what a magical day!
…waking up to the gentle cooing of one sweet little girl (the best alarm clock ever), stepping out onto the balcony and taking in the beauty of the scenery: the lake, the mountains, eagles nesting literally in front of our room… taking an early morning stroll on the pier… breathing in the fresh air… warming up my vocal chords while my little one watches, smiles and vocalizes with me… catch up with laurence in the morning – he is so encouraging, so calming and the best bass player around… meredith and gord are rehearsing outside… they are so talented….meeting so many cool artists in the hotel lobby, in the elevator, of course, at the festival site… meeting up with our very cool driver – what a great guy! He was always there to pick us up and take us to the stage, or to have a bite to eat – yay, for the all the volunteers!! You guys are the best… meeting Hat, Alyssa in person, finally meeting Philly in person too! Setting up on stage for our first workshop with M’Girl (amazing sound), Njava (what a presence), and Linda Tillery and the Cultural Herigate Choir (left me breathless…so fantastic)… so honoured to share the stage with a group of such amazing musicians and powerful voices… sweltering heat…but we make it! we all share our laments… audience is so great… it is an emotionally charged workshop… we all can’t wait for part two tomorrow… my drummer extraordinaire, elliot, is running from one stage to the next, he is a rock star, in demand everywhere, how does he keep all those rhthyms in his head? He is one of the most talented musicians I know and a great friend too… get to meet some great folks from the audience who are so gracious… I love sharing my culture with people and hearing their stories! relaxing before my next performance… our driver gives us some delicious, big, juicy BC cherries to savour… mouth watering!! time to set up for performance number two… elliot makes it in time…! We start our set, and once again, I am blown away by my band… each performance we do is unique… they always surprise me with new improvs… Gord does some amazing solos today…I am caught up in the moment captivated by the oud… meredith is on the violin and we love her! She creates sounds with her violin that transport you to another time, another place… the audience is super… I can’t tell you how much I love performing… I love hearing the dumbec, the the oud begins, the bass, the violin… breathing new life into these songs that are a part of my soul… seeing my mom in the audience, she can’t sit down… she is too excited, she smiles, eyes bright, clapping her hands the entire time… I love seeing her there, at my shows – connecting with her while I am on stage and she gives me that assuring look…my dad, loving every minute of it… I always think of my grandmother – what is she thinking right now as I am on stage singing these songs that she used to sing, but I am singing them here, for an audience made up of people who do not understand the language but it doesn’t matter because they love the music… they are so engaged, clapping, swaying to the beat… I love watching their reactions, responses to my songs…meeting them after the show… what a marvelous time… and we’ll do it all over again tomorrow….
Tags: Armenian, dad, festivals, folk songs, mom, music, singing