New Friends...and missing treasured ones

There is nothing that can ever replace the best friends that I've made in my life. There are so many of you that I miss so much. To Andy and Jenifer, Brent and Christy, is kills me that I can't be more involved in the lives of Aubrey and Brooks and to watch you guys develop as parents. I miss hanging out with Brandon, Watkins, Fern, Schmiddy, and Skate. You know I love you guys like family, you are family and I miss our time together too. I miss going to FBC A and seeing the smiling faces of Mother Bike and Janie, Cheryl Kilpatrick, Diane Schmidtke, and Mrs. Brantley; the warm greeting I always received from all my choir "mommas" like Mrs. Mullins, Donna Smelcer, and Debbie Kennedy. And I often think while walking into church here in Eugene, "Man I wish Sharon Joiner was singing 'I Know My Redeemer Lives' ..... 'and I know that I know, that I know, that I know, that I know..ho...ho...ho....my redeemer lives' (Nicole C. Mullin ain't got nothing on Sharon Joiner!)." I miss my "other moms," Marion Lynn Stewart, Debbie Newman, Diane Schmidtke, and Janie Byars...And polish mistakes, you just can't get those up here in Eugene! And there are so many others who've helped to influence and shape the person I am today. If i tried to mention you all, this post would go on for days. I guess moving 3000 miles aways really reveals to you what true friendship is. Thank you to all of you for the calls, emails, and facebook messages wanting to know what I'm up to and how I'm doing they mean the world to me!
You should all know that I talk about you all the time to my friends here in Eugene, so I thought it only appropreiate to tell you treasured friends about the new friends that i'm making here. I must say that this transition has been made so easy by the wonderful people I've met here in Eugene. I haven't felt alone or isolated at all. First you should know about Becky Hunter. She is the reason that my transition went so well. One of the sweetest people you'll ever meet, Becky bent over backwards to introduce me to new friends and to include me in social gathering when I first got here. Becky and I met when I came here to audition back in January and she's been wonderful ever since. She is an AMAZING violin player studying for her doctorate in violin performance and she's helping me out by playing violin at my church in a few months. Becky introduced me to Clark and Holland (among others) and the three of them are my "string" friends. (This is unusual in the music world because normally singers and instrumentalist don't hang out with each other -- but you know me, i'll make friend with anyone!) Clark is an awesome guy who loves Jesus and plays Viola. He's a graduate of Boston University and is completing his doctorate in viola performance here at UO. Holland is another violinist and is from Mississippi; Starkville (home of MS State) to be exact! She and I speak Southern to one another sometimes! Through these folk I met Jeremy. He's a PhD in composition student finishing up his degree. Jeremy is a very gifted composer and has been around the OU school of music a while so he knows the ends and outs. I'm conducting on his graduate recital and very excited about it. I'll be conducting the premiere of two awesome choral works he's just finished on the poetry of Langston Hughes.
My music ed./vocal friends (i'm working on uniting the school of music) are a blast and we spend at least a portion of almost everyday together. Julie, Amy, John, Gene, and I pretty much pal around and cause as much ruckus and havoc as we can. We set aside every Tuesday night, deemed "Taco Tuesday," to go to this great Mexican restaurant that has $.99 tacos on Tuesday nights. (Being in grad school, cheap is always good) Taco Tuesday is our incentive to get through the rest of the week. Julie is from Oakland, California and is a scream! Very out going, Julie says exactly what she is thinking with no filter and I love it! Amy (Julie and Amy are roommates and are BFF) is from all over and even lived in Georgia for a while. Amy is a fantastic teacher and came back to do her masters after being offered a teaching fellowship. She has an awesome beagle named Abby. John is from Montana and has the lowest bass voice you've ever heard; sort of "Barry White-esque" but packed in a small 160 lb body. John and I play racquetball two days a week and he kicks my tail every time cause he's so dang quick! Gene is from Malaysia and has a fantastic voice. He is working on his doctorate in vocal performance. Gene and I give each other "the look" in choir when people mess up or say really dumb things! The five of us bring riotous laughter and tons of fun where ever we go.
There, of course, are many others that I've met along the way, and many more to meet, but for now I thought I might introduce you to these few. To those of you from Alabaster, Samford, UA, or Huntsville that may read this, know that I miss you all! Keep checking back and I'll try to keep things updated on here as to how things are going!
(the pictures are of myself and Amy, and Amy, Jules, and I at a party for music grad. students.)
And PS. Before you even ask Becky, Holland, Amy, and Julie ALL have very serious boyfriends.

It's been a while...

So, it's been quite a while since i updated this thing.  I was under that assumption that no one even read it. However, after emails from a few friends, it appears as though at least a few of you read this thing.  So, what have I been up to?  Allow me to run a few bullets:

• Mid August road trip with Fawn to Eugene (amazing trip!)
• Getting settled into Eugene
• Flew back to Jackson, MS to attend my grandfather's funeral
• Interviewed for a church job as Bethesda Lutheran Church
• Took the job at BLC
• Attended "Week of Welcome" meetings for Graduate Teaching Fellows (GFT)
• Began first week of classes at UO
• Had my first rehearsal with the UO Concert Choir (the group I'm conducting)
• Along the way I've met some AMAZING new friends!

Let's talk about a few of these.  My mid-August trip with Fawn was amazing.  I've already posted a few pictures from the trip, but it's worth reiterating how AWESOME it was.  I love you FERN!  We saw everything from "Cadillac Ranch" to the Grand Canyon.  We saw Yosemite, drove the Pacific Coast Highway, and even ate "Lamb Fries"  -- trust me, you don't wanna know what those are!  Once we arrived in Eugene we spent time setting up my apartment and then headed to Portland to meet some friends of Fawn's.  I then put Fawn on a plane back to Nashville and made the lonely drive back to Eugene.

I spent the next 2 weeks or so just getting settled in.  My grandfather's health had been failing this whole time and He went to be with the Lord on August 29, 2008.  I flew to Jackson, Mississippi on August 31 for his funeral the following day.  Pawpaw had told me this past Summer when I was in Mississippi for a visit that he might not see me again.  He told me he was tired and "waiting on Jesus."  I'm selfish and I didn't want to give him up, however, he was old and tired, he was ready for eternity and a body that was not failing him.  I miss him terribly and Christmas will not be the same this year, but i'm so glad that he is not suffering.

After returning from Jackson, I got down to the business of preparing for school and interview for jobs.  I'm the new music director at Bethesda Lutheran Church.  They have been wonderful to me and are a choir to direct.

I started this past Monday with classes at UO.  I LOVE IT!!!  It blows my mind that I am a PhD student.  I'm going to be Dr. Parker in the next four years.  How crazy is that!  I did always tell my parents that I was going to be a Doctor (this is not what they were thinking though i don't think!) hey, i kept my word.  I'm taking three academic classes: Choral Conducting Seminar, Research Methods in Music, and Repertoire and Analysis (Classical Form).  I'm singing in three choirs; Repertoire Singers (the lab choir for Conducting Seminar), U Singers (the University's large - 45 member - auditioned ensemble), and Chamber Choir (a highly competitive, select group of 20 singers - it's the University's top ensemble), and i'm conducting Concert Choir (the non-auditioned, y'all come, choir).  Concert Choir is SO MUCH FUN!! I absolutely love it and the students i'm working with (about 60) are awesome and we are really going to open some eyes this term as to how good a non-auditioned ensemble can be!

So, in short, that's pretty much my life right now.  I'll try to keep this thing a little more up-to-date since I am now 3000 miles from those of you I love so much.

Cheers, 

Webb 

Oregon / Apt.

For those of you who have asked, here are a fews pics of the views around Eugene and a pic or two of my apartment (FYI the apt is a work in progress!)

Road Trip 2

1) I meant to add this one in the last post.  One of our first stops was Cadillac Ranch just outside of Amarillo, Texas.  There are 10 Caddies buried end up in the ground.  Art?  You decide.

2) Where the last post left off:  We spent the night in Vegas.  We walked around the Strip, Bellagio, and saw the Bellagio water show.  It was amazing!

3 - 5) The last three pics are of our house back ride through the Sierra Nevada Mountains.  It was amazingly gorgeous!  Pictures just can't do it justice.  We road from the home point to South Lake then back.  Everyone should ride horses thru the Sierra Nevadas before they die!

Road Trip to Oregon

1) at a rest stop in Oklahoma

2) Grand Canyon

3) Being welcomed to Arizona

4)  More Grand Canyon

5)  At the Hoover Dam

a poem, found in the book "The Perks of Being a Wildflower."

As a teacher, this poem was very poignant.

Just something to jog thought.

I love my job.

These are my students. 

Life is real...honest...shouldn't it be...shouldn't we be?

How many of my students, your friends, people you pass on the street

feel this way?

I hope it speaks to you like it did me.

Once on a yellow piece of paper with green lines

he wrote a poem

And he called it "Chops"

because that was the name of his dog

And that's what it was about

And his teacher gave in an A

and a gold star

And his mother hung it on the kitchen door

and read it to his aunts

That was the year Father Tracy

took all the kids to the zoo

And he let them sing on the bus

And his little sister was born

with tiny toenails and no hair

And his mother and father kissed a lot

And the girl around the corner sent him a

Valentine signed with a row of X's

and he had to ask his father what the X's meant

And his father always tucked him in bed at night

And was always there to do it.

Once on a piece of white paper with blue lines

he wrote a poem

And he called it "Autumn" 

because that was the name of the season

And that's what it was all about

And his teacher gave him and A

and asked him to write more clearly

And his mother never hung it on the kitchen door

because of its new paint

And the kids told him

that Father Tracy smoked cigars

And left the butts on the pews

And sometimes they would burn holes

That was the year his sister got glasses

with thick black frames

And the girl around the corner laughed

when he asked her to go see Santa Claus

And the kids told why

his mother and father kissed a lot

And his father never tucked him in bed at night

And his father got mad

when he cried for him to do it.

Once on a paper torn from his notebook

he wrote a poem

And he called it "Innocence: A Question"

because that was the question about his girl

And that's what it was all about

And his professor gave him an A

and a strange steady look

And his mother never hung it on the kitchen door

because he never showed her

That was the year that Father Tracy died

And he forgot how the end

of the Apostle's Creed went

And he caught his sister

making out on the back porch

And his mother and father never kissed

or even talked

And the girl around the corner

wore too much make up

That made him cough when he kissed her

but he kissed her anyway

because that was the thing to do

And at three A.M. he tucked himself into bed

his father snoring soundly

That's why on the back of a brown paper bag

he tried another poem

And he called it "Absolutely Nothing"

Because that's what it was really all about

And he gave himself an A

and a slash on each damned wrist

And he hung in on the bathroom door

because this time he didn't think

he could reach the kitchen.  

...packing...

I've spent today doing nothing.  Normally, during the Summer, that's not a problem, however this Summer I have to move across the country.  I need to be packing!  I mentioned to a friend today that I needed to go get some packing tape, I have boxes but no tape.  So why haven't I started?  I guess to start packing is a tangible realization that I'm leaving this place that I've come to love.  Don't get me wrong, I'm excited about what's to come in my life, but it doesn't seem real right now.  Packing, I think, would make it real.  I don't know if I'm ready for it to be real yet.  I'm not read to say "goodbye."

House for Sale

I put my house on the market today.  I have mixed feelings about it. I love this house and I'm sad to leave it.  I guess putting it on the market means that I really am leaving.  Don't get me wrong, I'm excited about the opportunities that are in front of me, but I'm sad to leave HSV and putting my house on the market makes it a little more real!

If you know someone who's looking in the HSV area please give them my contact information.  It's a great house with lots of potential!  Below is what the listing says: 

A great home for the first time buyer or for the investor looking to add to their portfolio.  Priced to sell, this one will not last long!  This beautiful home has updated colors, a renovated kitchen, and lots of charm.  An oversized fenced backyard with 2 storage buildings is perfect for those with a green thumb and has plenty of room for your pets to roam.  The house has been beautifully landscaped and includes a long term landscaping plan done by a professional landscape architect.  

If you don't know anyone who's looking to buy in this area, then your prayers concerning all of this would be greatly appreciated.  From the sale of my house, to leaving my friends, figuring out how to get all my stuff to UO, to starting school again after a three year respite, it all seems like a daunting task. 

Final BHS Concert

Tonight was my final concert at Buckhorn.  I must admit that I began this day with my stomach in  knots and tension all over my body.  Why? -- Apprehension, anxiety, I'm not really sure.  It probably had something to do with the fact that I knew this was going to be my last "HOORAH" at BHS and I wanted it to go perfectly for my singers.  I wanted it to be a night they would never forget; a night I would never forget.  I usually get tense the day of a concert, my kids will tell you that, but today was different.  Today had more weighing on it.

My singers arrived for a sound check at 6pm.  It wasn't until the end of that sound check that I began to relax.  I began to have fun.  I began to realize what a great night this was going to be.  Was it ever!  I'm not sure that I will ever have a night in my career that will rival this one.  My singers showed up and showed out!  They sounded better than they have all year.  Everything about the night was perfect!

This concert was not a typical concert for us.  It was all pops music; some full choir things, a few duets, trios, and ensembles, some solos, and even a dance troupe (some of my kids danced the Triller! -- it was awesome!)  We began the concert with "Stand by Me" and "I'll Be There" followed by the Jazz band. (who were amazing!) Solos, Trios, and Ensembles did everything from "My Girl" to "Phantom of the Opera" to "Iris".  Two of my tenors did an arrangement of several contemporary Christian tunes that they combined in a very unique way.   It was amazing - no record company has put out anything better than what they did tonight.

We closed the concert with me playing piano for the senior song (I didn't cry!), and then the entire choir sang "For Good" from Wicked -- I lost it.  I tried to hold it in, but the tears just came busting out.  At least I made it to the last page before losing it.  The kids did a great job - they held it together!

After "For Good" they surprised me with a video they had made.  Each student gave me a farewell message on the video and it was concluded with each of them individually saying "I love you Parker." -- I was gone after that!  They then presented me with a Wii (the most awesome thing EVER! --  there is significance to this gift, maybe i'll explain it in another blog.  We then closed the concert in the way every Spring concert has been closed since I began at BHS.  We invited former singers up to help us sing "Lord, I Know I've Been Changed."

This was a perfect night, made possible by amazing singers! Kudos to you BHS Choir -  It was an amazing night that none of us will soon forget!

I love each and every one of you!

May the Lord bless and keep you.

BHS / HMC Concert

Today I informed my students that I have been granted a fellowship to the University of Oregon for the coming Fall.  Many of you probably knew that this was brewing, but things have been confirmed and I will be pursuing PhD studies in music education this fall at the University of Oregon.

It was a bittersweet moment today when I told my kids.  (I know it's not PC to call my students "my kids" but that's what they are to me, they are MY kids - so much more than mere students.)  I love these kids to death.  They are part of my family, part of me.  My singers make me want to come to work each and everyday.  Teaching is not an easy profession.  For those of you who are not teachers, try it for just a week -- you'll understand.  And granted, there are days that I don't like my job, but I love my job everyday.  Why? Because I get to come to work and have fun with the most wonderful young minds in this state.  At Buckhorn we may not have all the fanciness that money can buy, we may not have the greatest performance venues, but we have students who have tons of talent and even more heart.  So, you can understand why I described today as "bittersweet".  I know that going to UO is the right thing.  It is a door the Lord has opened that I must walk through.  Leaving my kids is going to be tough though.  I've already shed many tears over it and I know more are to come.   I decided to tell them this morning because the rumor mill had already started and I didn't want them to hear it through the grapevine at the concert tonight.

After dropping this bombshell on them, we had a concert (with about 8 hours in between) tonight.  My heart swelled with pride as my kids sang "Remember", a setting of  a Christina Rossetti poem by the composer Stephen Chapman.  The sounds that sang forth from them were absolutely amazing.  It was the best blend and musicality this group of 16 had ever sung with.  I had to fight back tears brought on by the beauty of their sound.  The rest of the choir joined the singers on stage and we sang an a cappella arrangement of "Stand by Me" as a preview of our "Pops" concert (on May 13).

The first half of the concert was performed by the Huntsville Master Chorale.  The HMC then joined BHS for the last half of the concert.  The entire ensemble did a wonderful job and it was joy to direct and sing with them.  

My singers rose to the occasion today under tons of pressure.  Their focus, determination, and hard work were amazing on stage!  I'm so proud of them!

Tennis

You may or may not know, and you may or may not be surprised to know that I am the women's tennis coach at school.  I've been so proud of these girls this year!  They have worked hard, stepped up their games, learned to be aggressive, and have begun to show some passion on the court.  Today, their efforts were rewarded with 2 doubles champions and 3 singles championships in the County Tournament, and to top it all off, the team brought home the over all County Championship!  The Buckhorn Lady Bucks Tennis team is the 2008 Madison County Women's Tennis Champions!  This is quiet an accomplishment for a team who didn't win anything at the county tourney last year.  Congratulations to the Ladies Bucks Tennis Team!

Italy and Spain 2008

1) Eating REAL Italian pizza

2) Outside the Roman Colosseum 

3) Brunelleschi's Dome in Florence

4) The Segrada Familia in Barcelona

5) On the Mediterranean Coast

Italy and Spain 2008

1) Frescoes in the Vatican

2) Ben and I with our "Where's our luggage?" look

3) Some of the choir kids over looking Rome at night

4) The city of Siena

5) The group over looking Barcelona

Italy and Spain 2008

Recovering from jet lag sucks, but the cause to that effect is well worth it.  I returned from a 12 day tour of Italy and Spain this past Saturday.  We had an amazing time!  Myself and the two foreign language teachers at BHS took a group, just shy of 30 in number, to Europe for Spring Break.  We visited Italy and Spain.  In Italy we toured Rome, Orvieto, Florence,Siena, Piza, and the aquarium at Genoa.  We then took an overnight cruise from Genoa to Barcelona, Spain.  After tour Barcelona we headed to Costa Brava, a resort area on the Mediterranean Sea just outside of Barcelona.

Our journey began as we loaded a school bus at 530am for jaunt up to Nashville for our flight to NY.  In NY we boarded an Air France 777 to Paris.  Upon arriving in Paris we were rushed through the airport (a la Home Alone) due to a short time span to make our connecting flight to Rome.  In Rome only 5 or so people received their luggage.  Because our connecting flight was so short, our bags didn't make it onto the connection.  We were bussed to the hotel were we relaxed for moment, then we were back on the bus headed for a driving/walking tour of Rome.  We saw many, many "piazzas" or squares (I would tell you their names but I don't remember them all!)  We also saw the Vatican (from the outside), the Pantheon, Trevy Fountain, and the Roman Colosseum.  The following day we toured the Vatican Museum, the Vatican itself (St. Peter's Basilica, Sistine Chaple

, Papal Apartment, and the such), we toured the Colosseum, inside and out, and th

e Roman ruins.  It was so awesome to see things that were so old.  In the Roman Forum (ruins) is what some believe to be Caesar's grave. You know, the "et tu Brute" Caesar -- Amazing!

We left Rome headed for Florence via Orvieto.  It's an old town  up on a plateau over looking the Italian country side. It dates back to Medieval times and has a beautiful Cathedral that was erected around 1874.  We did tons of shopping there.  The handmade crafts and hand-painted ceramics were beautiful.  From Orvieto we went on to Florence were we saw the home of the Medici's, the old bridge of the Arvo river, the Duomo of Brunelleschi, and life of the city itself.  We happened to be in Florence on Palm Sunday and got to see the procession of the plam fronds into the Cathedral.  We also stubbled upon an outdoor Mass and were blessed by the priest with holy water.  

After Florence we went out to Siena, another town on a hill well preserved.  It is famous for it's very steep roads, its beautiful cathedral, and a horse race twice a year around the town square called the Palio (click the word Palio to find out more - it's amazing!).  The following day we left Florence for headed towards the port of Genoa for our cruise via the town of Piza.  There we saw, of course, the leaning tower, the beautiful cathedral and baptistry, and the town square.  From there were traveled to Genoa were we visited the aquarium and boarded out ship to Barcelona.  We pushed off from shore around 9pm and arrived in Barcelona at 4pm the following day.  

We went to the hotel in Barcelona (one of the nicest i've ever stayed in!) and then made our way downtown to the port for a Tapas dinner (pronounced Top - us) (sidebar: when we told the kids about the tapas dinner they heard "topless" rather than "top-us."  The reaction was priceless!)  Tapas is a meal made up of appetizers unique to Spain -- it was one of the best meals were had on the entire trip.  The following day we took a driving tour of Barcelona, stopping to take pictures at the most important sights like the Segrada Familia, a church begun in the 1800's by an architect named Gaudi that is still unfinished.  We also saw several other building designed by Gaudi.  We then went to the Spanish Village (build in the early 1900 for the World's Fair, it is meant to give visitors a taste of all of Spain in just a few minutes, then we traveled on to the site of the 1992 Summer Olympic games.  From there we when on top of the hill to see a panoramic view of the city and the port.  We took some beautiful pictures from high above the city.  That afternoon we were give about 4 hours to shop on Las Ramblas, the "Rodeo Drive" of Barcelona.  

From Barcelona we went out to Costa Brava on the Mediterranean coast, to the town of Calella to be exact.  We had a great time of relaxing, shopping, and beach time there.  After two days of the Spanish beach, we returned to Barcelona for our flight home.

We had a great trip, made some wonderful memories, learned a few things, and brought back some great stories.  Check out Facebook for some more pictures!

not knowing...

I think I may be going through the biggest transition I've ever gone through.  "I think..." being the operative phrase there.  I feel like I'm at a fork in the road, but my fork has like 15 prongs, and God has yet to reveal to me the one I should take.  Do you know what I mean?  I hate not knowing.  I know that shortly, answers will come; doors will be opened or closed, light will be shed, clarity will come.

There are two things I do know:  1) I'm going to Spain and Italy in less than two weeks.  March 12 to be exact.  I'm very excited.  We are taking a group of awesome students.  I've never been to either place.  I love to travel, and I love to share my travel experiences, so look for update as I'm in Europe.  2) I love my job.  I teach the greatest kids in the world.  I know it's not PC for teachers to call their students "kids," they are students, young adults, future leaders....and while this is all true, to me they are my kids.  I care about their well-being, their development as a person, their struggles and triumphs.  Sure, I want to mold wonderful musicians, but that is not the ultimate goal.  I want to impact an entire life, not just a musician.  

...a first...

Today was quite an interesting one at the Horn.  We had a "code blue."  It means that there is someone in or around the building who is dangerous.  There is a whole list of procedures we are to following during one of these drills but no one really takes them completely seriously because, i mean, it's the horn...out in the middle of cotton and cows!  So I went through the normal procedures: locked my door, turned of all the nights, crammed the kids into one of my closets, made them hush, and sat there and waited....and waited...and waited.  Now, usually at some point during the drill the school secretary will come over the intercom and say "all is clear you can come out now" or something to that effect, but that's a trick because the actual "all clear" code is something else (something that i'm not going to post online for you random scary larrys our there who may read this).  But after about 20 min...nothing...at this point I'm still trying to convince my kids that it's just a drill, but they are beginning to catch on that something was up.  About the time panic set in on some of my kids faces (about 25 min into what i thought was  drill) the real all clear signal was sounded.  

A few moments later a fellow colleague came in my room to whom i said, "I'm glad they gave us warning about that code blue drill." (sarcastically of course!) To which he replied, "That wasn't a drill.  The North Alabama Bank down the road just got robbed and the guy was walking up Winchester Rd."  So, long story short, we had a REAL code blue today...my first in three years at BHS.

Another "crazy day" note -- the weather was supposed to be bad today, so the kids got out 1245pm today!

The first one...

So, right now JK and me are sitting in a professional development meeting, so i'm professionally developing by starting a blog since that is the topic of the PD. I've been meaning to do this, and now that i've been given time, I decided to go for it. Look for updates soon!