Stacy Horn

I was asked to write a brief tribute to Frank Smith, the co-founder (with his wife Dilys) of the Choral Society, for the program for our concert. It was such a great gift to be asked to do that. It’s just a good feeling, being able to publicly acknowledge someone like that, it really is a privilege and I feel honored that it was me.

I was a little concerned about my spot for the performance. I am in the very last row and the last one on the left. My first reaction when I saw my assigned position was, “He hates my voice and wants it to be far away from him as possible.” Between me and the last person on the right, it isn’t possible to get any further away!

Except there were people with gorgeous voices all around me, so maybe it wasn’t the horrible-voice section. And it turned out I’m not that far away. This is the view from where I stand. I took this while people were lining up. (We’re not all there yet there’s 152 of us.) Even if it was the worst spot in the world, I can’t complain. Every concert someone has to be in the worst spot in the world, and I’ve had some great spots in the past. I was due.

Tonight is the dress rehearsal for our concert, and it’s the first time we sing with the orchestra and the soloists. I LOVE the dress rehearsal, we all do. We get the pleasure of the full sound, but it’s just for us. We’re also singing in a different church while Grace Church undergoes some major restorations, so that will be interesting and new.

I had the most awful feeling yesterday. A friend was talking about something he’s going to called NewsFoo. A group of journalists are getting together to discuss the future of journalism. I didn’t get the sense that it would be some boring conference, but a group of really interesting people genuinely brainstorming and about something that needs thinking about. This friend is always doing stuff like this.

And I had the same kind of feeling I’ve gotten whenever people talk about new music and I’m the old person who has stood still while others are moving forward in whatever direction music is going.

Except now I feel like I’m stuck in a more overall way, in life. Others are moving into the future and I’ve stopped. I’ve disengaged. The world is moving on, and I’m receding further and further into the past.

It felt terrible. And I’m not even convinced I should be feeling this way. Whenever something new comes along that resonates with my life I adopt it. Maybe it’s because I’m spending my days researching 16th century composers. Or that I used to be more of an innovator. Or that I used to be the first among my friends to try something (I always found new music first).

Ugh. I took this walking up to the Apple Store yesterday. The Beatles pictures all over the place where of them at their cutest junctures. Okay, maybe not that one of John at the right. That was not his best look.

I have to write a chapter a month, so I must finish the chapter I’m currently working on … NOW. Except I can’t, technically. I have one interview to go and that isn’t taking place until tomorrow. But I can still finish everything else except that one part.

It’s bugging me that I cut off the top of that tree on the left. Now it’s bugging you, isn’t it?