ACDA 2014 Santa Barbara III

As our time in Santa Barbara came to a close, somehow I cajoled a couple of friends into doing a little sightseeing, to cross off a couple of my Santa Barbara bucket list items.  First up, the biggest fig tree in North America.  Somewhere, I have a picture of me sitting on a root of this tree at five years old.  I'll have to dig that out. 

Balancing practice.  

Voila!

Next up, the Santa Barbara Mission.  We arrived just in time to hear the mission bells at the conclusion of a wedding.  

Tourists through and through.

I thought the sunglasses were a nice touch.

And finally, we got in a little pre-sunset beach time, complete with a cheesy photo shoot.

Just erase from your memory that you saw this one.  

I am SO glad that we decided to go to the closing ACDA Concert during which the musical genius, Morten Lauridsen, was honored.  The entire program was from his repertoire, including one of my all-time favorite songs, O Magnum Mysterium.  He spoke and I even got the chance to thank him personally for his work the next morning at check-out.  When he spoke, he did so with his arms folded and head pointed towards the ground.  When he writes, he secludes himself in a shack off of the coast of Washington for up to a year with an old beat-up piano and no digital distractions to speak of.  What an incredible talent.  

Nearly everyone, me included, were teary eyed and moved to the core after the very last piece, written as a prayer for the poet's baby son who died of SIDS many years ago.  Set to the genius of Morten Lauridsen's music score, it was simply breathtaking.  

Prayer

by Dana Gioia

Echo of the clock tower, footstep

in the alleyway, sweep

of the wind sifting the leaves.

Jeweller of the spiderweb

connoisseur

of autumn's opulence, blade of 

lighting

harvesting the sky.  

Keeper of the small gate, choreographer 

of entrances and exits, midnight 

whisper traveling the wires.

Seducer, healer, deity or thief, 

I will see you soon enough- 

in the shadow of the rainfall, 

in the brief violet darkening a sunset-

but until then I pray watch over him

as a mountain guards its covert ore

and the harsh falcon its flightless young.

Homeward bound, I ran into an old Princeton friend at the Salt Lake International Airport!  Don Snyder was one of the few, the proud members of the Princeton 1st Ward and I haven't seen him since graduation in 2005.  It's a small world after all.