Some other highlights from my very first trip to Las Vegas, for the 2018 national conference of NATS (the National Association of Teachers of Singing) . . .

THE SING-ALONG:  The opening ceremony of every NATS conference includes – understandably – some singing.   (It would be pretty foolish to have nearly a thousand voice teachers and voice students gathered in one room and not give them a chance to sing together!)  Typically, that singing involves spirited and roof-rattling renditions of the Star Spangled Banner, “O Canada!” and Franz Schubert’s famous art song “An die Musik,” which praises the power of music to lift our spirits in life’s grayest hours.  This time around, however,   there was far more singing than that- and the human dynamo who lead us was G. Phillip Shoultz,  one of the guiding lights of VocalEssence (one of the country’s finest vocal groups) and a highly-decorated singer, conductor and educator.  He had us singing all kinds of things, including plenty of beloved songs we all know and love like “Singin’ in the Rain,”  “Over the Rainbow,” and “I’ve been workin’ on the Railroad.”  But he also taught us all kinds of cool songs from here and abroad, with themes that were splendidly uplifting . . .   “Draw the circle… Draw the circle wide”      . . .    “We are friends forever when we sing together…”   . . .        “There is more love somewhere…”  . . .     “Welcome, Welcome,  everybody welcome….”    It went on and on in a way that was almost a little bewildering, as though it was hard to believe that there wasn’t some parliamentary procedures yet to accomplish,  some important order of business yet to cover.  But in fact we were free to just sing and sing – and to reconnect with the inner child in all of us that sings without fear of judgment or without desire for recognition, that just sings for the simple joy of singing.   And at the very end of it all,  we joined together in an amazing rendition of “Make our Garden Grow” from Leonard Bernstein’s Candide, in honor of the composer’s 100th birthday.   (Hal Leonard generously gave to each of us a copy of this incredible piece of music.)  There could not have been a more fitting finale to the most memorable NATS opening ceremony I have ever experienced.

THE MAESTRO’S DAUGHTER: NATS honored the centennial of Leonard Bernstein at our conference by bring to our event Jamie Bernstein,  one of his three children and a woman who shares her remarkable father’s gift for wielding words with compelling mastery.  She presided over a presentation about her father’s legacy and also narrated a wonderful recital of her father’s music that was beautifully sung by soprano Michelle Areyzaga and baritone Kurt Ollman.  Kurt happens to be a native of Racine and someone who used to teach in Milwaukee, so he is someone I have had the pleasure of knowing personally.  More to the point on this occasion,  he is someone who worked extensively with Leonard Bernstein himself;  in fact, he sings the pivotal role of Riff on Bernstein’s recording of West Side Story and there’s no question that Kurt’s performance is the single best performance that recording.  So to have him on hand on this occasion was especially appropriate.  And as we listened to one gem after another from West Side Story, Wonderful Town, and 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue (among other works) it was neat not only to enjoy Michelle and Kurt’s marvelous performances, but also to watch Jamie Bernstein sitting off to the side, listening and watching with rapt attention and a look of infinite pleasure and gratitude on her face.   What a thrill to have her among us.   (By the way,  I’m in the middle of reading her marvelous memoir Famous Father Girl, which has just been published- and is excellent.)

THE AWARD WINNERS:  Another memorable NATS highlight for me was an early morning Q & A with Matt Boehler and Benjamin C.S. Boyle, the two most recent winners of the NATS Art Song Competition.   Unlike a lot of comparable competitions,  this one is not limited to young/up & coming/amateur composers.  Anybody is welcome to enter – so these two guys topped were victorious over competition that included experienced (and published) composers.   7:45 a.m. felt incredibly early but I am really glad that I got myself there because they proved to be intelligent and articulate young men with a lot of interesting things to say about their works.   It helped that leading the discussion was Lori Laitman,  one of the most highly regarded art song composers before the public today- and both an advisor for and patron of this competition.  One couldn’t help but come away with a new appreciation for what song composers do.  Later that day, their winning works were performed (and in the case of Matt Boehler, he sang his own songs) and all of Lori Laitman’s rapturous compliments about these songs proved to be right on the money.   I don’t like all modern art songs (so many strike me as needlessly complicated and effortful)  but these songs felt entirely authentic and grounded as well as completely fresh.

THE NIGHT WITH MUFASA:  Although Christine Brewer and Stephanie Blythe were the guest artists I was most excited about,  it turns out that comparable excitement was stirred up by another guest artist, Alton Fitzgerald White, whose impressive career has included more than 4,000 performances on Broadway as Mufasa in The Lion King, as well as memorable stints in Ragtime, Miss Saigon and The Color Purple.  This guy combined superb vocalism with the kind of natural charisma that simply can’t be taught.  As I walked into the hall for his Saturday night concert,  I was utterly exhausted and seriously wondered if I could keep from nodding off … and one of the highest compliments I can pay to Mr. White is that his singing was like a bolt of electric current that surged through my body.  What an entertainer, and what an artist!

One extra note:  My hotel room was located in the same hallway as the practice rooms that had been set up for the young singers involved in the singing competition.  At some point in the afternoon as I was heading to my room,  a nice gentleman stopped to ask if I knew anything about how to gain access to the practice rooms because he needed to rehearse.   I didn’t know too much but I could tell him who was the chair of the conference and then took him to where I thought he might be able to find him.   He was very appreciative of my modest efforts to assist him.   Imagine my surprise that night when I realized that the gentleman I had tried to help was David Shenton,  the pianist for Mr. White’s concert!   (And he was fantastic.)

THE LOST & FOUND:   In my previous post, I talked about the Late Night NATS session with pianist Craig Terry,  a wonderful two hour ‘open mic’ event in the Tropicana’s beautiful Havana Room.  What I didn’t mention is that when I got back to my hotel room (which was quite a hike)  I realized that I had left my laptop there.  (I’m not even sure why I brought it with me.)  I raced back to retrieve it, but by the time I got there it was gone.   To quote my favorite song from Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Cinderella,  “my head started reeling”  – but it had nothing to do with being in love.   I felt like my whole life was on that computer, including almost 2,000 of my Morning Show interviews in iTunes, my Keynote slides for my Opera History class,  and my most recent column for the Journal of Singing.   If my laptop was gone for good, then all of that and more was gone. Worst of all, it wasn’t even my personal computer- but the one lent to me by Carthage.    Heart sinking,  I made my way to the lost & found counter by the security desk and asked them to watch for it, in the hopes that someone from maintenance had picked it up but not yet turned it in.  And as I returned to my hotel room (by this point, it was 12:35 a.m.) I wondered how I could possibly sleep with this awful worry on my mind.   As I climbed into bed,  something prompted me to take out my phone and check my email …. and there at the top of the inbox was a message from Craig Terry- yes,  THAT Craig Terry – saying that he had noticed the laptop as he gathered up his stuff from the piano,  and he decided to scoop it up for safe keeping.   I so appreciated that- and the fact that he also took the time to find out (somehow) my email address once he figured out who the computer belonged to.  I’m not sure I have ever felt such immense relief in all my life- or such gratitude for someone’s kindness.

THE DUCK RESCUE:  Among non-NATS highlights was an unexpected drama that played out early Saturday evening in the Tropicana’s main swimming pool.   On my way to supper, I noticed more than a dozen people clustered at a big window, looking at something with rapt attention.  It turned out to be a duck with 6 or 7 ducklings that were stranded in the swimming pool.   That is, the ducklings were stranded-  unable to get themselves out of the water and on to the deck.  The mother (or father) duck kept getting in and out right in front of them as though to demonstrate to them how it’s done.  But the distance was just too far for such tiny ducklings.  There were two hotel staff members trying to scoop them up with a long-handled net but every time they got near, the mother would plunge back into the water and swim away with her little ducklings following in her wake.   You had to admire her tenacious protectiveness, however misguided.  Eventually,  they took 7 or 8 poolside lounge chairs, turned them around, and lowered the seat tops into the water – in effect creating little ramps on which the ducklings could waddle up to dry land.   And it worked!  But as much as I loved how the story ended,  I loved just as much the concern and interest of all of these strangers who could not tear themselves away from the scene.  It was sweet.

THE HEAT: I lost count of how many people reassured me that the 3-digit heat in Las Vegas wasn’t so bad because it’s a “Dry Heat.”  Much as it pains me to admit it,  they were right-  there is something about “Dry Heat” that makes it much more bearable than heat that is coupled with humidity.  It was very hot, even by the scorching standards of Las Vegas-  and we were under an Excessive Heat Advisory for most of the time we were there.  And I must admit that there is something rather horrifying about turning on the TV at 7:00 in the evening and seeing that the temperature was 104 degrees!

And yet, once you ventured out into it and got over the shock of that initial furnace-like blast,  it was not so bad.  I actually walked 2 and a half miles Saturday afternoon – and 4 and a half miles Sunday afternoon – in temperatures of 107 and 108, respectively.  I suppose part of what made the heat bearable was the fact that there were so many spectacular sights along the way to provide much appreciated distraction!   And if the snowman from Frozen could take it,  so could I!

By the way,  although I encountered plenty of the to-be-expected Las Vegas showgirls along the way,  plus a couple of Madame Tussaud’s wax figures …

… my favorite entertainment during my long trek down the famed Las Vegas strip was when I heard some opera being sung (and fairly well, too) while walking through the famed Grand Canal Shoppes, a gorgeous inside mall that connects the Venetian and the Palazzo.  I also heard a couple of singing gondoliers and that was yet another lovely surprise.

THE FOOD:  I didn’t walk more than 4 miles in 107-degree heat for the exercise, bur rather so I could enjoy my one outlandish indulgence of the trip-  the buffet at the Wynn.  A friend of mine,  Kim Brunssen, had gone there several days before and the spectacular photos he posted were enough to convince me that this would be much more than just a really big Golden Corral; this would be an unforgettable experience from the moment I walked into the place.  And indeed it was. The Wynn’s entryway alone was worth the walk!

It had been a 2.2 mile walk to the Wynn – and once I got there,  I had to wait 60 minutes in line before I could be seated.   Fortunately, I had a great book with me to keep me nicely occupied,  and it helped that I sort of you what I was waiting for.  Still, nothing could completely prepare me for the splendor of the Garden Atrium when it finally came into view.  It’s not exactly the last word in subtlety,  but then again, nothing in Las Vegas is!

!

As for the buffet itself,  it offered a ridiculously wide array of choices.  (You know you’re at a 5-star buffet when it features four different kinds of Benedict … and in addition to the typical omelet station, there were also separate stations for made-to-order crepes, made-to-order french toast, and made-to-order pancakes – each one stocked with anything and everything one might want for fillings, toppings, etc.  And that was just a small portion of the breakfast offerings.  As for lunch offerings,  there were five different carving stations plus every kind of food you could imagine … a veritable mountain of different kinds of breads … the largest salad bar I have ever seen …  and three different rooms filled with desserts, including a spectacular wheel of different flavors of gelato.)  It was one of those once-in-a-lifetime meals where it was almost impossible to know where to start- or when to stop.  My only regret is that Kathy wasn’t with me; something as amazing as this really shouldn’t be experienced alone.

P.S.- My most expensive meal of the trip was followed by my cheapest meal of the trip, and I enjoyed almost as much as the buffet.  The reason is that I was finally able to eat at In N Out Burger,  an extremely rare treat for me because its only locations are way out west.  It just underscores the inescapable truth that a great meal need not be a fancy meal.

Just one more lesson learned in the fascinating city of Las Vegas.