Today I played organ and directed the choir for the 8:00 AM and 10:15 AM services at St. John's Episcopal Church, Stamford, CT. It went pretty well. It was one of the most complex services I've played in a while and I had to do some improvisation. I also lead the choir rehearsal after the services. It was the first service I've played since we moved to CT and joined St. John's. I've directed a few anthems, but had not played and directed the whole service. I had some "I didn't know you could play" comments.

I must say one of the most enjoyable things is directing the rehearsal. We're working on some parts of the Handel Messiah and I was pleased to use some of the rehearsal techniques I've learned from Garmon Ashby and Bill Roberts when we rehearsed the same music at St. Philip's, Tucson, AZ. I'm really pleased with my experiences there. I think it give me a better idea of what to do with most pieces and I was exposed to such a large library of music.