Trinity Cathedral’s Diocesan Choir Festival

When I arrived at Trinity Cathedral in Sacramento in 1984, one of the things I heard from many other musicians in the Diocese, was that they had never been invited to the Cathedral. There was generally a strong feeling of disconnect from the Cathedral around the Diocese as it was, so I wanted to figure a way to fix that.

So the Annual Diocesan Choir Festival was born. My aim was twofold: to give musicians from around the Diocese a chance to visit and sing at the Cathedral; and to give them the opportunity to sing the beautiful office of Choral Evensong, which was literally not being sung anywhere in the Diocese (as far as I could tell). The format was simple: we would have a distinguished guest conductor, with an all day rehearsal culminating with Choral Evensong.

The first year, I enlisted my friend Dr John Fenstermaker, who was Canon for Music at Grace Cathedral in San Francisco as our guest conductor. About sixty singers from the around the Diocese joined us for the day, and it was a great success. Everyone in attendance was enthusiastic that this should become an annual event.

And so it was. Some years we had in excess of one-hundred singers crammed into the small chancel of Trinity Cathedral! We had some of the best Anglican choral conductors in the world as our guests including Martin How, Michael Fleming, Douglas Major, Peter Hallock, Robert Simpson, Katherine Dienes-Williams, Jeffrey Benson, David Flood, James Walker, David Dunnett, Timothy Byram-Wigfield, Maxine Thevenot, and many more. We have sung some of the greatest music in the choral repertoire, and enjoyed singing Evensong together.

However, after thirty plus years, the festival seems to have run its course. The choir has gotten smaller over the years, and it has become much more challenging to produce from a financial standpoint. So… we will be hosting our Final Diocesan Choir Festival on Saturday, January 26th, 2019. Our guest conductor will be my good friend Dr David Flood, who is organist and master of choristers at Canterbury Cathedral. David has conducted our festival on two prior occasions, and his superb musicianship and good humor promises an exceptional day of singing.

I would like to invite any choir singers, Episcopalian or not, to join us for this special day. If you are interested, please feel to drop me an email sierracanon@gmail.com.  More information will be available in the Fall, but in the mean time, mark your calendars! We hope to see you here in January.

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NorCal AIDS Cycle 2018 finishes up

After months of fundraising and (somewhat inadequate) training, I have completed my eighth and final year of NorCal AIDS Cycle. When I did this ride for the first time back in 2011, I had no idea how it would take over my life. I calculate that in the past eight years I have raised over fifty-thousand dollars for the cause. At the beginning of this year, I made the decision that this would be my last NCAC. It is a difficult time of the year for me to properly train, and the process has becoming tiring.

However, I was fully committed to this year’s ride, and the beginning of the ride came right on time!

Day One – West Sacramento to Auburn: 88.25 miles/+2,432′  The ride began this year at Crocker Park in downtown Sacramento, early in the morning of May 10th. Weather conditions were perfect… not too cold, and we briskly rode through Woodland to our first rest stop in Knight’s Landing. This rest stop is one of the most entertaining, located the quirky “Stingrayz Marina.” The next section of the ride continued north on highway 113, then cut across at Nicolaus to our lunch stop in Lincoln. I was pretty tired when I got to lunch, and was definitely ready for a break.

After lunch I settled in with a group of riders as headed towards the foothills towards Auburn. We hadn’t noticed that we had missed an important turn, though it was very enjoyable, but we ended up adding a few extra miles to the day in the process. The last part of the day is a challenging climb up Ophir Road to Auburn, to our camp at the Gold Country Fairgrounds. After getting camp set up, I had a shower and massage, dinner and then bedtime.

Day Two – Auburn to Colfax loop: 14 miles/+2,052′  Day two is a rather short but very hilly day. I was concerned about how little hill training I’d done, so already had some anxiety about the day. On top of that, I’d had thigh muscle cramps in the middle of the night, and my legs were still very tight and sore.

I somehow managed to squeeze out the morning part of the route, but it was definitely more challenging than usual. After our lunch at the Colfax train depot, I hit the first hill out of town, and it became obvious that I was not going to be able to finish the day. I was disappointed, but knew it was the right decision. As I get older, listening to my body has become a priority!

Back at camp, a massage therapist showed me some stretches to help alleviate the tension and pain in my thigh muscles. They proved to be just the ticket for the challenging day three, coming in the morning.

Day Three – Sacramento Valley loop: 73.49 miles/+2,278′  This is probably the most difficult day of the ride. A long fast descent from Auburn back down into the valley took us through Newcastle, Granite Bay, Roseville, Loomis, another lunch stop in Lincoln, then a climb from Camp Far West towards Auburn. I felt good in the morning, my mood only marred by a flat tire in Loomis. I managed to ride most of the day, but between the heat and my tiredness from the previous day, cut it short, and I sag’d back to camp.

Saturday evening is “Friends and Family” night, and Sharene joined me for dinner. Following an entertaining show from the Sacramento Gay Men’s Chorus, we gathered for a short candlelight vigil to remember those we’ve lost to HIV/AIDS. I went straight to bed and sleep came quickly.

Day Four – Auburn to Sacramento: 50 miles/+1,130′  Our last day, and we are heading home. The route took us out of Auburn, with just a couple of more uphill sections, and then a long descent on Auburn-Folsom Road to Beals Point at Folsom Lake. After the rest stop, most of the ride takes the American River Bike trail downtown, and back to Crocker Park. After a rest break, snacks, photos, and greeting our fellow riders, we had a parade to the West Steps of the State Capitol, for our brief closing ceremony.

And then home, for a shower and a cold beer, and my own bed!

I want to give my deepest thanks to my NCAC friends… those with whom I rode, and those who supported us as crew, especially my River City Roadies teammates Jane Anne Cooper and Gayle Monroe. These friendships are deep and one of the reasons I have returned year after year. I also want to thank the River City Food Bank for sponsoring our small-but-mighty team. And especially a big thank you to all who supported my fund-raising with your dollars.  My fund-raising goal exceeded six-thousand, six-hundred dollars this year, which is the point, after all!

 

And next year?? I am standing by my decision to be finished riding NCAC. However, because of my daughter’s recent diagnosis with Multiple Sclerosis, I will be participating in the MS Society’s “Waves to Wine” ride. Stay tuned!

Cycling as suffering

It has been said (often), that cycling is a sport where one must enjoy suffering to excel. Much like mountaineering or marathon running, getting to the end or the top often requires herculean efforts, and the ability to tolerate a great deal of discomfort.

With the sudden realization that NorCal AIDS Cycle only three weeks away, I feel woefully behind in my training. Between several very busy weeks of work, and disagreeable weather, I am not where I’d usually like to be at this point. So some serious riding is coming up over the next few weeks! And thinking back to a year ago, I was riding a lot, and I hurt all over. My legs, shoulders, arms, neck all hurt… and I thought I could ever put my tender butt on a bike seat again. When riding against a stiff headwind, or up a steep climb, the suffering can make me wonder what the heck I have signed up for. But in the end, I finally make it, and after a shower and something to eat, that suffering all goes into the distant past.

But thinking about someone who has an illness for which there is no cure, the suffering may be all of the time. In addition to physical pain or discomfort, there may be side effects to medication, dietary issues, frequent medical appointments, financial challenges, and things I can’t even begin to imagine.

So for me to suffer a little bit on the bike, is a small price to pay to help alleviate the suffering of someone with HIV/AIDS. This is why I have said “yes” to participating in NCAC for eight years in a row. Because maybe my temporary pain will benefit someone in our community, who has it much harder than I do.

I want to extend a huge THANK YOU to everyone who has supported me with your donations this year. It really makes a difference, and inspires me to stay on track with my riding. If you have not donated yet, I am only a thousand dollars away from reaching my fund-raising goal! So please click the link below to make a quick and easy donation.

NorCal AIDS Cycle is a 501 (c)(3) non-profit organization, and contributions may be tax-deductible.

Click here to contribute to NCAC

 

Will pedal for cash

Sunday, April 15th at 4:00 pm, Benefit Pipe Organ Concert

Please join David Link as he raises money for NorCal AIDS Cycle, for the eighth year in a row! Not only will he pedal three-hundred miles on his bike, but he will also take on the pipe organ pedals to raise as much money as possible for NCAC!

The program will include:
Prelude, Fugue, and Chaconne – Dietrich Buxtehude
Adagio in g minor – Tomaso Albinoni, realized Remo Giazotto
Two “Schubler” Chorale Preludes – J S Bach
Choral in a minor – Cesar Franck
Scherzetto (Sonata in c minor) – Percy Whitlock
In Wonder (Hereford Variations) – Peter Stoltzfus Berton
Pim’s Toccata – Alan Wilson

NorCal AIDS Cycle is the premier fundraising event supporting agencies in our community, providing services to those affected by HIV/AIDS. David has cycled in this event for eight years in a row, and has raised over $30,000 in the first seven years. Thank you for your support!

The suggested minimum donation is $10, but you are invited to donate as much as you like! Please join us for an afternoon of great music played on Trinity Cathedral’s stunning Reuter/Schoenstein pipe organ.

Trinity Episcopal Cathedral is located at 2620 Capitol Avenue at 27th Street in midtown Sacramento. Parking is available in the Sutter Community Garage for a $5 flat-rate on Sundays.

p.s. If you cannot make it to the concert, but would still like to support the cause, you can make a contribution here:   Click here to donate to NorCal AIDS Cycle

 

 

March update… NCAC 2018

I am sitting at home on a dreary, wet Saturday afternoon, and looking at the calendar, with the realization that NorCal AIDS Cycle is only TEN weeks away. I have been stepping up my cycle training, though having had two colds since the first of the year, and a little behind what I’d like to be. Last weekend I spent a beautiful, super-windy day riding the hills between Winters and Vacaville, and felt very good with my progress.

Last week I got a notification from NCAC that I had passed one-quarter of the way to my goal of raising $6,000. A massive THANK YOU to everyone who has contributed so far. Your support really makes a difference in our community.

You may wonder what exactly that means. Some of the agencies benefiting from our work includes The Sierra Foothills AIDS Foundation, Nevada County public health services, The Sacramento LGBT Community Center, The Gender Health Center, Sunburst Project, the UC Davis Pediatric Infectious Program, the River City Food Bank, Volunteers of America, and many more. The services these agencies provide include health care, prevention and testing services, education and outreach, services for children and younger people, and safer alternatives for IV drug users. These are services which touch people right here in Sacramento, some of whom YOU may know.

The money does NOT go to faceless organizations working to find a cure, though this is certainly important. It helps these organizations down here in the trenches, fighting the little skirmishes faced by HIV positive folks each and every day.

So I ask you to open your wallets and help us to provide funding to these fantastic organizations doing important work here in Northern California. Just click the link below to make a quick donation.

Click here to donate to NorCal AIDS Cycle 2018

NorCal AIDS Cycle is a 501 (c)(3) non-profit organization, and contributions may be tax deductible.

The River City Roadies

It has been my privilege for many years, to see the good work that the River City Food bank does in the Sacramento area. RCFB is the oldest continuously operating food bank in our community, and the only food bank in our area which is open every week day to provide food to anyone experiencing hunger in Sacramento County.

One of the most unique programs at the food bank, is helping patients with HIV/AIDS to get their particular nutritional needs met. People suffering from AIDS have very special dietary needs, including a need for higher than usual levels of protein. RCFB provides bags of groceries to these medically fragile clients twice a month. In addition, RCFB offers a “Fun with cooking class,” to help these low income HIV patients make the most of their groceries, while meeting their special dietary needs.

Financial support for this special program comes from NorCal AIDS Cycle (NCAC), a three-hundred mile bike ride which aims to raise funds for agencies in our area giving services to those suffering from HIV/AIDS. In 2013 I had the opportunity to start the “River City Roadies” cycling team, sponsored by the RCFB, and the “Roadies” are back again this year to raise more money than ever.

But a bunch of people on bikes doesn’t just magically equal dollars! It requires the support of people on our community, who want to make it a better place to live. So I am recruiting YOU to be a part of the River City Roadies team, by pledging your financial support. Just click the link below to make a quick and easy contribution to NCAC, and help to make a difference in OUR community today. Thank you so much for your support!

https://give.classy.org/sierracanon

NorCal AIDS Cycle is a 501 (c)(3) non-profit organization, and may be tax deductible.

Canon David and the Red Baron take to the road again!

For the last seven years, I have participated in NorCal AIDS Cycle, raising money for agencies in our community who support those with HIV/AIDS. In those seven years, I have raised over forty-thousand dollars for NCAC.

So for the eighth year in a row, I am doing it again! I will ride three-hundred miles on my bike through the Sierra foothills, and hopefully raise six-thousand dollars for NCAC.

With cataclysmic changes in health-care coming in new year, public funding of HIV/AIDS prevention, testing and treatment is far from certain. So the support of organizations like NCAC will become more critical than ever.

I have always been able to count on your support in past years, and I hope you will join me in making NorCal AIDS Cycle 2018 the best ever! In 2017 we distributed nearly a hundred-and-fifty thousand dollars to our beneficiaries, and we hope that we can do even better this year.

 

As I have every year since 2011, I ride in memory of my friend Ken Piercy, a long time member of the Cathedral Choir who died of complications of AIDS right before that first ride.

Just click the link below to make a  contribution. NorCal AIDS Cycle is a 501 (c)(3) non-profit organization, and donations may be deductible to the extent of the law. And thank you in advance for your support!

Click here to contribute!

Click here for more information about NorCal AIDS Cycle