Hey everyone!!
First of all, please allow me apologise for the
severe lack of updates from me!! I won't even attempt
an excuse! Now, where should I begin...
Well, right at this very minute, at 1.47pm on a
typical New York 'manic Monday' (don't you just
love The Bangles!) I'm sitting in my hotel room,
in front of my laptop, in my pyjamas...and yes,
I know, it IS nearly 2pm, but seeing as I didn't
have to be up and out, I made sure I didn't! Plus
I'd stayed up to indulge myself in a bit of Oscar
glamour via the TV screen last night and then do
a bit of catch-up emailing into the early hours.
Just spoke to a couple of journalists over the
phone and will soon head out to grab myself some
food!
Well, for the last few days I have been in Ottawa,
Canada, performing with the National Arts Centre
Orchestra, with conductor Jack Everly -3 back-to-back
shows. It was lovely to be back amongst some familiar
faces (I was there 2 years ago for The Lord of
The Rings Symphony shows) and to spend a decent
amount of time in one city. The first half of the
show was a lovely collection of 'old-school' (in
my opinion!) orchestral numbers from around the
world, hence the title of the show 'Around The
World With Hayley Westenra'. My favourite was a
Villa Lobos piece from Brazil (which I can't for
the life of me remember the name of!) based on
a train journey -it really sounded like a train!
I then sang around 10 songs, making up the second
half, including 'May It Be', 'Pokarekare Ana',
'O Mio Babbino Caro' and as my last song, a newly
arranged (by Jack Everly) 'Amazing Grace' with
a very climatic ending! On the 2nd and 3rd nights
I included an acapella version of 'She Moves Through
The Fair', which may seem an odd idea when you
have a full orchestra up on stage with you, but
I really enjoyed the change in atmosphere and I
believe the crowd did too. I like to have variety
in my shows! Singing acapella, with no backing
music, gives you a lot of freedom and allows you
to just follow your heart and take musical liberties
you wouldn't usually be able to take if you had
someone (or a whole orchestra!) following you.
It's a very enjoyable way of singing! Well, for
me anyway!
Last time I was in Ottawa, it was summer I think,
so it was quite a different experience this time
round facing a brutal minus 15 degrees celcius
(or something along those lines...once you're below
freezing, it's hard to pinpoint!). So yes, it was
cold, BUT I did have the opportunity to go ice
skating on the canal!! Before I left on the Sunday
morning, following the last show, I bit the bullet
and hired myself some skates! Ok, so I didn't really
skate (it was more of a shuffle!) but I still had
a blast! I had been skating before, but only on
a smooth indoor ice skating rink...this rink required
much more skill, yet everyone else made it look
so easy!! What is the secret?? I never found out,
but I did manage to grab myself a 'beaver tail'
before I left -a very sugary and indulgent delicacy!
I had to try it, it was my duty as 'tourist' for
the day! Here are some pics (minus the ones with
me on the ground!) kindly taken by my tour manager
Ali...
I was waiting for my prince charming to
come along and save me from humiliation (you know,
like they do in the movies)...he never came...
Now, before
this Ottawa trip, I was touring with the fantastic
Il Divo on the American leg of their world tour.
This part of the tour lasted about a month -but
really did fly by. I had such a ball performing
in front of some huge and truly wonderful crowds!
I also had a fantastic band backing me who really
knew what they were doing and gave me the freedom
to have fun on stage! Thanks guys!! The first show
was in Wallingford, Conneticut, and having just
arrived in the US two days prior, with one day
to rehearse with my new band in New York, and having
never met the 'Il Divo' guys before, you can imagine,
I was a little apprehensive...but bursting with
excitement. My set went pretty well I thought,
considering it was the first night, although looking
back now it's all a blur!
I have to
say, the ID guys were all very welcoming (and very
charming!); I have really enjoyed working alongside
them over the past month. As my band and I are
travelling on a different schedule to them, both
of us with varying commitments, 'socialising' time
is usually brief, but always enjoyable. Anyway,
congrats to them all for a fantastic tour so far!
My band, on the other hand, has had to put up with
my girliness and all my other annoying quirks 24/7!
We've shared some wonderful, interesting and a few
not-so-interesting experiences on our travels...including
a marathon trip from Detroit to Chicago where our
flight (directly after the show) was 'postponed'
until 9am or something due to harsh weather conditions
and with a TV performance the following morning in
Chicago, we had no other choice but to drive through
the night...and the blizzard...arriving in time to
squeeze in 3hrs sleep before my TV appearance and
then leaving me a couple of hours to rest (I can't
sleep during the day) before the show! Whew. But
we got through it!
Up on stage,
I know we all had a blast. It was a new combination
of instruments for me -drums (Dave Halpern), guitar
(electric and acoustic)(Askold Buk), bass (Robert
Greenfield) and piano (Jeff Franzel) -but looking
at the size of the venues I would be playing, we
needed that drive...the drums! One of my favourite
songs that I performed in my set was the song 'The
Mummers Dance' which I'd really only performed
live for the first time in January on my New Zealand
tour. It was written by the fantastic Loreena McKennitt
whom I admire greatly. I also performed the song
'Never Saw Blue' -from my album 'Odyssey' -with
the writer of the song and also my Musical Director,
Jeff Franzel, on piano. We got such warm receptions
from the audiences (many standing ovations too
-yeah!) that I can't wait to come back and do my
own tour!
Now, let's go back to my New Zealand tour in January
which preceded the ID tour. All I can say is, it
was so nice to back on my home soil and have the
opportunity to sing for and meet up with the people
who have supported me right from the very beginning.
A big thank you to all for your continued support.
And briefly, my NZ holiday -well, it went way too
quickly. Coming back home and being back amongst
the people that know you best is so grounding and
comforting. I miss you all!! Although hopefully I'll
be seeing you soon Sophie?! Right??! ;)
I could keep rambling on, but I had better sign off,
as time is ticking on (and my tummy's rumbling!).
Take care all of you!!
Lots of love,
Hayleyxxx
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