I Favor Health Care Reform

It started on March 17, 2007 at noon. That's when I was hit by a car from behind and thrown off my bicycle. It's truly a wonder that I was not seriously hurt, but that wasn't apparent to everyone until I walked out of the hospital later that afternoon.

The big surprise came a few weeks later when I got a hospital bill for $12,522.15 -- for my 2 hours in the Sutter Roseville's Emergency Department. Add the ambulance and other expenses, and the cost of the accident was over $14,000. And I wasn't insured.

Still, I wasn't worried because I knew that there was no fault on my part, so the driver's insurance company would cover these expenses. They eventually did, but it took two years to work out the details.

That big bill made me realize that, even though I'm a Christian Scientist and would not generally rely on medical means, I need a certain degree of protection from financial risks. So I signed up for minimal health coverage from Kaiser Permanente at a cost of $368 per month for 2007. They raised it to $407 for 2008; and for 2010, it's up to $490. That's a 33% increase over 3 years or 11% per year.

But wait, there's more! Ginger retired in November of 2004, with the promise from her school district that it would continue her health care benefits for 5 years. That 5 years ended this past New Year's Eve. We investigated adding her to my inexpensive plan, but Kaiser considers the ailments for which they have been treating her as preexisting conditions (and therefore not covered) if we should add her to my plan. So we're stuck paying the high fees for COBRA coverage of her plan extension.

The result? Starting this month, we're paying $15,360 per year ($9,480 for her; $5,880 for me) for health insurance -- from one of the least expensive providers in our area. That is, we're paying that figure until May of 2011 when we both turn 65 and become eligible for Medicare.

Our situation is bad enough, but there are millions of other Americans for whom the high cost of health care is even more burdensome. That's why there's a bumper sticker on my car that reads "Health Care for Everyone." And that's why I strongly support the current efforts for health care reform in Congress, even though they don't go far enough. Medicare for everyone!