Settling

Time keeps ticking on.

Concerts have come and go, friends have visited and left, rainy days have come and come and come and went and came back again... (at least spring seems to have arrived, albeit with some brief reappearances of rainy winter weather every once in a while). And through all of this, I'm finally feeling considerably more settled in London.

The new term has, in general, been a lot better to me than the last - both in my programme and in life outside of it. I'm singing better, and keep making progress in improving what I'm doing and learning a lot of new repertoire and information. Still have a ways to go, but that's why I keep studying. At least feeling a lot better about my work here. Also, have made a few really solid friends who I can trust, talk to, and feel eminently comfortable with. It's amazing what a difference that makes in feeling at home somewhere - not to say I didn't have made some good friends last term, but having a few really close allies makes for a far more grounded existence.

Of course, there are always things that remind me that I'm not at home. The weather. The extreme habit of understatement. The reservedness. The lack of reliable public transportation. Wait a minute, considering NJ Transit and the MTA, maybe that's not so different, after all...

But, on the whole, I can honestly say that I feel at home in this city now. People stop me on the street to ask for directions, and I can point them in the right direction. I know where to go for which groceries. I have a couple of favorite cheap restaurants. I have to think twice to use American terminology, as the British words for things are what come out of my mouth first. And, most importantly, I know where to stand on the Tube platforms that I frequent so that when I get back off the train at that particular door, I will be directly in front of my next platform's exit.

Some of the most exiting developments have been in music (perhaps unsurprisingly for me). Sang in a really wonderful production of RAM opera scenes at the end of January, playing the title role in a duet from Donizetti's Linda di Chamounix. (No, there were no ski slopes in the opera. Sorry.) Then this past week, some of the best stuff yet: sang in the chorus for a mass performance of Beethoven's 9th Symphony, conducted by Sir Colin Davis in a joint project between RAM and the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. Getting to sing on the stage at the Barbican - to a completely sold-out audience - was an experience I'll not soon forget, nor the deafening roar of said audience after the final chord. Also got to sing on the stage of the Wigmore Hall (London's pre-eminent recital hall) for an education project performance there this past Saturday (even had Mom here visiting for both of those concerts!). And, get to play viola in the Royal Albert Hall in a week and a half. Things are looking up.

Perhaps most interestingly, I have discovered the art and joy of jazz performance this term. Got sort of dragged along to a meeting for a new Jazz Club here at Goodenough back in late January, and turned into a series of fun rehearsals, then a pair of gigs at Goodenough (after-party music for a Vagina Monologues performance; then a real gig as the entertainment for a champagne tasting that went well into the night!). Really loving it and seem to be doing well with it, have found a rhythm section I adore, and the 4 of us are now trying to 'make it' in the London jazz scene, putting together some sets to play in some jazz clubs. Should be an exciting new chapter in the musical adventures here, at any rate - and who knows where it'll go?

By the end of the week, I'll have made it through the end of my 2nd of 3 terms for the year. Amazing how time flies. Especially now that I'm really having fun. :-)