2007 Fare thee well

Ah. The dreaded year-end newsletter. Well, just plug your nose and take it like medicine. It has to be done. At least we didn't send you fruitcake that you'll end up using as a door stop. Unless you need a door stop. In that case, we can send you one.

2007 began for us on Oahu where we celebrated the New Year with Nicole's family in Hawaii. Nicole and I kept busy with our performing schedules. Nicole began the year performing the role of Hansel in Hansel und Gretel for West Bay Opera's Opera in the Schools outreach program. She performed for Sopianos in concert in Santa Clara as well as a big concert in San Jose with Comedian Jeff Applebaum in February. Nicole also continued her work with the San Francisco Opera Chorus, performing in Samson et Dalilah, which opened the season and a beautiful production of Tannhauser. Nicole also continues her work at UCSF in the Pharmaceutical Chemistry Department.
Nicole and I were again fortunate this year in that we got to be involved in two productions together. The first was in The Merry Widow at West Bay Opera in May/June and in the San Francisco Opera Guild's Opera a la Carte School Show, a condensed version of The Magic Flute. We really enjoyed working with the school kids and feel very strongly about bringing art back into education. We made good use of our new Prius as we drove to shows as far North as Santa Rosa, as far West as Fairfield and Livermore and as far south as Palo Alto. Nicole even made a trip up to Fort Bragg and Eureka for two shows. Good times!
I performed as Gherman in Queen of Spades February for West Bay Opera as well as my May/June performance for them as Camille de Rosillon in Merry Widow. In March I reprized the role of Ferrando in Cosi fan tutte with Rimrock Opera in Billings, Montana. June started out with a bang as I was a prize-winning finalist in the first-annual Dalis Vocal Competition in San Jose, CA. I traveled to Boise, Idaho in September to perform the role of Rodolfo in La Boheme for Opera Idaho. It was a real treat because almost all of the people involved in the production were friends of mine, including Conductor David Rohrbaugh, Director David Cox, "Marcello" Jason Detwiler, "Mimi" Barbara Divis, "Musetta" Aimee Puentes, and "Colline" Dennis Rupp. A good time was had by all.
Nicole and I were fortunate enough to travel many places this year. She met me in Billings to see my show in March, and we traveled to NYC in June for auditions and spending time with friends and family. In late June, Nicole's relatives from Norway, Knut-Erik, Gro and their sons Magnus and Oystein stayed with us for 10 days. We took them to all the tourist spots and their first baseball game. They were great house guests.
We were able to attend the wedding in Hawaii of Nicole's cousin Everett Wong and his bride Kamomi on July 8 in Waikiki. We had a blast!
we spent the weekend in Napa for our 3rd anniversary and then the next day participated in a soundtrack recording for a video game at Skywalker Ranch, the home of Lucasfilm, in Nicasio, CA. I completely geeked out!
We are also thankful for our nieces Lina and Emily and our nephew Evan. We spend as much time with them as possible and love it! We are also very grateful for the success of my father Mike's heart bypass and valve replacement in October. He is doing well now and has lost 35 lbs.!
In November we moved to a new apartment in the Sunset District, south of Golden Gate Park from our old place. We are finally settled in and look forward to a new year full of joy and peace. We wish you and yours much of the same.

Happy Holidays!
Adam and Nicole