6 April, 2013
Back in Boston!
Emma writes:
“It’s great to be back in Boston for our fourth concert here! We started today reasonably bright-eyed considering the potential for jetlag, as most of us had slept pretty well in the very comfortable hotel. The morning was spent shopping, using the gym and the pool and relaxing ahead of what will be a very busy few days (three concerts in three days with lots of driving between!).
“We’re really pleased to have been invited back to the Boston Early Music Festival, and we’re always given a warm welcome here. It’s also really nice to be back performing at the same church where we’ve done two previous concerts. It saves us a lot of rehearsal time when we don’t have to work out where to stand and how to sing to get the best out of the acoustic. Having said that, in true Stile fashion we ran over our allocated 3-hour rehearsal!
“Our programme tonight was Treasures of the Renaissance, a mixed programme incorporating many of our favourite pieces. This is great because the music is very varied, and also we know that we’re always going to enjoy whatever the next piece is! There was a short pre-concert talk given by Helen, Eleanor and Matthew. This is no mean feat in Boston as the audience tend to be very knowledgeable and can ask some pretty in-depth questions, so well done to them!
“The concert went well, just a few coughs and crackles as a result of too much air-conditioning on the plane, but the huge audience gave us a great reception and a standing ovation. We also discovered during the interval that we needed to create a new role in Stile of seamstress, as Ben’s trousers had sprung a leak. Good job Becky was on hand with a needle and thread, though it took rather longer than she had anticipated and it was touch and go whether Ben would be going back on stage with any trousers on at all!
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“It was great to see some familiar faces in the audience tonight: Bill Kempster from the University of New Hampshire had brought some of his students down to Boston. We’ve had great relationship with UNH since we went there for a workshop and concert in 2010, and they’re always supportive of us, driving for a few hours to come and see us. The relationship has been nurtured by Bill’s legendary post-concert house parties – there have been a few hangovers in the group after those! We went with them to the Jacob Wirth bar close to our hotel, where we enjoyed catching up over a great selection of beers.
“We’re looking forward to this morning’s sunny drive through Connecticut to New Haven, where we’re singing at the Yale Institute of Sacred Music.”