Hello everyone!
After a solid month, I'm back! I was trying to think back on everything that's happened since I last wrote here, but to be honest, there's a lot going on in my head these days and I can't really keep it all in any form of linear structure. Instead of just updating you on my life, I think I'll just share some other things...
So, I was reading my most recent issue of Entertainment Weekly earlier today and indulging myself in an article about Katherine Heigl and her decision to leave Grey's Anatomy. First off, WHY, IZZIE, WHY? After all the stuff she's gone through, why not wait for a proper exit instead of one in which no one even knew it was her exit from the show? Furthermore, you're my favorite character on the show--at least now that George is gone--WTF? Who cares if you had to revive a deer in the back of a pick-up truck a few years ago? Doctors in real life have done stranger things! Hell, doctors on TV have one stranger things: have you seen True Blood? (End rant.)
Anyway, the point in mentioning this article is because even though I was incredibly upset with my girlfriend Katherine Heigl, her reason for leaving the show are based on her family. Unbeknownst to me, she and her husband adopted a baby girl over the last year and it is their decision to spend more time as parents; better parents, even.
Why mention this? you may ask. Well, I have found a very similar situation poke its dark and twisty head much closer to home; Oxford, OH, in fact. For those that have not heard, my best friend and mentor Dr. Ethan Sperry has decided to resign his position at Miami University and take up a new position at Portland State University in Portland, OR. Much like the lovely Ms. Heigl, Ethan's reasons for leaving are family-related, as well. Both his wife's family and his brothers reside on the west coast (Seattle/Tacoma-area and San Francisco, respectively). Ethan and his wife decided after they started a family a few years ago that living so far away from their families was in no way how they wanted to raise their children. Furthermore, they are city people and Oxford is far from a city... Unfortunately, the number of good choral positions on the west coast are few and far between. Thus, when a good one does open up, the number of applicants is well above 100. For the position at PSU alone, they had some 187 applicants, of which Ethan was their top pick. Naturally, he spent spring break at the school, getting to know the lay of the land a bit and meeting the choirs. To his surprise, he found immense potential in this department. Fortunately for him, it was a no-brainer for the PSU administration to nab him while they could. Unfortunately for us, this position provides Ethan and his family everything you've wanted.
I was recently back in Oxford for the Intercollegiate Men's Chorus Conference hosted by Glee Club. It was here that I learned this news. When I found out, it was still a secret to pretty much everyone. My learning came by way of "coaxing" it out of one of the elder members of the group. Maybe he's just not a good secret-keeper, or maybe it's just very hard to keep me in the dark. Either way, I'm glad I found out when I did. Before leaving Oxford, I very nonchalantly told Ethan, "I know." His eyes widened and I told him, "It's OK. I'm not mad anymore." I then made my way to Lebanon. (More on that in a minute). I returned to Oxford twice more while in Ohio. On Sunday, I came back to talk through this matter with Ethan and find out what his next step was. Obviously, he had to break the news to the choirs--he wasn't quite sure how to go about this. In true Ethan fashion, I didn't want to worry anyone and he didn't want to give anything away. In true Miami choirs fashion, they all kind of had a clue. Somewhere along the last year or so, word got out that Harvard Glee Club's director was going to be resigning and Ethan had thrown his name in the hat for the position. To make matters worse, Harvard's director had said Ethan was the only person he wanted to see succeed him. Whether this is true or not, I'm not sure. Regardless, Ethan was not offered that position--but the choir kids didn't know this. Most of them came into rehearsal Monday night knowing they had some business to tend to and were fairly certain he was going to tell them he was taking the job at Harvard. I knew this was not true, but couldn't really tell them anything else. This was not my news to tell. After receiving a number of phone calls about the matter, I decided to drive back down to Oxford on Monday for the big announcement--to give moral support to both Ethan and my friends in the choirs. Let's be honest, I had nothing else better to do... Thankfully, the announcement went very smoothly and there were no angry outbursts. Yes, there were tears, both students and Ethan. Yes, there were still questions to be answered. But there was no question in anyone's mind that trying to convince Ethan to stay was an option. The only thing we can do now is make sure that his remaining time at Miami is some of his best. Watching Ethan conduct a concert for the last time at Miami may quite possibly be the most difficult thing I'll have to do for a while. However, I can't even BEGIN to imagine what he must be feeling.
As sad as it is to say, I actually am very happy for Ethan. While seeing him go will be an unbelievably difficult thing to witness and knowing he won't be there whenever I go back to visit, I can't help but be thankful that this opportunity presented itself to him at this junction in his life. He's been at Miami for 10 years now. In a few weeks, the Collegiate Chorale will have their first EVER Alumni Reunion Concerts. My only hope is that this tradition continues after Ethan is gone. From what I've heard from him, the Chorale was next to nothing when he first arrived. So much so that at the first officers' meeting, he had to INTRODUCE the officers to each other! Imagine being a leader in a group and not knowing the other members, let alone the other leaders... Now, the Collegiate Chorale is one of the most respected choirs in Ohio. I'm proud to have sung in Chorale for a semester, but even more proud to have witnessed how great a group can be. Best of luck to all those returning for the reunion--I hope to come back for the next one.
In other news, I mentioned going to Lebanon before. NOTE: THIS IS LEBANON, OHIO. NOT THE COUNTRY. As you may recall from previous ramblings on here, I did an 8-week stint at Lebanon High School as a student teacher in their choir department. During my time there they asked if I would be interested in emceeing their show choir competition that fall. WHY YES, OF COURSE! I exclaimed. Much to my surprise, I actually did pretty well with this task and they asked me to return for another year before the competition was even over. So when I was returning to Lebanon this time, it was to return to the Lebanon Show Choir Class as their emcee! Once again, one of the longest days of my life, but DEFINITELY one of the most rewarding. On top of just having fun with this job, they also allowed me to perform a few songs while we were buying some time. Furthermore, THERE'S VIDEO.
This year's competition saw 13 groups perform all day and featuring some of the most incredibly talented students I've ever seen--it kind of makes me sick! However, I could not have been more happy to be back here and see some fantastic shows. Maybe I'm a little biased because I've worked with them before, but my favorite show was Hurricane Red Hot's UNSTOPPABLE! I love those kids so much for all their talent, dedication, and shear excitement that they bring to each performance. They gave in fantastic daytime performance, including a solo by the winner of the Best Female Soloist (a young lady that has also been invited to attended Governor's School in WV--CONGRATS!). However, their finals performance was quite possibly the BEST I've EVER seen them perform! I mean, HOLY CRAP, Y'ALL! Unfortunately, they were not match for the Fairfield High School Choraliers--last year's Grand Champions at Lebanon and Nationals... Yeah. They're REALLY good! I referred to them as "the scariest kids on the block" because their show dealt with all kinds of magic and death and whatnot and whosit. It was just fantastic! Congratulations to ALL! I can't wait to go back next year and see what they've all cooked up in a year's time...
I think this will have to suffice for now. There is much more to discuss, but I think you've all had enough of my ramblings for one post. Maybe I'll post more before another months passes...
Happy Adventures!
