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    or, a Michigan Wolverine in the Lands of the Dragon





    On the Cynnabar Collegium Musica




    For more than a decade I was a musican, a violinist and a orchestra member before setting that aside for academic press (deciding to do a four-year engineering degree in three, plus a undergraduate research thesis, plus pre-med: yes, I like pain); and my love of music and making music has never died. I even performed in choirs during my earliest days in the medical school; and so, when at Wassail in early 2004 Parsla (far left, smiling) kindly invited me to join the Cynnabar singers of the Cynnabar Collegium Musica, I happily jumped right aboard. :-)




    Led by our fearless maestra Elsa von Heilbronn, we sang a wide variety of music from the early to the late middle ages, secular and religious, Latin, Spanish, French, German, English. We sang at events, at public demonstrations, at Faires and celebrations. We competed at Arts and Sciences competitions; come the Holiday season, we brought the olde carols to life, at Wassails and 12th Nights and caroling on the streets in full medieval garb. From single-part chants to four part harmonies, with voices high music we make, and wonderful fun is it all.



    And like with the dancers, so too warm and welcoming are the singers, who share their homes and home-cooked meals, weddings and celebrations; and indeed, it was the very kind people of the Cynnabar Collegium Musica who helped me fumble my way through my first sewing experiences. A marvelous and merry band of singers we are, with alumni all over who oft join us again for music, and very lucky do I consider myself to have found and joined their company. :-)


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All materials copyright Jeffrey Huo, 2005
jeffshuo@alumni.northwestern.edu