Friday October 28
Dear Diary:
Another stressful morning. Up dark and early to prepare for the day, especially an afternoon rehearsal of songs from We Are the People, which we are presenting on Monday night at the CUPE national convention. Too much on my plate, including preparing all the contracts for the folks in the CUPE gig. But saved by Savannah Tennessee who kindly took over hosting a walk I was supposed to do.
Got to the 2pm rehearsal at the Canadian Memorial Church with a very talented group of 10 DTES and pro musicians we have brought together to do the gig, led by the amazing Neil Weisensel. It was so great to listen to the group rehearse, to relax, and to do some yoga while the group practiced. They sounded fantastic. I was blown away, yet again, by the depth and power of the songs that are coming out of our community. And the talent of people from our community: Mike Richter, Gena Thompson, Robyn Livingstone, Andy Kostynuik and Rosanne Gervais. Really looking forward to this gig.
Despite my trepidations about doing this gig in the middle of our festival, I am now very glad to have made the choice to take it on.
~ Terry