I’m happy to report that my concert with the Gay Men’s Chorus of Los Angeles in Walt Disney Concert Hall was a huge success. In many ways, I’m still in awe that I was given the opportunity to play piano at such a prestigious venue. For that I can only thank my dear friend and the Interim Artistic Director of the Gay Men’s Chorus, Dominic Gregorio. Since the concert, Dominic has moved back to Canada, and will soon be heading to the Phillippines for a year of meditation. Dominic, if you’re reading this, read this: you are already missed dearly.

Since that concert, I’ve taken a job as the tenor section leader for St. Mel’s Catholic Church in Woodland Hills. The choristers of St. Mel’s are a lot of fun, and I’m really enjoying working with Francesco AlleRuzzo, the St. Mel Music Director. The job is turning out to be quite a challenge, though: my job is that of tenor section leader, despite the fact that my voice is better suited to baritone and bass choral parts. This typically isn’t a problem, except for Sunday mornings at 10 AM. It can be difficult to get my voice working that early, but I enjoy the challenge.

Auditions and rehearsals begin soon for the USC Musical Theater Repertory (MTR) production of A Little Night Music. MTR is the student-managed and student-directed musical theater production company at USC. I’ve served as musical director for MTR twice before: for See What I Wanna See in Fall 2009, and for Urinetown in Winter 2010. MTR is an excellent organization that puts out top-quality shows, so look for more updates on this project in the near future.

There’s one more thing to mention! Steven Stanley, the owner and writer of StageSceneLA, has bestowed upon me the award of 2010 Breakthrough Musical Director of the Year for my work with Urinetown, Starmites, and Rhapsody in New (Janet Krupin’s Cabaret show at Sterling’s Upstairs in North Hollywood). Thank you, Steven, for this honor!