Hello, friends!
Well, the cheese recital was last Saturday, and I still don’t quite know how to put everything into words. This was the first live recital since just before the pandemic, and I knew that my soul was extra hungry for creation and connection. I had done a music video recording project of Roger Quilter songs last year to experiment with some new media, but the joy of live music and cheese tasting lies in the liveness of it, the aliveness of it, the immediacy. I knew I wanted to go back to that format this year. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the recital surpassed my expectations in all ways.
The overriding emotion I feel is gratitude.
To Ray Bair, proprietor of Cheese Plus in San Francisco. He was ready to work with me to bring the cheese recital to life from the very beginning, in 2018. He has made his stamp on the recital with his signature charisma, striking efficiency, and expansive knowledge of traditional foods (did anyone else notice those gorgeous burnt-wheat taralli in the bread baskets??). I have known him for over 10 years, and my admiration for him grows by the day.
To Dwight Okamura, who has also been with me since the beginning, and has played all of my live recitals. His incredibly sensitive touch on the keys makes for delicate and nuanced collaboration across genres, from baroque, to classical, to romantic, to cabaret. I am beyond grateful that he has been game to play such varied programs throughout the years!
To Noe Valley Ministry, our venue. The folks there are fabulous, and have always been so accommodating for the past two cheese recitals.
To Anita of Colette Macaron. It was a slightly unusual request to order just macaron shells for this year’s recital, but she graciously accommodated me, delivering a rainbow array of macarons splattered in gold for one of our star pairings.
To my small, mighty army of talented friends–to my photo studio mates Adrian and Michael, who stepped in at the last minute to film the recital. They are world-class artists and technicians, and I am so privileged to call them my friends. To Sarah, who accompanied me on the all-important dress-finding mission, and managed all things wardrobe and stage after rushing over from work. She’s a goddess (and yes, I tell her this often!). To Yuri and Charles, longtime friends and musical souls, fellow seal watchers, and supporters of the cheese recital, who helped set up the room. To RV and Morgan, who expertly prepared the room, cheeses, and accompaniments. To my husband Yann, who has been by my side for over 18 years, through absolutely everything.
To the people who attended. There were many newcomers–people I had never met, and some people I’ve just met. There were cheese recital veterans, even some who have been to every recital! I was inspired by the newcomers’ enthusiasm and willingness to be swept up on the musical cheese pairing train, and by veterans’ continued enthusiasm for this whole new set of pairings. I admire many people who were in that room for the recital. I have looked up to them as performers and artists for a decade. It is a special honor to be able to perform for the people I admire so much.
The Recital
After all that, I was the last person who had to do my job! Overall, I was a little shocked at how normal I felt about the evening; I guess all those hours of practice did indeed pay off! Stepping into the room to see it full of expectant faces was emotional. Recognizing people from all areas of my life, seeing new faces–it was magical. I was ready to go. Of course, my body decided that it wanted to absolutely empty my mouth of all saliva for the first song, but thank goodness I managed my way through, clearing everything up by the second song.
Everything else went off without a hitch. The speaking presentation of the cheeses and music felt about as natural as meeting a friend out in the city and talking about my day. It’s difficult to gauge how I sang everything, since it all went by so quickly, but I felt as though I sang my rendition of Jacques Brel’s Ne Me Quitte Pas exactly how I wanted to. Actually, just about everything felt as good as I could hope for! I felt the audience was with me at every moment, even the pauses, which is the best part of being onstage.
Seeing everyone’s reactions to the various pairings after the recital ended was so heartwarming. I have been thinking and planning these pairings for months, and to see them finally go off into the world felt cathartic! I can’t help but wonder–do people think of the song pairing when they taste a cheese again, even weeks or months after the cheese recital? Do people seek out other music by a given composer they’ve heard in the recital? Do they have the desire to try more new cheeses after sampling the array of cheeses of a cheese recital? I don’t know the answers to these questions, and in the end, it doesn’t really matter. All that matters is the moment, and my goodness, this last recital was full of poignant, funny, quirky, beautiful moments.
At the end of the day, all I can say is thank you.
