Last night we had a tough rehearsal. We were polishing up the Palestrina "O Rex Gloriae" for this Sunday and working on the Victoria "Veni Sancte Spiritus" for double choir.
I was missing 6 out of the 7 basses I had so I moved the lone bass up to the front row where I could sing his part along with him. A straggler from the bass section finally arrived 45 minutes into rehearsal, and I said, "Come on down! You're the next contestant on 'The Notes are Wrong!'"
Don't you hate spring? I lost my best soprano and her mother for the entire month of April (to rehearsals, at least) because she had to play soccer on Wednesday nights.
I hate spring!
We have had a lot of people out sick with various things, especially (lately) allergies. We had a wet winter so things are blooming like crazy.
And two days ago at our normal Wednesday choir rehersal, our director who has been organizing 7 choirs in our parish for 28 years (and who I have been singing with for 14 of those years) was told by our new pastor that her contract is not being renewed.
I'm devestated. Nothing has been said, and I'm not sure we'll get an explanation. Since the new pastor was installed, we have seen a steady decline in attendance, and I'm wondering if this is the last straw for me.
Thanks for letting me rant.
-Tony
I'm sure most folks who work closely with parish staff know that a new pastor means all bets are off. I have seen 20 year veterans get replaced in a heartbeat when the pastor wants his own team.
It's a shame when quality people/programs are replaced with something else.
We got somewhat lucky this time around with a pastor who is relatively hands off as long as things are running well.