The Blizzard Concert Series

Here is a clip of my rehearsal with Lake Tahoe Toccata Symphony & Choir on Sunday, February 10, 2019. The music is from Mendelssohn's oratorio "Elijah", and the aria is "O Rest In The Lord." The character is Angel No. 1, or as I prefer to call her - the Low Flying Angel. The latter due to the low vocal-range required for the piece. This rehearsal was in preparation for a concert later that same day at the Montbleu Resort Casino at Lake Tahoe, Nevada.

The first performance of this concert series was on the prior day at Incline Village, NV, which is also in the Lake Tahoe Basin. We thought we would be able to complete the concert and drive out of the mountains to Carson City, NV, before an expected storm hammered into the Sierras, but we were not so lucky. With near white-out conditions caused by enormous winds, we barely managed to clear the more than 7,000 ft Spooner Pass and drop down into the Carson City area (Elevation 4,802) as highways throughout the Sierras were being closed down. Snowfall overnight was quite heavy, with about eight inches of snow accumulating in Carson City. Dutifully, we loaded the car back up Sunday morning, and made the trek back up Spooner Pass and on to Stateline, NV for the next show. Thankfully we had a 4x4 with snow tires, otherwise we would have been dragging out the chains. Quite the slog in and out of the basin, but the concert was good.

I will forever remember this concert series as The Blizzard Concerts.