Caravan!

Amelia (bottom R) and friends enjoying the park

Hi, my name is Amelia. I am a voice primary, and this is my second year at LSM. It is my pleasure to write to you about one of my favorite days of LSM. Every year, the LSM community takes one day off to to get away from the campus and just have fun. This day is called Caravan, and it’s always a blast!

After a sleep-in morning, brunch, and the all-camp picture, the students and staff climb aboard buses and explore the surrounding area. This year for Caravan, we ventured first to Lanesboro, Minnesota. In Lanesboro, we saw a wonderful performance of the play The Odd Couple by Neil Simon. For those of you who haven’t seen it, this play is about a pair of middle-aged men, both recently divorced, who move in together so they might save money for their alimony payments. The play was both hilarious and thought-provoking.

After the performance, we had the chance to wander around downtown Lanesboro. After dinner in the park, it was back on the buses and off to Winona, Minnesota, for a performance of the Minnesota Orchestra. The concert took place outdoors, in one of Winona’s beautiful parks. Lounging around on blankets, we were treated to renditions of many fabulous marches over the course of the concert, from Sousa to Verdi, with John Williams’ Imperial March from “Star Wars” in between. After the concert, we boarded the buses one last time and arrived back on campus at the “early” hour of 10:45. All in all, a great day here at LSM.

*NOTE: Kat would like to thank Kyle and Stef for contributing to the photos!

Silly LSMers

Yesterday we took our group photo.  Here’s the nontraditional take.

Inspiration

Jim Brown (L) performing with faculty colleagues

My name is James Brown.  Yes, I do feel good, thanks for asking.  This is my second year on the voice faculty of LSM and I am thrilled with the level of student we have this year!  The schedule can be grueling at times, but my students are always ready to sing when they arrive for lessons.  I observe this at other times as well.  In Evening Prayer, you might expect students’ heads to be bobbing with the need for sleep after a full day of lessons, practice, rehearsal and navigating the lunch line at the cafeteria.  But everyone sings and participates as if they were well rested.  I think the reason for this is the inspiration that flows from student to student, faculty to faculty and faculty to student.  I have been so inspired by my colleagues who work all day long and then walk onto the stage to display the kind of virtuosity only heard on the greatest world stages.

Last night we performed music from the Baroque.  I sang a Bach duet with my voice colleague, Catherine McCord Larsen, who was born to sing Bach!  I also had the opportunity to play my baroque guitar with some of our string faculty: Jubal Fulks and Spencer Martin, baroque violin and Sam Nordlund, baroque cello.  My instrument is a replica made by Michael Schreiner (Toronto, Canada) based on a guitar made in 1630 by Andreas Oth.  We surprised the audience by processing in though the crowd while I strummed and Jubal improvised on the violin.

At the end of the concert, we greeted the audience in the lobby and I was struck by the great questions from the students about my instrument.  “What is the beautiful centerpiece design?” and “How is it tuned?” were some of the great questions they eagerly posed to me.  At the end of a long day, they were still inspired to learn more before crashing in their dorms.  I can’t wait to see what is next and how we will all be inspired!!!

All the Way to Lights Out

Happy Canada Day to our Canadian friends!

Well, we’ve reached the middle of week two. This week entails making final decisions on music, turning in recital forms, Bach Cantata Choir, and the always popular Caravan! My name’s Casey and I’m a clarinet student at this summer’s Academy.My Tuesday is usually a less busy day, but I still have lots of fun things going on.

The day started with morning prayer and announcements with Chaplin Wayne and our wonderful Dean, Stef Fiser. When that was finished we dispersed into our first class for the day; mine was Small Ensemble (fondly known as “Smamble”). After 50 minutes of practicing with my woodwind quintet, I went to band to work on one of our favorite pieces, “Dazzling Lights.” To end my morning I go to Chapel Choir, a non-audition choir that meets for 45 minutes, six days a week.

Next up is lunch, which, although crowded with camps of all sorts, is a good social break. In the afternoon there’s practice time, recreation activities, dinner, and band sectionals. To end our day we listened to four faculty members perform, followed by the relaxing and ever popular Evening Prayer. A day at LSM is very enjoyable but we’re definitely ready for bed at Light’s Out!

LSM Limericks

Chaplain Wayne is a fan of limericks, so he has been writing a few and sharing them with us at Morning Prayer.

LSM is my kind of place
full of music and love and God’s grace.
We are having a ball
trying to discern our life’s call
and living in God’s warm embrace

LSM is my kind of place
full of music and love and God’s grace.
So what could be neater
than a good friend like Peter*
who smiles when he gets on your case.

*Peter Wessler is in his seventh summer as LSM’s academy director.  He gives the daily announcements after morning prayer, and he receives a raucous cheer from the students when he takes the stage.