Excitement Ahead!
After leaving hints here on
Writ of Whimsy regarding an exciting opportunity presented to me (and to my husband), I am finally ready to announce the great news!
Photo Credit: Public Domain
Last December we met an amazing power couple while selling copies of
The Scandinavian Santa in a booth at
ScanFair in Portland, OR. Doug and Liz took a liking to our book; it's always so nice to receive positive feedback. However, they are both accomplished musicians, and asked us, "have you ever thought of bringing your book to life?" While my first impression of Doug and Liz was super positive, my initial reaction to their question held a bit of skepticism. (That was only until I did some research and learned a bit about them!)
Elizabeth Byrd, B.M - cello performance/teacher/composer/tonal vibration therapist. Trained at the North Carolina School of the Arts and The Julliard School. Co-President of the Oregon Cello Society. Cello teacher at Clark College, Vancouver, WA. As a concert cellist and teacher, she has traveled, performed and taught throughout the world; She has performed with the Metropolitan Opera, London Festival Orchestra, Atlanta Symphony, Naples Philharmonic, and Internationally with the famed Mantovani Orchestra...
Douglas Webster has performed on stages across forty-six of the United States and throughout Europe as soloist with symphony orchestras, opera and in solo recital. As an actor, he has appeared on Broadway, National tour and in regional theater. He has received the Portland Drammy Award for Best Actor in a Musical (Les Misérables) and the Phoenix Theatre Encore Award for Best Actor (Les Misérables) and Best Supporting Actor (The Light in the Piazza). He was honored to join the ranks of the Indiana University Singing Hoosier Distinguished Alumni in 2008. Winner of the Joy In Singing and Concert Artists Guild International Awards, his recordings include erudite chamber music interpretations to high-camp Disney tunes. His first recording job was singing Prince Charming on the Grammy-nominated A Disney Spectacular with Erich Kunzel and the Cincinnati Pops for Telarc Records...
Needless to say, I am no longer skeptical, but am completely overwhelmed that these two amazingly talented and accomplished artists are interested in
bringing our book to life! While the four of us are still working out the details, their idea is to produce a multi-media concert on a small stage that would include Doug narrating the book, Liz composing and performing an original melody (cello, etc.) for the book, and Michael's paintings/illustrations being projected on a screen in a creative fashion. (They have both been involved with multi-media productions/performances similar to this before.) There has already been a bit of interest shown for the project by a venue in Portland, Oregon for the 2016 holiday season, although not confirmed.
As you can imagine, I'm still pinching myself that we've been given this exciting opportunity for our book,
The Scandinavian Santa. Earlier this year I was a bit bummed that the release of our current work in progress -
Journey to Snowdonia - would have to be postponed until the holiday season of 2017. Now, I'm extremely thankful! There is so much to learn, and to do, in planning for this multi-media production slated for the winter holiday season late this year. I'll be sure to post updates as we assist with this creative collaboration.
