Dinner with Singers

After each of its concert series, San Francisco Renaissance Voices hosts what the directors like to call a "Victory Lap," which in singing circles means squatting over a plate of pizza and gossiping about singers and related music ephemera. I don't think I've ever been involved in a more bizarre conversation. Here are some snippets:

"At these gatherings, I always like to ask people about the weirdest instrument they've ever played. What's the weirdest instrument you've ever played?"

"I hate waiting for the train because the public information system always plays a descending Major 4th before announcing which trains are approaching. Every time I hear those two notes, Mahler's 8th Symphony pops into my head and I'm stuck with it all the way home."

"The old guard were all bitches."

"I once played in a symphony for Styrofoam cups."

"Well, you of all people ought to know what a sackbut looks like."

If there was any moral to be drawn from the evening, it was this: Singing with people is one thing but socializing with them is quite another.