A Not So Ordinary Week!

I am deep into it, the immersion I had hoped for;and with it has come the whole sense of a change in time. What was a leisurely pace set by my body rhythms and no schedule has moved into a sense flying weeks.

This was a great week. In fact it is not actually over. Our group starts our work this morning with Catherine Sergent, pronounce that as if you are in France, because that is where Catherine has traveled from to teach us how to read the chant transcription and to teach us how to sing it as well. "Catherine Sergent is a member of Discantus, an ensemble of women's voices specialising in medieval sacred music repertoires, conducted by Brigitte Lesne. She records regularly with Discantus and with other ensembles specialising in chant and medieval polyphony. She teaches at the Centre for Medieval Music and the Centre for Polyphonic Arts in Paris as well as on the Masters programme in Chant Performance at the University of Limerick." I feel very fortune that someone with such experience and expertise will be teaching us. Like everything else, it is all new to me and I welcome the challenge.

Yesterday was the official opening and dedication of the new Irish World Academy building. It was a beautiful day, with the sun shining over the building. It was filled with donors, faculty, staff, students, the Irish Chamber Orchestra,the Chieftains,and more. The ceremony was highlighted by the presence and participation of An Taoiseach,Brian Cowen TD, Ireland's Prime Minister. As you can imagine it was an auspicious occasion for the University of Limerick and the Irish World Academy. I have to say that I enjoyed every moment of the athentic Irish music and dance. It occured to me that for the first time in a very long time I could just be a guest at an event instead of being in charge or staffing it. It was a nice change. I met a lovely couple from Tipperary, who are musicians and invited me to join them for an evening of music if I ever get to Tipperary town. I may just try to do that!

So I am off to prepare for my classes today, a little vocalizing and some study of Latin pronunciation should be a good start.

More from Glocca Morra next week. Have a lovely weekend.