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Grüß Gott aus Graz,

Here we are in week 3 of the American Institute of Musical Study in Graz, Austria. Last week I had the great Fortune to sing Don Josè's "La Fleur que the m'avais details" a.k.a. "The Flower Song" from Carmen with the AIMS orchestra in one of the most glorious music halls I have ever seen. Here in the city of Graz they have a brilliant Concert Hall called the Stefaniesaal. The Acoustics and the Aesthetics of the Hall create the ideal atmosphere for classical music. In my next post I will share with you photos from these last two weeks and of course I will include photos of the Stefaniesaal.

I would be remiss if I did not specifically mention how wonderfully the Orchestra played. The orchestra is made up of players from 21 different countries and absolutely rivals in ability some of the famous orchestras that I have heard in the United States. Yes of course they are young and a little green but tackled demanding repertoire and a variety of styles with ease and accuracy. They are certainly a musical bunch and respond well to their conductor.

This week I will be performing the tenor solo in the quartet for the "Tuba mirum" from Mozart's Requiem with the AIMS orchestra.

I have been having a great time learning and exercising my developing German language skills. I spend the majority of my days rehearsing, practicing, studying German, and creating my own funny sentences to understand and use the complex but interesting and useful Teutonic grammar. I also have to admit a guilty pleasure: if I find myself, late at night, unable to sleep I will attempt to watch the movie " the third man." I guess really just to get my Austrian thoughts in order.

We had 3 days off this past weekend and I had planned to make a trip to Vienna, but instead I chose to remain in Graz to decompress and enjoy the city. There's a lot of very cool aspects of this city, I encourage you - in your spare time - read a little bit about the history of this city. It is not only famous for Arnold Schwarzenegger but such important forward looking and innovative astrophysicists as Johannes Kepler have contributed to make this city a special place.

It is of course with great pleasure - both in writing to you and in the experience - that I am again working with Kathy Wright; whom, for those of you who don't know, was the coach with whom I worked for the majority of my tenure at the University of Georgia.

You will have to forgive my sentences because I'm stuck somewhere between all of the German that I'm learning and somehow easily influenced by James Agee's "let us now praise famous men." I've noticed that he really speaks my language. I've also noticed that his observations about education in rural Alabama in the 1930s could easily be applied to American Education in the 21st century without losing a Beat. I did not see the immediate benefit of reading his book while I was singing in Aaron Copland's opera "The Tender land." However, since, I have discovered that the book is brilliantly insightful, fascinating, artistic, eloquent, fun, sad, distributing, and challenging. I absolutely recommend it especially given the current atmosphere of the United States.

Thank you so much for reading.
Wiederschauen!
Joe