Tuesday, November 30, 2010

Hallelujah! (Chorus that is)

Concert week is here! The Village Singers proudly present Handel's "Messiah" this weekend, and here's a sneak preview for you -- the "Hallelujah" Chorus.  Our community chorus is composed of 50+ local residents under the direction of Nick Juknelis, chorus director at Lake Zurich High School, and we are accompanied by Tara on piano and as well as a dozen strings from the Lake Zurich Orchestra. (double click to open in YouTube and see full frame.)






Saturday Dec. 4th, 7pm

Sunday Dec. 5th, 3pm



at


Alpine Chapel

23153 W Miller Rd

Lake Zurich, IL 60047



Adults $8.00

Seniors and Students $5.00

Children under 12 - Free

Saturday, November 27, 2010

Extreme Acrobatic Biking

 I've biked 7500 miles on my mountain bike the last three years, but not the kind of biking Danny MacAskill does in this video called "Way Back Home" as it follows him on a journey from Edinburgh back to his hometown Dunvegan, in the Isle of Skye.  (click it twice to get to YouTube for a full screen.)


Tuesday, November 23, 2010

Muppet Show: The Swedish Chef and the Turkey

We always watched "The Muppet Show" on TV and my three favorite characters were not those usually most beloved by others.  I favored the two old hecklers up in the theater box, Statler and Waldorf, and The Swedish Chef.  In honor of Thanksgiving Day, here's a brief video clip featuring the Swedish Chef getting ready to roast the turkey...


Tuesday, November 16, 2010

Preview of the Upcoming "Messiah" Concert by the Village Singers of Lake Zurich

Handel's "Messiah" (part 1) will be presented Saturday, December 4th at 7pm, and again on Sunday, December 5th at 3 pm. Below is a video from yesterday's rehearsal featuring brief excerpts from all 6 choruses in Part 1, as well as the "Hallelujah" chorus.  All will be accompanied by piano and strings, as well as all the solos which will be performed by outstanding soloists in our group. The concerts are December 4th and 5th, 2010.  Our community chorus is composed of 50+ local residents under the direction of Nick Juknelis, chorus director at Lake Zurich High School.



Monday, November 15, 2010

Palatine Concert Band performance

Last night was another delightful concert by this fabulous community band. Due to a fire at the usual Cutting Hall venue, the performance was moved to Palatine High School's auditorium. The featured guest artist was renowned tenor Marc Stingley...


Here I am with my son, Scott, who has played with the group since graduation from the University of Illinois 14 years ago...


Palatine Concert Band website

Friday, November 12, 2010

Biking and Hiking and Family

Been a bit busy lately and hence lax at posting, so here's a "catch-up" post. I drove Mom and Linda to a family funeral in Louisville, and though Aunt Mary's passing was sad, we celebrated her 90 years of life and had a wonderful reunion with Uncle Otto and our cousins...


...and also got caught up with three of their cousins whom I hadn't seen in 40 years, and Mom got to visit her with dear childhood friend...


I've been biking as the weather has allowed and have set a new personal record in annual mileage with over 2500 miles and am still getting rides in as the temps allow. The elk in Busse Woods didn't seem to mind the weather...


...and when the temps drop below 50, our group cycles into hiking mode in our local preserves. Today we did 4+ miles in Crystal Lake's two preserves and then had lunch at Colonial and conversed for another hour...