Warning: geeky post

Current soundtrack: Chopin's Piano Concerto No. 1 on the radio

Happy Tuesday to all. A cold front has settled over Illinois, a particularly welcome development after the hot, muggy afternoon we had. It just shouldn't be as warm as it was this afternoon anytime in September. I could deal with it in FL because it was SUPPOSED to be hot in FL. But here in IL it ought to feel like fall by now. So I'm happy to report that right now, it does. I have my snuggly sweater on...yay! At this rate, it'll be time for my fuzzy fall coat soon. I LOVE my fuzzy coat. I get giddy just thinking about it. I think 4 years in the FL heat did some weird things to me.

This post is likely to be a bit on the geeky side because I'm going to talk about two things I get very geeky about: choral music, and the works of J. R. R. Tolkien. So if you like neither of those things, I won't be the least bit offended if you wave goodbye now and we meet again at my next post. Read on if you like.

Today I did what I've been wanting to do for days but have not done because the darned bug I'm getting over was keeping me lying low. Anyway, today I drove out to the church where I've been hired as choir director, and I spent some time with the choral library there. I was really impressed! This is not a large church, nor does it have a large choir. Yet the library goes on and on. Mozart, Beethoven, Tchaikovsky, Mendelssohn, Bach, Handel, Haydn, Purcell, Gibbons, Victoria, Tallis, Tchesnokov and many more are all represented. Also, lots of stuff by Hovhannes...quite a pleasant surprise! And some really awesome larger works like Britten's "Rejoice in the Lamb" and "A Ceremony of Carols," several Bach cantatas, Thompson's "The Peaceable Kingdom," and Pinkham's Christmas Cantata. I'm thinking of trying to plan a large work for the Advent/Christmas season...a fun challenge for both the choir and me to work toward...and I have many choices within the church's library! I feel really fortunate to have found this job. I'm VERY excited for my first rehearsal with the choir tomorrow night. :-)

So, here's the Tolkien-related bit of geekiness: I've decided that, beginning on Sept. 22 (Frodo and Bilbo's birthdays), which is a week from Friday, I would like to re-read the Lord of the Rings trilogy. And I wanted to extend an open invitation to any others who may be interested to join me on the Road. I am happy to use my blog as a place where we can informally discuss the books as we read. There will not be a set schedule or anything; I just thought it would be cool to be reading at the same time as other Tolkien appreciators so we can shower the good Professor with compliments as we go along and chat about anything else that particularly speaks to us in the text. Feel free to walk the Road with me as long as you like...you don't have to go all the way to Mordor if you don't have time. Also, if you've read the Trilogy a zillion times and/or recently, feel free to drop in on the discussion at any point whether you are re-reading or not. I'll post an initial comment of some sort on or around the 22nd to get us going, and then things can move forward (along with the Fellowship) from there. Hope you'll join me for a fall vacation in Middle Earth. :-)

To those of you who are not Tolkien addicts, I will not be ignoring you. There will be normal blog posts in addition to the Lord of the Rings discussion. So please don't go away!

Okay, enough of the Jessisca geekfest. I need to work on some music prep for my rehearsal tomorrow (hooray!). Hope that as you read this, you're happy, healthy, and comfy. Life's too short to wear stuff that isn't comfy. More soon.