Welcome to a new church year, a new school year, a new season. Fall has always been one of my favorite seasons. As a child, it meant apple picking at an orchard my piano teacher had, and then making applesauce in the kitchen. The whole house would be filled with the beautiful, rich smell of cooking apples. It also meant the annual squash, potato, and bean harvest, as we would bring hundreds (sometimes thousands) of pounds of vegetables in from our garden to blanch and freeze, or store in the basement. Now, fall means pumpkin spice lattes, changing leaves, and the smell of wood smoke from our neighbors.
The fall also means another musical with the youth in our community and another season of wonderful music with you all. I’m amazed at how quickly these beginnings seem to come around again. This year I’m starting my tenth season directing the music program at FCB! This means my tenth musical, my sixteenth major music service, and my eleventh Christmas pageant. (If the numbers don’t seem to match up, it’s because of COVID and the three years I spent as the assistant music director as well.)
This year, the children’s music program will be presenting The MacKado, a classic Gilbert and Sullivan show that has been reimagined to take place in Scotland. We have a cast of 62 youngsters this year, from PreK through 9th grade.
The process of reimagining the show has been a challenging and rewarding one, and wouldn’t have been possible without the help of many in our community. The original show was written in 1880, and though it contains some of Arthur Sullivan’s best songs, the libretto contains numerous messages and scenarios that are unacceptable, especially with our UU values. The challenge then becomes how can this work of art be reimagined and the tale recrafted so that the essence of the story and the genius of the music can still be enjoyed, while also reflecting the values that we hold. I’m thrilled with the result, and I encourage all of you to come see it. Performances are November 21 at 5:30 pm, November 22 and 23 at 7:00 pm, and November 24 at 3:00 pm.
This year we are also kicking off our 40th season of the Second Friday Concerts, and the 2nd season of our Classical Concert Series. The Second Friday series started on September 13 with a sold-out show by David Wilcox. On October 11 Hayley Reardon will be performing, and in November we welcome Ellis Paul back to the stage. More information about the season is at www.secondfridayconcerts.org.
The Classical Concert Series kicks off on October 4, with our own Laura Couch presenting a “States of the US” themed recital with pianist Mikayla Rogers, in support of voting rights. Tickets and more information about the season are at www.fcbclassical.org.Between these two concert series, we have 18 concerts at FCB this year! This means that if you’re planning on going to even half of them, the season membership is worth getting. One hundred percent of the membership fee goes directly to charity, and every concert we offer this season is half-price. Visit either series website for more information about the membership.
Finally, the start of the fall season also means the start of the adult choirs at FCB. Many of you know that we have two adult choirs, and we are always welcoming new singers. The Nova Choir is open to anyone regardless of experience and rehearses every Thursday evening and performs Sunday mornings twice a month. The Senior Choir is open to any singer with some choral experience and rehearses and performs every Sunday morning.If you have any questions about these or any other music programs at the church, feel free to reach out to igarvie@uubelmont.org.
And so, with gratitude for a community of music lovers, for pumpkin spice lattes and changing leaves, and for each one of you, I’m looking forward to another wonderful year.
Ian Garvie
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