Do You Hear the People Sing?

Drained from an exhausting week, it was with great glee that five of us PUC students carpooled down the hill for an exhausting weekend to round it off. Dropped off at Pleasant Hill, my parents and I almost immediately set forth to Sacramento for a men's chorus festival rehearsal. Along the way, we enjoyed catching up a bit and they filled me in on the particulars of the Music Dinner on Sunday, which I would help them execute. Arriving at the Carmichael church, rehearsal was already an hour in progress, but fortunately, Dad's pieces hadn't come up yet.

At the end of it, it was sheer heaven to flop into the cozy bed of the same hotel we had frequented for Convocation and get the best night's sleep I'd had in a week. . . just to get up the next morning and go to another concert, of course. This one was at a Slavic church--it was quite an experience. The entire congregation spoke Russian, and the service had to be translated for us. They received us warmly, and afterwards, a church member, Natella, had all of Christian Edition over at her house for lunch. O, the food! It was like Thanksgiving with the Ukrainian side of the family, but less American-ized. There was holopchi (cabbage rolls), peteheh (a pasta stuffed with potato and cabbage), borscht (a beet soup), and many other wonderful Slavic dishes I can't even begin to name. Out of gratitude, Christian Edition sang for the woman who, in preparing the meal, had missed the concert.

During the final practice for the men's chorus festival, some of my relatives arrived and Mom and I enjoyed catching up with them. There were even a few there we hadn't expected, which was a very pleasant surprise. When the festival began, I was enthralled by the incredible sound of 99 mens' voices going at full strength; there are few words to describe it. Five men's choruses were represented there, and each had its own special sound, its own wonderful message. In this concert, many heard CE's new piece, "Jerusalem" for the first time--the excitement in the room was tangible, mingling with the energy of the song. It finished to a standing ovation as the choruses combined once more for the last few songs. The finale of the concert, "No More Night," was incredible; I have heard it sung many times before, but never so strongly or with such passion.

After this remarkable experience, it was time to go back to Pleasant Hill for preparations for the next day's showing of Les Miserables. There was an eager group of students there to greet us when we got there, so they were actually able to get some good rehearsal in then. To my irritation, my father decided to cut in half the oboe solo I had spent a month preparing; oh well, maybe I'll use it again some other time. We got home around 1:00 AM, the only time I was home all weekend. Just long enough to sleep, hug two of the three cats, pack, and take off again.

At Pleasant Hill, we were struck by all the usual bits of insanity that the morning of the Dinner brings--it was really nice to be able to help my parents with that without the distraction of being a cast member. I even had time, while the band was playing, to do some studying in my little corner of the gym devoted to the power point I was running. The food was another excellent creation--stroganoff, mm. The band was in fine form, bringing back fond memories of when I had studied those pieces as a student at Pleasant Hill and introducing new ones like "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band." Cheerily I bought a few bottles of the drinks for sale for my dorm room before the performance began.

First show was good. I was so proud of my smoke machine minions who actually set the thing up without me having to remind them. Clunky mistakes were at a minimum, and people responded positively to the power point--it helped them understand what was actually going on in the show. Between shows, I congratulated everyone on their good work, and had the joy of speaking with some friends I hadn't seen in a long time.

Second show was better, well nigh incredible. Sterling as Valjean was excellent, nearly making me cry in the soulful soliloquy, "Bring Him Home." Lucas as Javert was one of the most charismatic Javerts we've had. Shiva gave me a run for her money as Madame Thenardier, and Steve, as Monsieur Thenardier, was hilarious. My beloved friend Lauren really impressed me with her portrayal of Cosette; I've never seen the role done so assertively, with Cosette actually leaving the bench instead of waiting for Marius there--it was a welcome change from the passive pictures of her I've seen before. In the grand tradition of the Hardt family, Alex made for an excellent Marius, heartbreaking as always. As for the revolutionary students--few casts have ever been so enthusiastic as this one, and their rendition of "One Day More" during second show was, hands down, better than my year--thrilling.

So many students I was so proud of, more than I can begin to mention--it almost made me miss performing in it myself, and other alumni have expressed the same feelings. Returning to PUC at around midnight, even though I was faced with two tests and a gob of reading when I got here, I was really glad I had gone. That show touches my heart in a way few other things can, and although I've seen many casts perform it, it never fails to yield more surprises, more moments of wonder. The hope it expresses in the Finale is one that will always ring true--"Even the darkest night will end and the sun will rise." This is the same hope that so moved the audience at the Men's Chorus Festival, and will forever be remembered as long as there are people to sing of it.

Do you hear the people sing?