This is a busy weekend for Operaman. Today at 3pm I shall be at PSU to attend a rehearsal by the PSU Symphony Orchestra under Ken Seldon in preparation for their 'Soundscapes' concert at Kaull Auditorium, Reed College, on Sunday afternoon. The programme includes a performance of the famous guitar Concierto de Aranjuez by Rodrigo. The guitar soloist is Manuel Barrueco. Tickets for this concert, I am told, will be available at the door. This sounds like a splendid way to spend a couple of hours on Sunday and I am looking forward to it. On Saturday I will be at Hagg Lake at not-quite crack of dawn to watch Holly run a 25 k trail race. It's usually a mud race but with the weather having been dry and sunny the course should be somewhat easier to traverse. On Saturday afternoon at 3pm I shall be found at Sherman Clay in Southwest Portland for a violin/piano recital being given by Susan Chan and Madeleine Mitchell. This will include works by Mozart, Brahms and Bridge. This is a freebie! Let's go!

Saturday night is Rheingold night! I know there must have been a number of occasions when you have said to yourself "If Wagner had been alive today, I am sure he would have wanted at least one of his operas to have a Baywatch flavour. Probably Rheingold!" Well, guess what? That's just what Katie Taylor of Opera Theater Oregon thought, and that's what you can see at the Clinton Street Theater over the next week. If you have any previous experience of Opera Theater Oregon you don't need me to tell you what fun their shows are - sounding and looking professional, funny as all get out, and with just a bit of edge. This one may be their best yet! And be sure to arrive in time to take your seats for Leitmotif Bingo! which begins at 7pmHere's what Oregonian music critic David Stabler had to say about opening night. Tickets are available on OTO's website and you should book in advance as this show is proving to be very popular.

Sunday afternoon will see me at Kaull Auditorium for the PSU Symphony concert I spoke of earlier, and after that I shall take the rest of the weekend off!

"Let's keep this gig in the family!"
Lawrence Loh is resident conductor of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra. Judging by this video, he is training his replacement. It's his 5 year-old son - conducting to a recording of Stravinsky's Rite of Spring! Not Happy Birthday or Baa Baa Black Sheep, note, but a work of great rhythmic complexity. If you play this clip over a couple of times and watch careful, you may be as amazed as I was, at how much of this work this little boy has obviously committed to memory.

Chopin is 200 years old today. *polite applause* Yoko Ono is 77 *standing ovation*

Have a terrific weekend. I'll see you back here on Monday.