My Favourite Time of Day, is Night

One of the perks of being a mom to small children...

...is being announced when you enter the room. It's fun while it lasts. Simply going upstairs and coming back down with the laundry basket used to be enough to warrant a nice big, enthusiastic, "Ma-ma!!!!" upon reentry. Nowadays, if my kids even notice my comings and goings, the most I invariably get is "Can I have a snack?"

And that is why it's so nice to be received by a smiling friendly person at the airport.

And so began a fun filled trip to Winnipeg last weekend, the geographical mid point of our fair and vast country. We were there to perform this concert:

(Just below Mr. Short, and... there we are) 

  

Speaking of Martin Short: 

(spot the tie-in below)

If I could've fit these Godzilla sized superfab platform showstoppers (as seen here displayed on my current summer reading) in the dollhouse attache case that passes for allowable carry-on baggage these days, well you'd better bet I would've.

Yes folks, we flew to Winnipeg to perform a "Disco Fever - Motown Dance Party" at the Club Regent Casino Event Centre, with our friends, the wonderful Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra.

And what a party it was! There was even a dance floor! With dancers! Gavin Hope, Rique Franks, Stephanie Martin and myself sang many great Motown and Disco hits, making sure to dress appropriately at all times.

The dress I'm wearing here is a vintage 1960s beaded mini, given to me by my grandmother many years ago, as originally bought by my glamourous, couture-loving Aunt Helen... very Supremes I think.

I love Steph and Rique's looks here, and isn't it wonderful when a plan comes together?

Stephanie Martin, me (Kathryn Rose), Rique Franks.

Gavin Hope, Rique Franks, the WSO's Maestro Alexander Mickelthwate,  me (Kathryn Rose), and Stephanie Martin. 

Because I didn't make it on to the promo poster for this concert (what am I, chopped liva??), I'll give myself an extra plug with one more shot, because I am rather fond of this new dress... and Gavin Hope is great at posing me backstage!!  ;) 

(Just pretend, won't you, that that nifty pocket door to the loo upon which I was draped was nicely closed...) 

Other highlights of this trip included a sweet surprise from Stephanie Martin, when she presented Rique and myself the gift of these Jellyfish and Jellybean socks (soon to be stolen by our respective young daughters I'm sure).

 

And....

...a strange and perverse obsession with Lauren Bacall's High Point Coffee commercials of the 1970s and '80s. Credit must go to Rique Franks here. She started it. ;)

We were quoting from this one all weekend:

It got so bad that just the sight of coffee, or the word Decaffeinated would get us going again.

 

But you know what? 

My favourite time of day...

...really is night.

Thanks for joining us Winnipeg. See you again.

xo kr

Canada Day fireworks the night before the trip to Winnipeg

Springfield Holiday Extravaganza!

The talented Harvey Felder!

Hello friends!
I had a simply marvelous time in Springfield MA last weekend.  JnC vocalist Gavin Hope and I were special guests for a very special evening of music celebrating this time of year.  It featured the incredible Springfield Symphony under the gifted and kind baton of guest conductor Harvey Felder, as well as the Springfield Symphony Chorus, under the direction of the gorgeous Nikki Stoia.  I can safely say that we were all carried to a most joyful place!  Yay!!  I was so grateful to be there, and I'm still singing the praises of the team who hosted us.  (Dear SSO Staff...you guys rock!)

Some of the glorious SSO women: Audrey, Karen and Shari.

Oh Santa!  Oh Jules!  Oh Gavin!

The craziest part of the night for me was performing the ever so sultry (and exceptionally greedy) song Santa Baby.  Harvey introduced it as the 'unwholesome' selection for the evening, and I think that was pretty accurate.  I was joined on stage by a large golden throne and Santa himself, who had to pull on his collar a few times, but seemed pretty happy being a ham bone!  Apologies to the first few rows stage right, who I (sigh) may have flashed inadvertantly...I was just REALLY into it! 


It's always wonderful to sing and travel with Gavin Hope.  He is an astonishing musician and wonderful human.  I should also mention that all of the photos in this post were taken by him or with his camera...thanks Gavin!

Looking forward to returning to Springfield in a few months time for a romp through the repertoire of Michael Jackson.  I can't wait to see everyone again. 

Thank you Springfield.  You made us feel so welcome, and we sure hope you enjoyed the show!
Be well.  Love music!
-AK

Re: March 28 Tucson – Amazing ‘80s (from Andrea)

March 30, 2014

My head is still spinning after returning home from glorious Arizona, where singers Stephanie Martin, David Blamires, Gavin Hope and I performed alongside the Jeans n Classics band and the incredible Tucson Symphony Orchestra.  

The show was The Amazing 80's, and the songs were out of this world!   (U2, Tears for Fears, the Bangles, The Police, Prince, Cindy Lauper, the B52's...wow!)  The Tucson Symphony were seriously impressive under the precise and very playful baton of conductor Keitaro Harada, who embraced the theme of the night with 2 fabulous costume changes.  Keitaro, the orchestra and the TSO administration were absolutely delightful to work with.  Kudos to all of them.

Tucson is a funny gorgeous place.  The lovely hot air, the dangerous spiky plants, the sandy mountains calling out to you from all around the city...it's a place that asks you to just start walking, because around every corner there is another feast for the eyes, and another interesting character to chat with.  (I understand why people visit here and never want to leave.)  But one of my favorite aspects of Tucson...is it's darkness.  With a strict light pollution policy, the city uses light sparingly so that there's little interference with the myriad of telescopes that call the city home.  The scientists get to stay up all night hoping to understand the secrets of the universe, and the rest of us get to remember what a "star studded sky" actually looks like.  (Here's to hoping those scientists share the occasional bottle of wine in their observatories... 

All the stars were certainly aligned for our show.  It was so much fun to sing - we smiled till our faces hurt - and the audience made us feel right at home dancing, and singing along.  What a wonderful crowd!  Thank you Tucson.  We fell in love with you all...

I feel so lucky to be part of the Jeans and Classics crew.  Sharing the stage with so many gifted people, and being able to sing my heart out...is one of the finest things in life.  Looking forward to the next great adventure!

-AK

www.andreakoziol.com

(Photos by Andrea, Gavin and Stephanie)