Tag Archives: Singing

Spring Choral Concert

The clock continues to tick on Logan’s time in High School until he graduates. Tick, tick, tick. It is getting louder and louder for both him and his parents.

Tuesday night a few more ticks went by. His school had their Spring Choir Concert. Choir is a class and this concert is their final. How is that for getting the kids to show up. It was all good though. The kids did great.

The Senior and Middle School both participated in this concert and it featured a varied selection of music from Hymns to Musical tunes to more modern music by Billy Joel and Elvis Presley or like the opera.

Logan didn’t have any solos or anything, he just sang and that is what he loves doing. Standing on the risers for such a long time was kind of hard on him. I don’t know how people do it actually.

The teacher put everybody through their paces and there was lots of singing for everybody.

The Middle School ladies did a great job with “You’re Going to Miss Me” otherwise known as “The Cup Song.”

At the end they had the parents of the seniors go up on the stage while the Benediction was sung. (This is a Christian School so of course there was a prayer before the performance began.) I appreciated the benediction but I hate being up on stage. With the lights it is so disconcerting. Logan loves the stage. He didn’t get that DNA from me. I am perfectly happy being in the audience, in the shadows.

It was a great seeing the kids performing and showing off their talent and not plugged into their so called “devices.”

So I continue to be an infrequent blogger and a lousy blogger friend. Sorry but we are counting down until Graduation and things are not going to change very much until then.

Logan sings “Friend Like Me” from Aladdin

Logan had another recital Saturday night at his music School. He sang “Friend Like Me” from the musical Aladdin.

Such a ham. He goes to his lessons but doesn’t practice much on his own but he still pulls out pretty decent performances. Heather took the video above. I took one of him practicing. It was nothing like he pulled off about an hour later.

That was fine even with a few stifled yawns. Oh well, I wish sometimes I wish I could figure out what is going on inside his head and other times I think I don’t want to know.

The recital room is packed with parents and students. They start with the youngest, some of them pre-school, and go up to the oldest. Some of them are scared to death, others are poised and ready.

Logan has never seen a microphone or stage that he was scared of taking.

It amazes me sometimes, like “Where did that kid come from.”

Here we are at the post recital dinner. I’m still wondering where that kid on the stage come from.

And here is the proud Grandmother and Mom.

Sorry, I just love bragging on my kid. He did great.

And guess what!! The 100% solar powered plane, the Solar Impulse which has flown about halfway around the world purely on solar power is in Tulsa and I am going to see her up close tomorrow morning and take a few photographs. I am so pumped!!

“Simple Dreams” by Linda Ronstadt

Back in the 1970’s and 80’s Linda Ronstadt ruled the airwaves as the Queen of Rock and Roll. She was the whole package, an incredible voice that could take any song and just fly, and she was incredibly cute. Later on she went off that path and got into Broadway with “The Pirates of Penzance”, then singing the “Great American Songbook” and then later Mexican folk songs. I really respected all these moves because she veered off from the sure thing and followed her heart into what she really wanted to do which by the way, were mostly commercial as well as artistic successes. She gradually faded from my musical consciousness and when I saw her “Musical Memoir”, Simple Dreams, I had to read it.

She grew up, the daughter of a Tucson, Arizona Ranch and Hardware store owner, in a musical family. She loved music and became a fixture on the Tucson folk music scene and then left for California for the good of her career. There she bounced around several years trying different things out and ended up getting noticed when she was part of the Stone Poneys. From there it was just a matter of time and some extremely hard work before she made it big. On the way she had an education on ethically challenged record executives, grueling road trips, and vagaries of loyalties in the business.

In her book she gives us a lot of the inside story into her musical career and how she had to fight to convince people to stay with her as she followed her own instincts. Later on she talks about she is retired from the music business now and is raising her daughters in Arizona. I had no idea, and she doesn’t say so anywhere in the book, that she had Parkinson’s Disease and that it has made it impossible for her to sing. She is not moping around feeling sorry for herself. Despite the disease making everything hard, she is staying involved with her extended family and adopted daughters.

This is a great book and I recommend it highly.

Studio Recital – Logan Sings “The Pirate King”

Logan has been taking voice lessons for some time and the studio where he takes them has recitals every now and then and it is pretty cool. They start with the youngest and move to the oldest. All the kids are dressed up and groomed by their mothers and wear their best clothes. The parents and siblings and maybe grandparents are there with cameras at the ready. It is a great thing to see. It moves pretty quickly especially at first as the songs that are sung or music that is played by the smalls is pretty short and gets longer and more complex as the kids get older. I feel for some of the kids who are scared to death up there and love the few who not only love their time in the spotlight but have spent some time and effort to not only perform their art but sell it also. One young lady sang a broadway tune with not only her voice but with everything she had, facial expressions, body language, gestures, and appeared to enjoy every second of it. She was a hit. A couple of the young gentlemen playing the piano were very accomplished and a a delight to hear.

Our son was one of those dressed and groomed by his mother. He sang “The Pirate King” from the Pirates of Penzance.

And I was like, “Where did that voice come from?” I knew that he had a good voice but this is like really deep. I guess that he continues to grow up.

I never did a recital. I couldn’t do a recital, neither did my brother. My sister and fellow blogger Ellen was a tap dancer and I went to a few of her recitals. She danced well. She should, she practiced a lot. I still remember her record: “Shuffle ball chain, shuffle ball chain, heel toe, heel toe, heel toe, step.” She could also sing. I think she was in the choir in high school. At least someone in the family could sing and dance!

Michael Buble in Concert in Tulsa

Last Friday night was date night. Heather and I went downtown to see Michael Buble at the BOK Center. But first things first, right. Dinner at the Vault.

And some funky cocktails.

And some carrot cake

And then off to the show! I apologize for the photographs. They kind of suck because I didn’t want to take my “big camera” and it not be allowed and then have to take it back to the car. Turned out it would have been okay but oh well!!

This is the third time we have seen him and he is quite the showman. He really connects with his audience.

And he is very generous. He introduced all the members of the band and he had a little playful insult for each of them.

He had a heck of a set also. I had never seen such a thing.

And then here are the Tulsa Strings he had fun with them.

But you know, I’d go listen to him sing in an alley. He is incredibly talented and really connects with his audience. He has quite the raunchy sense of humor without being offensive.

Edit this setlist | More Michael Bublé setlists

He sang and sang and sang and then he sung some more. Everything from Daft Punk to Nat King Cole to The Beatles. You know the guy knows Tulsa is a big music town and he closed with a Leon Russell song and the audience loved it.

PS – His Opening Act, “Naturally Seven” was great also. They opened for Buble the last time we saw him. They are all voices, no instruments.

Being the obnoxious know it all that I am when I saw the below. I thought, “Ah okay, they gave in to a little percussion.” Gotcha!

Yeah well gotcha me more like it. The curtain dropped and there were no drums. Just a guy doing drums with his voice.

It was an amazing time!

Hey, have you heard any good music lately?

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