I was pleasantly residing in Vancouver this past week in the home of Alex and Rosemary Waterhouse-Hayward, while playing the double bass in three performances of Handel’s Messiah with Pacific Baroque Orchestra. I always look forward to playing with Pacific Baroque Orchestra. I get to make great music with my wonderful colleagues and spend some time in Vancouver. I am very fortunate to also share inspired conversation, photography lessons, Alex’s fine cooking, and enjoy a lot of friendship while staying with Alex and Rosemary.
Alex and I have been conversing extensively about Messiah; a couple of times we went far into the night after performances, accompanied by delicious Argentine Malbec and snacks. When I mentioned to him that this is my thirtieth consecutive year of performing the work with baroque orchestras, he asked if I would write down some of my impressions about playing it so many times.