My chorus's big June concert is coming up this Sunday.
Last night we had our first orchestra rehearsal,
and tomorrow night is our final orchestra rehearsal.
We are in the actual concert hall at this point.

I am personally pleased at how well prepared I am for this performance.
Some people in the chorus really get thrown for a loop
by suddenly hearing an orchestra rather than a piano,
or having the conductor so far away.

As is conventional, the orchestra is front and center, with the conductor in front of it.
The chorus is on risers in the back, behind the orchestra,
and happily the risers have chairs, as we sit a lot.
Our repertoire for the concert includes Haydn's The Seasons,
or should I say three of the seasons, as we cut out Winter altogether.
Even with only three seasons, this is a lot of music;
we have a short intermission halfway through Summer.

This work has lengthy passages for a trio of solo singers
who sing in various configurations: solo arias, duos, and trios.
When they have the stage, the chorus stays seated and silent.
Then there are the movements where the soloists begin,
and then the chorus stands up and joins them.
We have had a little trouble learning our cues and entrances.

But the orchestra sounds great, and the solo singers are excellent,
we have a wonderful soprano who has a big solo aria to sing.
I have hopes that the concert will be a good experience --
an unwieldy one, but a good one.