Giving a whole new meaning to "Craig's List"

The Conspirare Symphonic Choir Season 2009-2010 has officially begun.

Today at 8:45 a.m., a little under 100 voices of the Conspirare Symphonic Choir gathered at St. Matthew's Episcopal Church to begin rehearsals for the 2009-2010 season, led by renowned conductor, Craig Hella Johnson. This season promises to be an eclectic mixture: from rich Spanish lyrics of Chilean poet, Pablo Neruda, to an organ and chorale duet favorite, Duruflé's Requiem. The excitement of this coming season already permeated. I am convinced the music is not solely responsible for the excitement. In fact, I am certain Craig is an inspiring man all on his own.

I met Craig a year and a half ago, during my audition. In the middle of the audition room was a grand piano. And at the piano, on a black, shiny seat was Craig, playing chords. His slim body was hunched, his chin was dipped, and the blond hair tips hung slightly over his forehead. He looked my way, took his hands off the piano, clasped them between his knees and smiled a wholesome, comforting white smile. Oddly enough, his smile had an embarrassing-quality to it, sheepish even. He was so much smaller close up which struck me as odd, primarily because I had been to several Conspirare concerts, where he always had an ostentatious, revered aura about him. At that moment, he looked like a humble, blue-eyed boy.

That humility is one that I embrace in getting to sing in one of his ensembles. A feeling, I'm certain, that is shared among all the musicians that work with him. It's a magical experience to be on the Conspirare roster, or as I call it, Craig's List.

If you have yet to make it out to a Conspirare concert, I strongly suggest you make the time this coming season to experience one. It promises to be a spectacular season.

A Thousand and One Nights

Sabaya

Sabaya, Austin's bellydance troupe composed of (from left) Lily, Yasmin, Maribel, Rania, and Stacey, will be performing tonight at Red Fez's An Arabian Night. Having had a lot of influence from well-recognized bellydancers, like Aziza and Suhaila Salimpour, Sabaya has achieved several noteworthy and international achievements.

I was first introduced to Yasmin, in a class under the instruction of Z Helene (little did I know then that Yasmin had been studying and performing for a long time herself). Not too long after studying under Z, I got a job at The Arabic Bazaar, a Middle Eastern import store owned by a Syrian woman, Zein. Naturally, I took classes under Zein. However, it was during my free time that I would watch a variety of bellydance performances, from the beginner student on VHS to professionals on DVDs. It is in that store where I saw all but one (Stacey) of Sabaya's dancers begin to evolve. The women of Sabaya, if I may speak so boldly, have come a long way.

Stacey, in my opinion, as bellydance student and performer myself, is definitely noteworthy. Check out Sabaya's Bellydance Collective Blog to see what she has achieved. It's definitely worth a look.

If you want to check out the troupe's performance tonight, here are the details:

Friday, August 28th, 8:00 pm - 10:30 pm

Red Fez
209 B W. 5th Street,
Austin, TX 78701

Just A Little Bit: Gimme some mo' Tancharoen!

As I develop this blog, I plan to weave in a series called Just A little Bit that dedicates a bit of time to different writers, musicians, and artists. Thomas Edison once wrote: "What man's mind can create, man's character can control." With that said, creativity deserves recognition.

Today, I begin with the Tancharoen Tag Team, composed of Maurissa Tancharoen and younger brother Kevin Tancharoen. In the last couple years, the siblings have been garnering lots of positive attention.

Maurissa Tancharoen is a television writer, actor, singer, and lyricist, who most recently co-wrote Dr. Horrible's Musical Sing-Along Blog with the Whedon brothers, director and writers of tv series Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Dollhouse. Last year, Dr. Horrible's Musical Sing-Along Blog, a hybrid of a three-act online webisode, received several awards along with an Emmy nomination. Needless to say, the musical was great. However, the prize jewel I fell in love with was not one of the main cast members, even though they were all great (I love you Felicia Day and Neil Patrick Harris!), rather Groupie #1--Maurissa Tancharoen, or Mo, as I like to call her. I also like to think we're good friends.

But why Mo? Here's what I've figured out so far, and I'll limit it to three. 1) Mo is talented and does not take herself serious. How many people can say that? 2) Adds to #1, Mo makes fun of herself. On The Commentary! The Musical, commentary for Dr. Horrible's, Mo wittingly sings about the scarcity of non-stereotyped roles in television mostly addressing her own, Asian. 3) Mo checks herself. On Twitter, Mo's bio states that she's a "thesp in things you've never seen."

Kevin Tancharoen, Mo's baby brother, is already receiving a lot of attention for directing and reincarnating the musical, Fame. In 2004, he choreographed the film You Got Served, a movie I never saw, yet where the previews exhibited innovative, body breaking dance moves. In an interview with Variety, baby brother Kevin stated something that was reminescent of the Tancharoen spirit: "You can't make a movie about teenagers who want to be famous and cast superstars. With a movie like this, why not make stars?" I like this mindset, a lot.

Who wouldn't want to work with a director like Tancharoen? Universal Pictures, that's who. Universal has invited Tancharoen to direct a sci-fi action film, Arcana.

From the large screen to the iPhone, the Tancharoen blood is helping bring originality, creativity, and enterntainment to every glowing portal. Many audiences are still not be familiar with the Tancharoen name, but they will be. I dream of a time in the near future where audiences will be asking for, "Some mo' Tancharoen. Make that two."

For more links to Mo's shenanigans click here.