Scratch that

So, I'm not working for Starbucks anymore.
Instead, my dream job fell into my lap.
I'm now working at St. John's Music.
Oh yeah!

Yet another new job

Some of you may be sorely disappointed with me for this, but I got a job at Starbucks today. Why Starbucks? It's close to home and I can work two days a week during the day. Plus the people there are around my age. And they play jazz in the store.
So here's my fall schedule:
Monday: Class in the morning, Prairie Voices in the evening
Tuesday: Work in the morning, jazz band in the evening
Wednesday: Class in the morning and evening
Thursday: Work in the morning, Prov jazz band in the evening
Friday: Class in the morning.
Saturday and Sunday: Who knows?
Pretty crazy, huh?

A visit with Elroy

Yesterday I went to visit Elroy Friesen at the U of M. Many of you know Elroy, whether from singing with him or by hearing about him (or his choirs, particularly Prairie Voices, which I will be participating in next year, even though Kristel Peters is leading it now).
It was a good time catching up with Elroy - we had lots to talk about. I came away re-inspired to pursue music education, and I might just try again at U of M - who knows? Since Elroy is there, I might be able to give it another chance.
One neat thing that happened - Elroy had a bunch of extra music sitting in his office, and he was like, "Do you want this?" "This" was a box full of choral music - probably 400 or so songs. So now I have the beginnings of my own choral library, and lots of music to peruse and abuse. Yesterday was a good day.

Pet Professional

I found a new webcomic - it's called Pet Professional. It has one of the most original concepts I've seen in a while - a hitman who kills animals. But not just any animal - pets. Household pets. It's hilarious. Apologies to you animal lovers out there, but this is just plain funny. Check it out.

Pirates! Gyaaarrrr!

So last night I went out with my dad and brothers to see the 12:01 showing of Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest. Here's my review:
I thoroughly enjoyed Pirates 2. It was full of action, explosions, humour, and more explosions, with an intriguing story to boot. The music was good, but nothing innovative was present - just classic Hans Zimmer. In terms of story: it's good. Some parts are a little hard to follow, but it's pretty straightforward.
So, for a good movie, but nothing really new brought to the table, I award Pirates 2 an 8.5/10.
In short: Go see this movie. You won't be disappointed.

New job

Check this out.
As you can probably tell, I'm exceedingly happy right now.

Jazz Festival

Hi all,
I've been meaning to post for a while, but unfortunately real life supercedes online life. Once I figure out how, I'll post some tour pictures.
In the meantime, the Winnipeg Jazz Festival has been going on. Last night I went with Steph to go see Michael Kaeshammer. As I told her several times, last night was the best night of my life - or at least pretty close. Michael Kaeshammer is a jazz pianist, in the boogie-woogie and stride tradition, and he absolutely blew me away with his playing. Solid tempo, soulful riffs, and a playing style so hot I thought the piano was going to burst into flames at any moment.
The pieces he played weren't that difficult chord-change-wise - most of them were 12 bar blues, but what made them so special is that he was playing unaccompanied for the first set, and his left hand work is absolutely spectacular. It was so fast that I had no idea how tendonitis didn't immediately set in for him. I guess the songs were dictated mostly by the second set, where he played with Harry Manx - a lap steel guitarist. I don't know what those things are capable of, but he didn't do anything tremendously virtuosic, so I think that's why the songs were kept easier. Easy changes, however, doesn't mean that it was easy. If you ever want to hear Michael Kaeshammer, just find me and I'll loan you one of his CDs - which are spectacular as well, but after hearing him last night, the CDs pale in comparison - although recorded jazz can never beat live.
If you ever get to see Michael Kaeshammer, do it. It'll be a night that you won't forget.

In Scotland!

Hi all,
I'm writing this from a library in bonnie Scotland! I'm in Edinburgh, and it's the last leg of our tour. I will post some pictures when I get home, and I've got lots!
Well, until then, cheers!

Off to England

As of yesterday, I am now allowed to do this:

Matt Neufeld, B.F.A.

Pretty neat, huh? Along with my degree, Prov gave me the Vocal Performance Award, and the Chris Derksen Memorial Scholarship. I think that's very hip.

In other news, I leave in seven hours for the UK! This year is a tour year for the College Singers, and we are touring to England and Scotland till May 15th. Pray for safety, fun, and health for all of us. For our itinerary, go here.
I'll see all of you in a month!

And I'm done

Wow - it's been a while since I posted. Sorry - life's been too busy to blog.
Here's what's been up in the last 3 weeks:
Approximately 50 pages of papers due.
A wedding in Saskatchewan.
My grad recital.
Spring Concert (which I wrote the final combined piece for).

Life's been busy.

However, today marked a milestone in my life: I handed in my last assignment ever at Providence College. I handed in 2 BS Methods papers today, and that was it. No fanfare, no weeping or gnashing of teeth - just a feeling of relief. And relief is what I need most.

In other news - United Kingdom in 13 days! That'll be good fun, and a great way to end my time at Prov.

One more thing: The word of the day for me is "fantastic".