V1593-V1594 Barnard-Columbia Chorus

All I have to say is, I only wish I can be as passionate about whatever field I choose to pursue as Gail is about classical music. I only wish there were more guys in the choir so we could sound a little more balanced in terms of voice range. But she's found ways to work around it, and the end product has never disappointed.

This woman is a goddess. She is incredibly enthusiastic about both the music and her students.

Gail is the most amazing professor at Barnard -- at Columbia -- in the Ivy League -- in America -- in the world! I love her! She is musically brilliant *AND* loves what she is doing. She has been a musician all of her life and is currently one of New York's premier Baroque organists. She is on her way to becoming famous, but she is still incredibly down-to-earth and compassionate. She cares sooooooo much about her chorus and is constantly thinking of ways to improve the program -- not that it needs it. She gets her kids to sound fabulous, and the Candlelight Concerts in December are lovely.

Musically, the woman is brilliant. She can get a great sound out of the chorus in no time, and her love for the music is infectious. However, I take issue with some of the organizational quirks of the chorus. For example, she always hires "professional" soloists rather than taking them from within the chorus. Some of these soloists are actually pretty bad, and there are usually about five people in each section who could do a better job. Similarly, why use an orchestra from the Manhattan School of Music when you could easily contract a Columbia orchestra? Such actions would increase the chorus's prominence on the Columbia campus; right now few people know it exists. One other thing I find annoying: she is constantly advertising her organ performances, even ones as distant as Boston and Phoenix, and then after each one, she can't resist telling us all how wonderfully it went. I'm glad you had fun, Gail, but really, who cares? Overall, these are minor quibbles when you think about what a fantastic conductor she is; I just wish she'd run things a little differently.