Jon Schmidt and Stephen Hatfield

So. The most exciting thing that has been happening recently is the Stephen Hatfield weekend, which we're currently in the middle of. We don't have to be back at school for dinner/warm-up before tonight's concert until 5:00, but there isn't quite enough time to come home in between, so I'm lurking in the Newport Way library doing this. (I definitely didn't know this place existed until today. Huh.)

Anyways. So I discovered this guy, Jon Schmidt, who's this amazing amazing amazing pianist and his music is incredible. This is my favorite one. Listen to it.



So that's him.

And then a certain Canadian named Mr. Stephen Hatfield. Coming into rehearsal yesterday morning, I honestly didn't know what he was going to be like. I had heard that he was crazier than Francisco Nunez, which I found hard to believe. But he is, in fact, extraordinarily crazy and energetic and dynamic and funny and an amazing musician. Before this weekend, I was lamenting the fact that I'd be at school all weekend, but all the rehearsals with him have been so much fun. And he interjects everything with random anecdotes of his every so often.

The thing I like about both him and Francisco Nunez is that both of them work with young choirs a lot, so they know how to work with kids and keep a crowd of kids entertained and focused for a long time. Although, in my opinion, you can't really compare Hatfield and Nunez; they're so different. But both extraordinarily awesome.

The best part of yesterday was when Hatfield related a few of the pieces of music we were singing to physics, and he talked about how Einstein actually discovered his theory of relativity because of music and all this awesome physics shenanigans. It kind of blew my mind. And then after the chamber rehearsal I went and talked to him re: the physics and it was awesome. And THEN after the concert, which was freakin' EPIC, I was a gigantic nerd and went and got him to sign my copy of La Lluvia (sorry, Ms. Seaton, I stole another piece of sheet music) and he wrote "For Hannah, Lady Einstein; it was a relatively fabulous day." FTW.

So then today, we had physics all morning (woooooo) and then Nancy and I went to Taco Time and then when we were lurking in the commons waiting for the massed choir rehearsal to start, Ms. Seaton and Hatfield came in and I waved to him and he came over and he remembered who I was and what my name was and it was exciting. And we had another brief physics conversation. He knows a lot of really random exciting things.

Wow. I just rambled for a thousand years.

So yeah. The concert with all the other schools is tonight, and that should be really cool. But then I have to go home and do all my homework that I didn't have time for this weekend...fail.

But yeah. Good, good weekend.