It happened; I got on a plane (and then a bus) and landed in Banff. There was the usual mid-flight panic about whether or not my running shoes were actually in my suitcase (they were) and oh god did I forget my phone charger???

The flight was, thankfully, unremarkable, but I did get the chance to surprise baritone Clarence Frazer (Sam in Crush) with a stealth hug at the baggage claim in Calgary. I also met tenor Pasquale D’Alessio (Otto in Crush) while waiting for our airport shuttle; we wasted no time chatting about Mozart, Brahms, 12-tone composing, villains, and Pasquale’s band, Videoman. Finally, I was able to re-visit the Maclab Bistro, Banff’s beloved watering hole, with Music Director Christopher Mokrzewski. Beauty.

As we arrived at the Banff Centre, I had a distinct feeling of having just been here. It’s been a year since I first worked on #UncleJohn with AtG, but it’s funny how good experiences never feel that far away.

Tomorrow, after a mountainous breakfast (puns!), the fun really begins. It’s that first-day-of-summer-program anticipation, knowing you’re going to meet future friends, and knowing that when it’s all over, you’ll feel bewildered by how fast the time flew.

That’s it for now; the real fun starts with the music.