Sunday Edition: The Cat Ate My Schubert

It's no picnic, getting ready for a choral concert!

Jeoffry demonstrates how he operates. File photo by the Author.

The Week Of Too Many Notes

How was everyone’s week?

The weeks seem long to me these days because I am having too good a time cramming a lot into them. This week took a surprise turn. It was dominated by singing.

I sing with the St. Louis Choir. We have concerts coming up fast — one at 7:30 p.m. May 22 at St. Louis, and a second, with the Avanti Music ensemble, at 5 p.m. June 1. Mark your calendar if you want to catch our act! Meanwhile there is a ton of work to be done.

The work to be done is not always pretty. Everyone is nerved up. Complicating things further, I am afraid that I relaxed too much recently at St. Louis. I am in the back of the alto section, where the living is easy. I love the other altos. And I find myself slipping back into being my high school self.

I even apologized last Sunday to Frank Scinta, our distinguished director. I apologized that I had been talking too much.

Frank was nice however he did not say, “Mary, get out, you aren’t talking too much.” Ergo, I am.

Then, at rehearsal, I sat in the front row instead of the back. Big mistake. Sitting there in the hot seat, I realized I didn’t know the music as well as I thought. That rehearsal is a story in itself, but I’ll just say this: I survived — narrowly — and I took my music home for the first time in forever. And I’ve been practicing. Really practicing.

Remember the boy next door I can’t ignore? It is payback time! I sing — loudly. I don’t care if the windows are open — or if his are. The heck with everyone!

I do my warmups, my sirens (sometimes louder than the fire trucks that scream past my house), and then: Schubert. We are doing Schubert’s Mass in G at our concert June 1 — my birthday, which makes it easy to remember. I’m a Gemini, which probably explains why I am always getting into things over my head.

If you pass my house you will hear me the Fraaaaaanz Schubert! That is a joke we have in the back of the alto section. I told you the living was easy back there.

Remember my dream about Schubert? I remember it a lot as I sing, and sing, and sing.

“Hosanna in excelsis! Hosanna in exce-e-e-el-sis? Hosa-a-a-a-na in excelsis!!” That is me!

My cat Jeoffry objects. He jumps up on the piano. Once he actually attacked the Schubert. He grabbed a corner of the score in his teeth. Good boy!

Whose idea was this?

Stress!

Bear Dogs and Broomsticks

Other craziness chronicled this week:

Inspired by the Junior League Decorators’ Show House, I went to Goodwill, and I scored some great table linens. Any other thrift shoppers out there? Explore my haul here.

Egged on by the Show House and spring, I tell here how to create a mini-bouquet of wildflowers. If I can do it, anyone can!

Click here to read about the rare Finnish bear dog spotted in Delaware Park. And why we have to keep him away from Hertel Avenue!

Our freewheeling series “Classical Music on 15 Minutes a Day” zeroed in on a classic many of know from Disney, Paul Dukas’ “The Sorcerer’s Apprentice.” This music is terrifying in a way that is wasted on kids! Join me as we listen to it here.

In Thursday’s Buzz column, we went public with a photo of us with Pope Francis, whom we never recall meeting, but there we are! We also talked about the a rhino named Romeo. And a dress from Aldi.

Our most recent “We’re Going In” zeroed in on the Metropolitan Opera’s “The Marriage of Figaro.” I went to the screening at the Elmwood Regal. I also wrote a quick review of the opera …

Michael Sumuel and Luca Pisaroni, in “The Marriage of Figaro,” teaching us a thing or two about singing. Photo courtesy of the Metropolitan Opera.

… about the singers and the production. Catch that here.

I like to write pretty much almost every day — however I do not want to deluge anyone with too many emails. So these surprise posts will just appear throughout the week. If you would like to check in with my page between emails to see what’s new, I would be honored. They will all appear on MaryKunzGoldman.Substack.Com.

I am so grateful to all my subscribers for supporting me in this adventure. Please, as always, let me know your thoughts!

Photo Of the Week

Cherry blossoms at Forest Lawn Cemetery. Photo by the Author.

The cherry blossoms are blooming at the History Museum and at Mirror Lake in Forest Lawn Cemetery, where I took this picture. A crowd of photographers had gathered by the water — so of course, I joined them.

You can always spot the Forest Lawn amateurs: they’re the ones who park right next to Mirror Lake and photobomb your shot. (I did that the first time too. Before I learned better.)

Society Page

The bar at Johnny D’s — where Manhattans are cold and the company’s cooler. Photo by the Author.

A few of the beautiful people Friday at Johnny D’s at the Hyatt Regency, where my husband Howard entertains weekly for happy hour, from 5 to 9 p.m. From left to right: actress and realtor Constance Caldwell; her neighbor Nancy; dancer Angela Hastings; and Angela’s husband, commercial real estate magnate Alan Hastings.

If you know, you go. If you don’t, now you do.

Sunday Puzzle

Find 17 well-known Buffalo streets!

Coming Up

Our next “We’re Going In” is a real adventure! It involves a thrift shopping in a part of town I do not usually visit. I needed GPS to guide me!

I was forbidden to shoot video indoors, that’s how foreign and secret the goings-on there are. Join me on my journey to this mystery thrift shop on Tuesday.

We’re going in!

With Gratitude…

Thank you to everyone reading this! Comments and feedback are always welcome. I am so grateful to everyone who subscribes and joins me in this adventure.

Now go find those street names and sing something loud!

Mary Kunz Goldman is known in Buffalo for having written the Buzz Column, a popular feature in The Buffalo News, as well as another hit column, “100 Things Every Western New Yorker Should Do At Least Once.” She is the author of two books, “Pennario” and “Sketches of Buffalo.” Enjoy her independent Substack publication at MaryKunzGoldman.Substack.com. New stories appear just about every day!