The View from Greater Downtown Meridian: Day Sixteen - Cincinnati May Festival 2008

It's over, and I think I'm in a state of withdrawal. The end-of-the-year dinner on Sunday night was a lot of fun.

I arrived just about 5:00 pm to find a small gathering drinking wine on the patio in the back of the Glendale Lyceum. Others were conversing throughout the rest of the building. I went inside and got a glass of merlot and went back out on the patio, sitting with Rosanne, the administrator of choruses (who has worked 24 x 7 on our behalf for the past two weeks) and "Brother Bob," our resident Franciscan friar. Others joined us, and soon the stories began, as those of us who went on the Yugoslavian tour 20 years ago regaled the newbies with tales of our adventures.

At six, it was time for dinner, which was delicious. As we ate, the discussions of Conlon's rudeness, our fatigue, and how great Friday night's concert was dominated the conversation. Propped up on every table was this (read the Day Fifteen blog entry if this is meaningless to you):

After dessert, it was time for the skits.

First on tap was the alto fashion show. We were attired in t-shirts that someone found on the web. They were all about Bob:

S.O.B. -- Sweet Old Bob

Got Bob?

Bob Who?

Be Still and Know -- I am Bob

It's Lonely at the Top, But You Get to Be With Bob

You Must Be the Bob You Wish to See in Robert

Bob - The Man, The Myth, The Legend

Whatever You Do, Don't Piss Off Bob

We entered the stage one at a time, doing little model poses, then joined the line at the back. We held hands and raised them in the air and took a bow, like Conlon does with his soloists at the end of concerts (you know, sort of like, "The winner, and still champeen...."). Afterward, we presented him with a plaque that says:

You can fool some of the people all of the time

You can fool all of the people some of the time

But you can't fool Bob

After that craziness, three other altos sang a version of "Try to Remember" from The Fantasticks that included lots of memories from the season past. The three had calculated that between them, they had 93 years of experience in the chorus.

The audience was enthralled:

The next skit is a bit complicated to explain, but I can tell you that we were visited by several Muppets, who sang our least favorite Carolfest piece, Night of Silence:

On Saturday night, during Juliet's funeral scene, the chorus had a long series of phrases, "Jetez des fleurs" ("strew flowers"). We repeated it over and over again, except once, when the entire chorus, save two (two altos in the Montagu chorus, with me as one of the two) didn't sing. It was group amnesia, or something -- we were not lost, we knew where we were, it wasn't difficult -- who knows what happened, but it was quite a moment.

So, during the end-of-the-year dinner, two male singers were seen to be quietly skipping across the stage holding carnations. When asked what they heck they were doing, we were told, "Oh, these are the "skipped fleurs."

Next, Heather MacPhail, our wonderful accompanist, played some wonderful music for us. She does that each year, allowing us to hear her shine as the wonderful pianist she is.

After all the presentations from the chorus and Heather, the chorus committee presented gifts from the chorus to various folks -- the attendance takers, the section note takers (notes are sent to those who must miss a rehearsal), those with perfect attendance, the chorus librarian, the person who creates the digital rehearsal CDs (me), the chorus administrator, our accompanist, and finally, Bob.

There were lovely speeches from all, but Bob's was the best. He loves us as much as we love him, so there's no need to quote him. It was a love feast.