My current music playlist and reading list

Recordings checked out from the library:

Bach Magnificat. We are performing it this Christmas, and I want to learn all of the soprano solos so I can audition.

If You Love Me: 18th-century Italian Songs, Cecilia Bartoli. Has some of the songs from the Twenty Six Italian Songs and Arias book I'm using for voice lessons.

Rutter Requiem (performed by the Cambridge Singers and conducted by the composer). We're performing this in a week and a half!

The Ultimate Puccini Divas - a compilation of various women singing Puccini arias. Got curious about Puccini after hearing some at the SCU masterclasses, and am discovering how much I enjoy his writing.

I need to identify some good sopranos to listen to as role models. I have a couple of recordings of baritones that I like, but I need to find women. My previous teacher mentioned Joan Sutherland's early stuff, and Dawn Upshaw. I'm not really tapped into the opera or pro singing worlds, so I need to find out who are the world-class singers of the past and present who are well-respected not just by audiences by also by the ranks of professional singers and teachers.

On the reading pile:

Still working through The Choral Experience: Literature, Materials, and Methods. So far I find it to be an interesting survey text aimed at the beginning choral conductor (or morbidly curious choristers, like me).

I read through parts of A Jazz Improvisation Primer and also the first lesson at LearnJazzPiano.com. There is an awful lot of music theory to absorb and to try to put into practice. But both sites had essentially the same advice about what a beginner's first step should be: learn to play the ii-V-I chord progression in all twelve keys. Argh, that'll keep me busy for a while!!! I've added it to my practice routine, right after the scale-of-the-day.

(On a side note: I also read a bunch of plant field guides because I would like to be able to identify more plants when hiking in the Santa Cruz Mountains. But I didn't find any guides that I was entirely happy with. Also, I'm accompanying Sugar Daddy on a combination business/vacation trip to Australia in July, so we checked out some guidebooks to do trip planning.)