Holiday Greetings! 🌲❄⛄

2016 had some great moments! View this email in your browser As 2016 draws to a close ... ... we are inevitably drawn to reflect on the past year. One thing I've learned over the last few months that it's good I can pay my bills with better regularity than sending out my ""monthly"" newsletters! My requisite year-end lists are below, but first some highlights from 2016: January // PA'd on The Good Swimmer, a new musical theatre piece, as part of the PROTOTYPE festival February // I think I was hibernating in February March // Music directed Sondheimas at 54 Below April // Won the Book of Mormon lotto May // Played for several recitals at the Amy Murphy Studio in Birmingham, AL June // Visited home in Wisconsin for a few days, and made trips to the first Culver's, Devil's Lake State Park, and the Memorial Union Terrace in Madison. July // Music directed Change Partners: George Abud & Guests August // Received the CD and piano-vocal score of The Monster of Phantom Lake, a new musical I was the copyist on. Finally made it out to Fire Island for a relaxing weekend away from the city. September // Music directed Larry Owens Sings the Bernadette Peters Songbook October // Visited my dad & stepmom in Denver November // Rode the erratic rollercoaster of pre- and post-election emotions December // Spent a few weeks temping at the Open Society Foundations, George Soros's international non-profit foundation. Oh - and I GOT MARRIED! Accuse me of burying the lede if you must! Steven & I got married on December 21st! No biggie or anything. Family & close friends were on hand to celebrate with us, and it was a wonderful way to close out 2016 and begin holiday celebrations. A few pictures are here - I will most likely send out another email when we get more from our photographer (just a head's up!). A special thank you to my friend Zachary who wrote us a poem, and to Billy, who read it at our lunch. Thank you to Peter for being our wonderful photographer. Thank you to Arianne and Matt for being our witnesses. And thank you to everyone, whether you were present in company or in spirit, for all of your well wishes! My Favorite Performances of 2016 In 2016 I saw 92 (I think) shows, operas, concerts, etc., ranging from big Broadway hits to small one-time performances in cabaret clubs to regional theatre in Birmingham, Alabama. To be honest, that number feels very small, and I know it pales in comparison to some of my friends. It was hard to curate my year-end list, but I managed to whittle it down to 21. I posted a list of my favorite events on my website; some shows are still running, so if you're in the New York area, I highly recommend you see them while you can! My Favorite Music of 2016 2016 may have been a disaster of a year in many regards, but it was not lacking when it came to music releases. There were a lot of albums I enjoyed immensely, many I liked but didn't listen to enough, and countless that I'll have to catch up on in 2017. I can't make an "objective" list because I missed out on a lot of releases, but 21 of my favorites are on my website; reviews & listening links are included. My favorite book of 2016: What Belongs To You by Garth Greenwell My favorite movie of 2016: Moonlight It's easy to get caught up in year-end list-making, or to think of this year as having a lot of bad and not much good, but I know - for me and for my friends - there was a lot of good this year! From great friends to fun gigs, from new jobs to meeting new (and wonderful) people, there's not a lot I would go back and redo. There will be more wonderful things in 2017, I'm sure. I wish you all of the best for a wonderful holiday season and a great new year, whether we just met or whether we've known each other for years. xoxoxo ~Andrei Copyright © 2016 Strizek Music Services Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list