Hello Everyone:
It’s Wednesday night and I’m thinking of all of you and hoping your preparations for the holidays is positive and fun and bring smiles to your faces. I’m still reflecting on our two wonderful concerts this past weekend. You know don’t you that we put those concerts together in 5, count them, five rehearsals. I am truly and thoroughly impressed with the concerts AND the dress rehearsal. It was like you dialed up all the musicality you could muster and presented it to the audience. Trista, Sarah and Hope were absolutely wonderful. Soloistically each singer was absolutely dialed in and gave such professional performances. Chorally, all the nuances, the lovely sounds, the attention to details. WOW!!! Sunday was just terrific. Thank you all for the lovely Christmas gift of music to the audience and to me. We are all grateful! And what are we to say that we haven’t already about Bob? Steady, musical, accurate, a true musician. Doug certainly added to all the accolades coming his way. We are so truly lucky to know these guys.
Crew: All the many, many folks who put our stuff together like a puzzle you’ve done often…and you have! What you did six times Wednesday, Friday and Sunday is miraculous. That we do this work all ourselves is a testament to the degree of love and caring you all have for BCAS. A HUGE Bravo to each and every one of you. Alec you are something else young man, and your crew is truly special. Love you all
Our cookie bakers, and wonderfully special box of tasty treats was the creation of our dear Gail. She tried to get a ‘reception’ after the concert, but just could not convince folks to let us do that. (Belated Kudos to Eileen Brusino at St. Francis for what they did for us and the audience in October). A note about the ‘reception’ at St. Francis…my favorite memory is Bob Hull doing a fantastic job of vacuuming the church afterwards – literally. What a guy! And how about the organ on Sunday. He just wails on that instrument. Great job!! BTW, Gail is at Autumnview Rehabilitation on Southwestern Boulevard, in Hamburg, Room 408-1, We send her nothing but wishes for a speedy recovery.
The title of this Blog is ‘The Saga of the Bishop and the Crown’. When you’re down and out, and need an uplifting story or image to make you smile you may wish to think on this little story. So…a few of us were sitting in the sacristy before the concert on Sunday, probably about 2:45, just minutes before we were to line up. The Bishop walked in and proceeded to go up the stairs to the area behind the sacristy. I caught him in my eye and immediately knew it was Bishop Michael Fisher, in my recollection the first Bishop to forgot to attend one of our concerts…and in his very church. So I called to him, ‘Oh, Bishop sir, oh Bishop sir’. He turned to me as I was introducing myself to him not knowing whether I should call him ‘Your Eminence’, or ‘Your Majesty, or just plain, ‘Fr. Mike’, told him how grateful we were to be able to perform in the Cathedral, etc., etc. The schmooze routine! He came back down the stairs, extended his hand to each of us, greeted us warmly. He asked me a few questions, and as I was answering them, I felt the crown in my back molar come loose and I was terrified I would swallow it. Lots of bucks you know!!. So there I am in mid sentence, mumbling something, mouth moving to try not to swallow the damn thing, and so I just took out the loosened crown and said, ‘Oh my, my crown just came loose’. Bishop Mike, perhaps feeling my embarrassment was telling me that he has experienced similar things and probably should go to the dentist. Good gracious, Good grief! I quickly put the crown in my pocket and prayed I would not lose it before I could get home. And so……Bishop Michael Fisher, head of the RC community of WNY, met BCAS members in HIS sacristy and their director presented him with a crown…………………….from her mouth! You can’t make this stuff up folks.
I’m still embarrassed. Have a great holiday. I have given my scores for March to Rick Lesniak and he will put them on the Members page on our website. Doug will get parts out, and Linda will probably do CDs. I’m working on June literature. Time marches on. The season is half done. Where oh where has the time gone.
Please keep praying for each other, Danielle’s daughter Maddie, my little Mia, and her sister Sienna, and I will do the same for you. See you soon at SH High School on January 4th. We all need a little rest don’t we.
Love you all. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year,
M