My last vocal recital...

This is the "official" annoucement for my final vocal recital.  There will be two performances.  One in Utah and one in Idaho. 

The dates are:
August 12, 2010 @ 7pm
Community Presbyterian Church
75 North 100 East
American Fork, Utah

August 19, 2010 @ 7pm
First Presbyterian Church
400 Lake Lowell Ave (corner of Lake Lowell and Canyon)
Nampa, Idaho

Joey Calkins, Tenor

Sean Rogers, Piano
FREE ADMISSION
Reception to follow.

This event is sponsored in part by the Utah/Idaho Performing Arts Company.

After ten years of giving vocal recitals I have decided to "retire" as it were. So this will be my last annual vocal recital. The program will be chosen by the audience. I have gone through all of the music I have performed (in recital, stage, church meetings, etc.) within the last ten years and have selected 50 songs for you to choose from.

The way this will work is as follows: Audience members will have the opportunity to select as many songs as they would like from the list write them (individually) on a piece of paper (which will be provided). The next song on the program will be chosen from these. (Out of a hat or something.)

This is my most difficult recital to date as I will have no control as to what song is next. :)

Songs include:
Empty Chairs at Empty Tables
I, Don Quixote
The Quest (The Impossible Dream)
The Lord's Prayer (two different setting)
Agnus Dei (Beethoven/Calkins)
Pieta, Signore
Music of the Night
and many more.

(For the complete list visit, joeycalkins150.blogspot.com)
 
Links to the Facebook pages:
Utah
Idaho

2008 Recital - Nampa

Here is my review of the Nampa concert. I ended up having to work Monday morning (the11th) so I didn't leave Salt Lake (Lehi/Lindon actually) until noonish. Our dress rehearsal was scheduled for eight. So I had plently of time. I stopped every chance I could for gas. Not that I needed it. I just wanted to get out of the car. I got to the church about 7:30 and waited for Sean and Jennie, who had gone out to dinner. We rehearsed. Okay, okay, so there's more to it than that. Michal, Jerusha, and Dani were also there. We started rehearsal with the end of the program. "You have nothing to fear..." And than went backwards. Skipping my solos.

Than we got to A Hand of Bridge. Michal, Jerusha, and Dani decided to veto my decision of standing on the stage and deciced that we would sit around a table as of we were playing bridge. (That is what I wanted to do in the first place, but it cost money to do a "staged"version of the opera. And I wasn't feeling confident with the music, so I wanted to cheat and have my music with me, hence the "concert" or unstaged version.) We ran it back to front, front to back and various sections of the ten-minute opera several times. Everytime it got worse! Than Sean suggested to call it, "I think the more we try to perfect it right now, it's just gonna get worse. We're all tired..."

So the three of them left. Sean, Jennie, and I were the only ones left. Jeannie and I worked out the bugs from our set. And than I discovered I was counting Erlkonig wrong. Damn you Schubert! (Don't get the wrong impression, I love that song. It's just rather difficult.)

About eleven I got to my parents house. It had been a long day. I had a lot to the next day, so I went to sleep after going over Erlkong and A Hand of Bridge again and again.

Tuesday morning. I got all my errands done. Picking up refreshments, program inserts, the hat for the Carousel set. Studying music. Cards for A Hand of Bridge...

The entire day, I was not feeling good about the concert. I really did not want to get up there and do it. Than I started thinking about my hero, Canio. And I thought, if he can perform while he's "out of [his] mind" than so can I.

So I did. Overall it was a great performance. We went out for A Hand of Bridge. I forgot one of my lines, (despite that fact that we had copied and pasted our music onto the playing cards :)...) A Hand of Bridge was not received well. Sean said he looked out at the audience a couple of times and saw quite a few shocked faces. My parents and grandma didn't like it. I was telling a friend of mine, Mark Walters, about that and he said , "well you can't please everyone." (Okay, so that's not exactly what he said, but that's the main idea.)

The Schubert set went fairly well. Erlkong was still fun. And I think I got my timing issues fixed. Anyway, it felt better to me.

Michal sang. His song was really good. The spirituals went better than Saturday. At least I thought they did. Well I was in the choir room (backstage), I was going over the words to Goin' Home. I couldn't remember them I tried all during Michal's song and Jennie and Sean's piece. But the words weren't coming. So I knelt down and said a quick prayer. I felt better and instantly the words came to me. Prayer is such an amazing thing.

Jerusha sang Girl in 14G. I love this song.

The time for Carousel came. I had "changed." I lost, my jacket and tie, unbuttoned my vest and put on a hat. And Dani and I sang, If I Loved You. This song was my mom's favorite.

I had the music out for Soliloquy thinking I would need it. But I didn't. I opened it up to a section that I kept messing up on and got through that spot and forgot to continue turning the pages to get to the next spot I needed. So when I got to the next trouble spot, I kept thinking, "I hope I get the words right. I hope I get the words right." I did. And I stepped away from the music stand and finished the song. Than I left and changed again and Michal, Jerusha, and Dani started You'll never walk alone. I came out for the repeat and the four of finished it. Than of course, Sean and I finished with "You have nothing to fear from the journey..." Kind of a fitting "benediction," as I was I "fearful" of performing that evening.

2008 Recital

So I figure it's been long enough since I posted anything...So here is a review of the concert/recital last August. On August 9, 2008 shortly after one a.m. That's right one in the morning! I get a text from a woman I had never met. Her name is Jennie Ficks. She was traveling with my accompanist, Sean Rogers, for my recital the next afternoon. (Okay, really, later that day.) The text message said. "Sean and I can't find a hotel. Don't know when we'll see you tomorrow." The concert was scheduled for three p.m . We needed to rehearse rehearse before than. (Jennie and I, as I mentioned earlier, had never met and she was going to be playing the French Horn at my recital. Sean and I had worked on the songs Jennie and I would be doing together. And so did Sean and Jennie.) Well, Sean and I also needed to work out a couple of things. Since I moved to Utah two years ago, I always make my out of town recital guests (performers and family) breakfast the morning of the concert. I "texted" Jennie back saying I had room. She called. They were turning around and on the way. Their hotel room was given away as they were late. They had car problems shortly after leaving Boise and finally got back on the road five hours later. There were no hotels available because of some convention in Salt Lake that weekend. They were on the way to Las Vegas.They got lost, so I had to go out and get them. We finally got back to my place just before three. (Twelve hourse to go.)

They slept until about 10:30 or 11. Jennie was still working out her part. There were changes that needed to be made and since horns are "tuned" differently, it had to be transposed. (There's only so much you can do in a moving vehicle at midnight.) Sean and I practiced a little bit. Jennie and Sean practiced a little bit, we ate, I showered and than we had to leave. Jennie and I never got to go through the songs together until it was time to do them during the concert.

But despite all that I thought the program went fairly well. Kennessa Powell Malan the soprano scheduled to join me in Orem fell ill so she was unable to sing.

Ave Maria is a standard piece. I figured it was a song that most people would have heard at least once in their life...(which is pretty much the only reason it was included in the program.)

Stanchen, Stanchen, Stanchen...reminds me of the balconey scene from Romeo and Juilet.

Erlkonig. This song was a lot of fun. I got to be four different people. And do it in German! (Okay so the German wasn't as fun, but you get the idea.) Towards the end, while the Erlking is making his final attempt to "ensnare" the boy, I shouted louder than I expected I would and scared myself. (The line begins, Ich liebe dich...)

The spirituals set was probably the most nerve racking for me as Jennie and I hadn't had time to practice together. Swing Low (the 4th one) sounded different that what I remember doing with Sean at our rehearsals. So there were some interludes where there weren't supposed to be interludes. But oh well. Sean is amazing and filled in the emtpy space. More on that later.

Since Kennessa wasn't able to join us, Sean and I worked out a "medley" of If I Loved You and You'll Never Walk Alone. I thought we had discussed starting at the "aria" section. ("If I loved you, time and again I would try to say...") Well he started at the very beginning with the recitative, ("Kinda scrawny and pale, pickin' at my food...") So that took some quick readjustments. And than I thought we had decided to only do You'll Never Walk Alone ONCE, not doing the customary repeat that most performers do, or even the repeat that I do (basically cutting the repeat in half. The words escape me at the moment. Forgive me.) But Sean did the repeat. I was, not shocked, not confused...I guess perplexed is a good word. I was perplexed at what had just happened. And than I was so disoriented I couldn't think of the words. I was expecting that. And finally Sean realizing that I wasn't coming in did a big, grand ending. Oops.

And finally Soliloquy. this song was a lot of fun. I offended a couple of my friends because I say "hell," "damn," and "bastard." But I mean really. I say worse than that on Facebook. I told my mom that I thought it was kinda funny a couple of my friends were offended and than I got chewed out by my mom. "You coulda changed those words. It's a concert version, not a stage version of the song." Well I didnt' change them in Nampa the following week either.

And finally, the program ended with our traditional "benediction," You Have Nothing to Fear from the journey. Though your way may be burdened with thorns..." My review of the Nampa performance will be coming later. That should be interesting.

Soliloquy

8th Annual Vocal Recital (Two nights)

Joey Calkins, Tenor

Sean Rogers, Piano

with special guests Dani Coles, Soprano * Jerusha Cox, Soprano * Jennie Ficks, Horn * Michal Jarolimek, Baritone * Kennessa Powell Malan, Soprano

Saturday August 9, 2008 3:00 p.m.

The Piano Gallery Recital Hall

650 South State Street

Orem Utah

Program:

Ave Maria - Franz Schubert

Stanchen - Franz Schubert

Erlkonig - Franz Schubert

Soirees de Vienne: Valse-Caprice No. 6, Franz Liszt (Mr. Rogers)

Je Dis - Bizet (Ms. Malan)

Four Spirituals for Voice and Horn - Traditional (Mr. Calkins and Ms. Ficks)

Goin Home * Deep River * Wayfarin' Stranger * Swing Low, Sweet Chariot

Don't Ask Me Why - Frank Wildhorn (Ms. Malan)

Sonata for Horn and Piano, Op. 137 - Joseph Gabriel Rheinberger (Ms. Ficks and Mr. Rogers)

If I Loved You - Richard Rodgers (Mr. Calkins and Ms. Malan)

Soliloquy - Richard Rodgers

You'll Never Walk Alone - Richard Rodgers (Mr. Calkins and Ms. Malan)

Tuesday August 12, 2008 7:00 p.m.

First Presbyterian Church

400 Lake Lowell Ave

Nampa, Idaho

A Hand of Bridge - Samuel Barber (Produced by UNIPAC)

Soirees de Vienne: Valse-Caprice No. 6, Franz Liszt (Mr. Rogers)

Ave Maria - Franz Schubert

Stanchen - Franz Schubert

Erlkonig - Franz Schubert

Chanson epique - Maurice Ravel (Mr. Jarolimek)

Four Spirituals for Voice and Horn - Traditional (Mr. Calkins and Ms. Ficks)

Goin Home * Deep River * Wayfarin' Stranger * Swing Low, Sweet Chariot

The Girl in 14G - Jeanine Tesori (Ms. Cox)

Sonata for Horn and Piano, Op. 137 - Joseph Gabriel Rheinberger (Ms. Ficks and Mr. Rogers)

If I Loved You - Richard Rodger (Mr. Calkins and Ms. Cox)

Soliloquy - Richard Rodgers

You'll Never Walk Alone - Richard Rodgers (Mr. Calkins, Ms. Coles, Ms. Cox, and Mr. Jarolimek)