Copious Notes

Covering a rehearal of "The Little Foxes" at the Bodley-Bullock House, I happened upon Paul Thomas going over his lines in the dining room, simultaneously detached from the history around him and reaching back to that world.

I’ve spent a lot of time ragging on 2008 lately, but one of the joys of the past 12 months has been reconnecting with photography. When I was in college, I actually got into photography before writing, but ended up steering my career toward the written word the past 15 years or so.

I went to the Ben Sollee show at the Dame to get pictures of Ben for Walter Tunis' Musical Box blog, but came away liking this image of singer-songwriter Daniel Martin Moore concentrating over his instrument.

But the combination of some staff and budget trimming plus the fact I could never get staff photographers for all the things we try to cover in le blog prompted me to pick up an SLR again. Now, my skills with a camera are nowhere near as refined as our staff shooters, who have been cranking out amazing year-in-review packages at our photo website this week. But this little shift in my job duties has given me the interesting experience of covering a beat I’ve now followed for more than 10 years in a bit of a different way, capturing scenes and images that I often just carried in my head, like the image of an actor, above, deep in rehearsal. So, here’s a look back at some of the images that have helped me tell the story of the arts in and around Lexington in 2008.

The Lexington Singers have always been a passionate group of musicians, which I thought really came through as Virginia Adams, Janet Corum and Lynn Mitchell rehearsed Handel's "Messiah."

Ryan A. Harr is Dr. Finache and Alex Maddox is Victor Emmanuel Chandebise in the University of Kentucky Theatre's production of Georges Feydeau's "A Flea in Her Ear." Comedy can give you the most wonderful expressions, and though we weren't doing a story on this show, it was a blast to get some of the shots the cast's acting provided.

There has always been a social aspect to the summer outdoor arts scene in Lexington, which we set out to capture in images such as this at Actors Guild of Lexington's production of "The Merry Wives of Windsor" at Shakespeare at Equus Run.

I guess we would call this interactive art at the Woodland Art Fair.

Being there for the moment of creation is a fun part of this job, like this songwriting session in Nashville with Lexington's Amber Rhodes and songwriter Josh Rush.

Having interviewed "Constant Star" author Tazwell Thompson before going to shoot a rehearsal of Actors Guild's production of the show, I knew Shakespeare was one of Ida B. Wells favorite writers. So, when Cathy Rawlings, playing Wells, stepped in front of the Bard's visage, this shot became a must.

I didn't know Christopher Conley, Andrea Trusty and Amanda Balltrip were longtime friends until after shooting this picture of them when they won at the Kentucky District round of the Met Auditions. But in retrospect, you can see that bond in their expressions.

On the Verge Productions' presentation of "The Little Foxes" at the Bodley-Bullock House was a unique show. Here, we see the confrontation between siblings played by Roger Leasor, Janet Scott and Paul Thomas looking like a scene out of the past.

Looking at this image of Jeremy Cady rehearsing UK Opera Theatre's production of "La Boheme," I thought, "Pavarotti." The next day, in an interview, Jeremy went on about how listening to Pavarotti inspired him to get into opera.

Cameron Perry was one brave guy belting out "Sodomy" in the middle of the Arboretum during SummerFest's production of "Hair."

I didn't think much of this image from a rehearsal for SummerFest's production of "Antony and Cleopatra" when I turned it in. But later on, I saw in (L-R) actors Walter Tunis and Adam Luckey and director Joe Ferrell, the sense of fun and camaraderie that marks the rehearsals for most of Ferrell's shows.

I had followed Ichthus Festival director Jeff James (left) through an entire day of the Wilmore Festival. This moment during the festival's last worship service, with his dad, Henry James, testified to how Jeff leans on personal connections to get through trying situations the fest inevitably presents.

Is Ichthus a good place to confess? I used to smuggle a camera and 200 mm lens into concerts to take pictures of Sting, R.E.M, etc. I always dreamed of being in the photo pit to get pics like this one of Casting Crowns frontman Mark Hall at Ichthus. Writing or shooting, this is a great gig.

There is nothing hip about the Kentucky Christmas Chorus. In some ways, on TV, it almost seems like a special that could have been from a decade or two ago.

Lexington Singers music director Jefferson Johnson.

But that’s also part of its appeal. Christmas kind of likes timelessness. How many other times a year do you see network TV running specials three and four decades old and a black-and-white movie from 1946? What other songs span the generations as well as Christmas carols?

And the Kentucky Christmas Chorus, which was held at and broadcast around the region from Rupp Arena last night, fits right in with that timeless vibe.

This year, it fit in even through its simplicity. It was just a chorus, an orchestra, a couple of children’s groups and a solid baritone soloist singing those old, familiar carols. Even when conductor Jefferson Johnson introduced the world premier of Johnie Dean’s new medley, Repeat the Sounding Joy, it was actually songs we all know by heart. And when Dean took the stage to sing his arrangement of It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year, it had a familiar vibe.

The Christmas Chorus organizers have brought in celebrity guest soloists from time to time. But the real fun of watching is finding people you know in the audience and, last night, among the children’s chourses from Glendover and Gateway Community Children’s Chorus — Hey! Our friends from church are on TV! Even in this YouTube world, there’s a thrill in that.

And there’s a comfort in seeing the Christmas Chorus every year, 21 years old and still just as timeless.

If you missed it, the Kentucky Christmas Chorus repeats at noon Christmas Day on WKYT-TV 27 and WYMT-TV 57.

I’m quickly learning that whenever I ask readers for entertainment lists, Lexington musician and radio personality extraordinaire Anne Deck will pull out all the stops — I get the impression she scours her CD and record collections, probably scrolls through a monster iPod and still has ba-da-bing moments when she’s cooking dinner.

Anne Deck.

The payoff is always a list that has great stuff, things we wished we’d thought of, things we never knew about, and yes, those ba-da-bing moments. When I asked for suggestions for favorite Christmas songs, Anne, who also works here at the Herald-Leader, came through again, and so I want to share her list in its entirety.

I also want to remind you that we have two days left in voting for favorite sacred and favorite secular Christmas songs. Right now, O Holy Night has a pretty healthy lead in sacred, but it’s anyone’s game in secular. So cast your vote over to the right. Also, make sure to vote in our poll of most intriguing Kentucky Newsmakers for 2008.

Now here’s the list from Anne, who you can hear hosting Girl’s Night Out and Solo Shots from 8 to 10 p.m. Fridays on WUKY-FM 91.3. She’ll be playing holiday music this week, including selections from this list:

HIP ‘N HAPPY HOLIDAY FAVORITES, 12/08

by Anne Deck

FAVORITE NON-TRADITIONAL HOLIDAY RECORDINGS (random order):

“Christmas” – The Who

“Father Christmas” – The Kinks

“Holiday Road” – Matt Pond PA (an ethereal, slower version than the original one by the great Lindsey Buckingham)

“Hey Guys! It’s Christmas Time!” – Sufjan Stevens

“Christmas (Baby, Please Come Home)” – Joey Ramone

“Ring Out Solstice Bells” – Jethro Tull (the original recording found on “Songs From the Wood” is far superior to the dynamically “flat” remixed version that came out some 25 years later)

“Come on Christmas” – Cheap Trick (a holiday reworking of “Come On, Come On” – a classic from the band’s groundbreaking “At Budokan” live LP)

“Christmas Christmas” – Cheap Trick

“(I’m Always Touched By Your) Presents, Dear” – Syd Straw (a perfect holiday

twist on Blondie’s “(I’m Always Touched By Your) Presence, Dear”)

“2000 Miles” – The Pretenders

“The Little Drummer Boy / Peace On Earth” – David Bowie & Bing Crosby

“Happy Xmas (War Is Over” / John Lennon & Yoko Ono

“Maybe This Christmas” / Ron Sexsmith

“Christmas Wrapping” – The Waitresses

“In the Quiet of Christmas Morning” – The Moody Blues (based on Bach’s “Joy”)

“Light of the Stable” – Emmylou Harris (truly gorgeous harmonies during the song’s uplifting chorus)

“Mary Had A Baby” – Bruce Cockburn (great take on this standard Southern spiritual)

“Everything’s Gonna Be Cool This Christmas” – E (a.k.a. Mark Oliver Everett in the years before forming The Eels)

“Spotlight on Christmas” – Rufus Wainwright

“Children Go Where I Send Thee” – Natalie Merchant

“Do They Know It’s Christmas?” – all-star Band Aid collective

“Fairytale of New York” / The Pogues & (the late, great) Kirsty MacColl (I recall this is one of Heather Svokos’ all-time favorites, too, but that’s no surprise given her terrific taste in tunes)

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Click the play button for our Lexington Singers 50th season slideshow, including current and archival photos, the sounds of the Singers in rehearsal, and reflections from the three directors: Phyllis Jenness (1959-75), James Ross Beane (1975-97) and Jefferson Johnson (1997-present). Click here to see a slightly larger version of the show.

Sometimes there’s good karma in the calendar. With George Zack retiring from the podium of the Lexington Philharmonic in ­September and the search for his ­successor still in progress, there was a perfect ­opening for Lexington Singers music ­director ­Jefferson Johnson to take the baton for this year’s ­performance of George Frideric ­Handel’s Messiah.

And the timing is great for the Singers to have its man on the podium: This is the 170-member group’s 50th season.

“It is totally coincidental,” Johnson says, “but it’s pretty neat.”

This will be Johnson’s first time ­conducting a performance of Handel’s ­perennial. Usually, he prepares the chorus for the concert and then, as most choral conductors do, hands the group off to the orchestra conductor for the show.

Until this year, Johnson, 52, has spent the concert in the same place: the back row of the Singletary Center for the Arts Concert Hall, where he is showered with the crystal-clear voices of his chorus.

The feeling is not much different from when he moved to Lexington as ­director of choirs at the University of Kentucky, and he would go hear the Singers under James Ross Beane.

“I was just in awe of how close to perfection they were singing,” Johnson says. “Like any choral conductor, I would listen for mistakes — we’re all diagnostic by nature. I distinctly remember being struck by how close to perfection they were.”

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The Lexington Singers sang Christmas Carols prior to the tree lighting at Triangle Park on Nov. 29. Photo by Mark Ashley.

It’s time to cast your vote in our poll of favorite Christmas songs.

So that we didn’t have some sort of odd competition between Rocking Around the Christmas Tree and Silent Night, we split the voting into sacred Christmas songs and secular holiday tunes. We put together a big list from suggestions Copious Notes readers sent in, then we had a little in-house vote at LexGo Central to determine lists of the final 10. There were surprises in that voting, so it will be interesting to see what you guys come up with.

We’ll wrap the voting up Dec. 16 and share the results plus lots of thoughts about what tunes make the holidays special in a package for the Dec. 21 Herald-Leader and at LexGo.com.

So don’t just vote. Comment below about what music makes the season bright for you, even write in some favorites not on our lists of the final 10, or mention a favorite version of a favorite song — we know how you feel about the Springsteen Santa Claus is Coming to Town, Sheila.