Seize the Moment. (Part 1)

 "The opportunity of a lifetime only lasts for the lifetime of the opportunity. 

Seize the moment." 

– Dave Hess

Dear Kirstin,

I know this week is difficult. After all, it's been exactly one year since we took a big step and hopped in the van to go to Nashville to seize the moment and follow your heart's desire to do a Christmas album. From the moment you suggested the album idea, I was ALL IN! 

And we did it. We recorded Midwinter's Gift. 

As the project was released to the world, later in November, you poured out your heart in frequent posts to help people get a sense of the monumental trek we took, geographically, musically and emotionally. I sat back and watched how unreservedly you shared your part of the story. I felt like I was a little kid who was invited to go on an adventure with you. I wanted to squeal with delight, but I let you take the lead in releasing it. 

But now, knowing how hard it can be to move on after such an experience like we had, I wanted to give something back and share with you some excerpts from my journal – from that week in Nashville. So here's my unedited version, as I wrote it that week in Tennessee. Since it's history in the making, I've decided to make it a blog post so that others can savor the memories with us.

                                                                 ♬

Tuesday, August 2, 2022: (The trip down to Nashville)

Lovely ride down in the van. Alternated drivers – made good time

Cracker Barrel for lunch. Road trip. Listened to music

Ended up at Bristol Town Hall (City Hall) while looking for Cracker Barrel

Cowboy at Cracker Barrel – looking for land and/or roadkill?

The Red House @ The White Oak Farm 

Wildwood Studio, looking at the deer (after we realized they had a surveillance camera)

Kroger's groceries

Cows in the yard

Deer P,

"We're in jail"

"We need air conditioning"

"Do you have a place we can stay?"

"The Pennsylvania van"

"Will there be crickets in the recording?"

♬ 

Wednesday, August 3, 2022:

Leisurely morning while Kirstin tried out and adjusted her reeds.

I ironed, went for a long walk, sang through the oboe parts – yet another way to connect with the music. 

Sat by the pool. 

Hard boiled eggs and salmon, yogurt and granola for breakfast around noon. :-)

♬

All the way down here, I felt rather numb. It's been over four years since I've been here. So much has happened. COVID, for one thing. 

I've aged ... and I feel it. I've lost something. 

I thought I'd never be back to this town, and I was honestly okay with that. I had a good run. I gave it all I had. 

I'm loving the new season of house concerts and being home. 

I have to let go of what was. Embrace new special moments. Make new memories. 

A new friend in my life – Kirstin. 

I don't know her well, but we seem to fit well together. It's not forced... it just slowly unfolds like a rose. I like it. Easy to work with and travel with. Forging new territory – piano and oboe. New producer, arranger, engineer, studio – it's all so different. 

I need to just let go and let be. Unfold. Build new experiences. Don't mourn the old. 

Love the little Airbnb – very quaint. Perfect for us. Out in the country... little horse farm... dogs... pool... two miles from Ed [previous Portraits of White conductor], two miles from studio and about five from downtown Franklin.

When we got near the Nashville city limits, my heart responded. When we passed exits where I've stayed, Seaboard Lane – where we did Inside Things and Fieldstone Parkway (Ed's territory) – my heart leaped. 

Yet, I realized I've moved on. I've been forced to in some ways. 

It's better to let go of what was and anticipate new things.

I never thought I'd be back. But here I am – and I love why I'm here. I love that Kirstin and I met through Portraits of White, but we're doing our own thing – like she says, it's an offshoot of the Portraits of White tree. It's not the tree, but it's a branch from it.

♬

I'm about to go do a photo shoot with Erick Anderson [and Kirstin].

Gray hair – I've kept my natural color. Tempting to color it for this, but it was pretty clear – I need to embrace my age and season in life and part of that is the gray hair.

♬

We're so happy we did the Christmas in July events. Gave us real practice. Almost feels like the fans are with us. They've been part of the journey. 

Now we get to enjoy this moment in time. Making music in August, in the town I used to love. 

 ♬

I believe something beautiful is at work here. I don't know what and I really don't care either. I'm just enjoying the ride. The music. The practicing. 

I've learned so much as I've really tried to practice and find new approaches to learning the music. I can feel the mindset shift–from being easily distracted, to learning how to focus and stay in the moment. I overcame the mental hurdle of using the AirTurn pedal to turn pages. I'm on my way to memorizing and I've loved using my 3X5 index cards with various practice approaches.

I think a big indicator of how much I've grown is the dream I had the other night where for the first time EVER, I actually played the piano in my dream and it went super well. Nothing weird happened to the instrument and it felt so natural to play. Perhaps that shows how much I have overcome mentally, as I've given myself to this project for the past six months. And oh... I've lost about 8 pounds in July!

The icing on the cake will be to walk away (or drive away) on Saturday feeling really happy with my performance the next two days... 

... and to look pretty today. :-)

Dear Kirstin, what are we supposed to be doing?

♬

Thursday morning, August 4, 2022

Photo shoot was fun! Kirstin is a natural – beautiful girl! She's just one of those... 

I love my silver hair. I'm glad I kept it.

My thoughts frequently turned to the realization that I thought I'd never be back and there I was, doing a photo shoot with a friend (who's gorgeous) – getting ready to do a beautiful instrumental project.

I just can't wait to do this and hear the final product, and see the photos...

TODAY!

Phillip Keveren

Kent Hooper :-)

Best Yamaha C7 in Nashville

Midwinter's Gift

Kirstin suggested this order for the day:

O Come, O Come Emmanuel

What Child is This?

O Holy Night

Keep Carol of the Bells, Ships and Sing We Now for Friday morning

Today I will go to the studio with a  heart to serve Kirstin and her dream. This recording is something she has on her bucket list. It's my pleasure to serve her and help make this happen AND make it great! This is about her today.

To be continued...

P.S. Midwinter’s Gift can be found on all major streaming services. Digital downloads and CDs can be purchased here.

Double Keyed Wins Classical Crossover Album of the Year Spot Award

Some days I wonder if all the effort of writing, rewriting, practicing, crafting, stretching and even straining my music muscles will ever pay off. I argue with myself about what a payoff even looks like. Is it financial, emotional, physical, musical?

One of my songwriting heroes, Molly Leikin, encourages writers to reward themselves for small accomplishments along the way – even writing just one good phrase deserves a reward, in her experience. She believes that the creative five year old inside of us is encouraged to show up more often when we pause to celebrate.

So in the spirit of Molly's advice, last Thursday, I put down my pen, closed the piano lid for an afternoon, got a frilly hair do and went to celebrate at the Hershey Theater where Kirstin Myers and I walked the red carpet at the Central Pennsylvania Music Award Show.

Highlights . . .

Classical Meets Rappers and Rockers

On Thursday, March 30th, Double Keyed felt proud (and to be honest–a tad shy) to mingle with rappers, rockers, country, jazz and pop artists (and the list goes on) . . . at the Hershey Theatre in Hershey, Pennsylvania. We were excited to be part of the parade of artists who were nominated for their creative projects and artistry. These are the moments when an artist can take a deep breath and feel grateful for not giving up on making music.

Piano Teacher Shows Support

Kirstin and I were hustling to get to our seats and voilà...there she stood, at the bottom of the steps, about to ascend to the balcony of the Hershey Theater to watch from above. Donna Houser, my 7th - 12th grade piano teacher (who turned 80 in February), surprised me by coming to the show!

As a young pianist, I'd sit at Donna's beautiful Kawaii grand piano for my weekly lessons where she challenged me to be more than I thought I could be, insisting that I learn to read the notes and not just play by ear! If it weren't for her, I'm sure I wouldn't be part of Double Keyed, and that would be sad.

Double Keyed Wins Classical Crossover Spot Award

Kirstin and I keep trying to get back to our regular music life, but Midwinter's Gift keeps tugging at our skirts. It was fun to give the project a bit of attention.

Double Keyed was nominated for Instrumental Album of the Year and won a Spot Award in the Classical Crossover Album category.

Thank you for your votes, cheers and encouraging words.

In The Bleak Midwinter

 

I'll never forget the day my producer, Eric Copeland pointed out my frequent mention of death in my songwriting. "You write a lot of songs about death," he said. This was news to me. He jokingly suggested that my name could be "The Grateful Dead". Of course, I didn't know who they were. I laughed as if I did. Fast forward to November 2022. Double Keyed (Kirstin and Frances) landed a spot on the Billboard charts. You can probably imagine how excited we were (and still are). I feel like I'm the big sister of the two of us and believe me, I'm very proud of my little sister! However, we've been bumped off the charts by—of all things—a dead man. I find this hilarious . . . given my history. Sorry Kirstin. Oh well. Since we don't know what we did to get on the charts in the first place, we figure maybe we'll appear again! Either way, we are still recovering from the shock of placing ANYWHERE and we're very much alive. We DO know that your streaming and purchases through online sources helps us dance around the charts. :-) Thank you!

Our first tour date! Yesterday started our official concert schedule as recording artists. Today, we will be recording an interview at WITF in Harrisburg, PA. We'll let you know when it's released.

How we came up with the title, Midwinter's Gift. Midwinter was a title that presented itself early on when we were incubating the album. Based on the lovely song, In The Bleak Midwinter, written in the 1800's, we knew we wanted this song on the project. From the very beginning, we both felt as if this album creation was a gift to each other as musicians. Putting the words midwinter and gift together seemed like a natural progression. You'll appreciate the unfolding of the journey from bleakness to beauty in this new video featuring the title track. "In the bleak midwinter, Frosty wind made moan, Earth stood hard as iron, Water like a stone; Snow had fallen, snow on snow, Snow on snow, In the bleak midwinter, Long ago." — Christina Georgiana Rossetti (1830-1894)

Peanut Butter Blossom Cookies Inspire Midwinter's Gift Album

The new Christmas album, Midwinter's Gift was inspired by the waft of peanut butter blossom cookies. Really!!

It all started when my friend, Kirstin Myers (oboist) was baking Christmas cookies for her family last December. Being a busy oboist, performing in various symphonies in the South Central Pennsylvania region, she didn't have time to bake cookies until AFTER the holidays. She had been too busy making music for everyone else's Christmas celebrations. We had originally met—because of Christmas—when Kirstin was hired to play oboe in my annual Portraits of White Winter Concert orchestra.

So there she was, the day after Christmas, making cookies. She confesses that she may have been devouring the Hershey kisses before they even made it to the blossoms. She was also listening to her favorite music playlists—for three solid days in a row. 

In the midst of this baking, nibbling and listening frenzy, while waiting for a batch of cookies to finish baking, she was struck with some nagging yet intriguing observations . . . that she says went something like this:

"There were no oboe tunes popping up on my Spotify."

Perhaps oboists need more quality Christmas music. 

Scrolling through Spotify for ‘oboe’ and ‘Christmas’ and not finding much . . .

"Wouldn’t it be cool to create more?"

"What if I could record an album?"

No, you can’t do that. Take the burning cookies out of the oven.

"But what if I could? It would be something I could give the kids."

Eat more cookie dough.

"Who knows how to record an album? Who could I do it with?"

My friend, the piano player, Frances.

(Kirstin and I [Frances] had already formed a duo called Double Keyed and were enjoying performing together until COVID brought our in-person performances to a jarring halt.)

After running through many more doubts in her head, Kirstin texted me. 

Fortunately, I took screen shots of our conversation. I had a feeling I'd want to keep a record—pun intended.

This text was followed by some banter about money, potential arrangers . . .etc., etc., and I knew it would get to be a long conversation by text, so I suggested we meet for coffee to talk details . . .

After we met for coffee, I began thinking about places we could stay in Nashville, if we ended up doing a project there. I texted Kirstin with more ideas . . .

Fast forward to August and we were on our way to Wildwood Recording in Franklin, Tennessee to record our project. At the recommendation of our arranger and producer, Nashville's own Phillip Keveren, we chose this studio because Phillip said it's the best Yamaha piano in Nashville! Being a piano player, I was concerned about finding a great piano for our project. 

Phillip was right—the piano was incredible. At one point, I said, "This piano is like a race car that doesn't want to stick with the speed limit." The guys liked that analogy.

Frances warms up on the Yamaha, August 3, 2022.

Long story short, the little somewhat obscure oboe is now making a splash! Even the English horn got to be a part of the production on three songs; O Holy Night, What Child is This? and O Come, O Come, Emmanuel—which ended up being the first song we recorded on our two-day recording spree. I remember Phillip's comment after we played his hauntingly beautiful arrangement of this 15th Century song. "This project is going to be world-class," he said confidently. My heart tried to absorb the words. It was uncanny that he used this particular phrase.

I've always wanted to be a world-class performer. I only tell you this because I'm learning that setting goals is such a key to getting where you want to go and becoming the person you want to be. I had decided years ago that one of my goals as a singer-songwriter and pianist, was to become world-class. It was a goal that I knew would always keep me motivated to improve—even if it took me a lifetime to achieve. So you can see how hearing this comment was monumental for me. 

But we had nine more songs to go! In the moment, I had to keep focused. 

You see, I was facing the challenge of playing the piano in front of the arranger of the music (and the producer of the album) with him sitting in the control room, listening to me. I also knew that he himself is a very gifted pianist. His Sojourner project with The London Symphony Orchestra is one of the most beautiful albums of all times, in my opinion! 

Knowing I would be recording in the presence of a master craftsman, I had been strategically conditioning my mind to focus for the seven months leading up to this moment. Not only had I been practicing the technicalities and musicality of the arrangements we commissioned Phillip to create, but I had been practicing overcoming the trepidation and downright terrification (a word I made up during this season) of playing in front of him. I had moments of sheer terror while practicing. I had to learn to ignore those monsters so I could support Kirstin without falling apart when recording day came and the engineer would push the record button.

Hearing Phillip's genuine comment after our first song was a beautiful gift and a perfect way to start off the two days of recording. He was fabulous to work with!

Kirstin Myers (oboe, English horn), Kent Hooper (Recording engineer), Phillip Keveren (Arranger, producer), Frances Drost (pianist)
August 5, 2022

By November 4, 2022, we had our new Christmas album, Midwinter's Gift ready for release on Bandcamp and many streaming sites, including—of ALL places—Spotify. People responded. In fact, by November 15 (just 11 days after release day) we discovered we had charted at No. 13 on Billboard's Classical Crossover Album chart. 

After waking up on a Monday morning to an email notification from Alex at Billboard, I texted Kirstin and told her to check her email. I had forwarded the big news to her.

Now, Kirstin and I are very busy getting ready to tour, responding to sweet comments, filling orders and enjoying building a listener base on Spotify! We have filled that void and now Kirstin won't need to scroll through Spotify this Christmas looking for soothing, inspiring, elegant and classy oboe music. Way to go my friend! You've done it . . . and in world-class fashion.

Midwinter's Gift is our gift, first to ourselves as musicians, secondly to our families and the most fun surprise gift of all—a placement on the Billboard charts!

We think there might be something special about peanut butter blossom cookies . . . or maybe it's as simple as having an idea, setting a goal, following it through, giving it wings and watching it soar. Is that simple?!

Double Keyed is having fun watching our album help the world fall in love with double reeds. 

P.S. The instrument Kirstin is holding on the album cover is her English horn. The oboe is working through a bit of envy since it didn't make the front cover—but wants us to know that it is truly happy for the success of the English horn and is thrilled to be on Spotify.

You can order Midwinter's Gift CD here.

You can also find us pretty much everywhere on streaming services.

Cover photo and album artwork by Erick Anderson Photography, Nashville, TN

I wonder what kind of cookies Kirstin will be baking this December? ;-)

Double Keyed Announces 2022 Christmas Project

Frances Drost (Piano) and Kirstin Myers (Oboe/English Horn)

ABOUT Frances & KIRSTIN

It all started when I, (Kirstin Myers / oboe / English horn) was baking Christmas cookies. Somehow, the cookies inspired the idea for a Christmas album and so here we are….announcing our first recording project as Double Keyed—an instrumental piano/oboe/English horn project with classic Christmas songs arranged and produced by Nashville’s own Phillip Keveren.

Since Double Keyed initially connected because of my (Frances Drost / piano) Portraits of White Winter Concert, we felt it would be appropriate to make our first album a collection of favorite Christmas tunes!

About Us:

Frances Drost is a pianist and concert artist who began her own company, “Musical Creations” as a way to encourage people on their journey through life. Take years of life experiences distilled into “three-minute messages” of lyric and melody, interwoven with story-telling in between and you get the unique ministry of singer/songwriter Frances Drost.

Oboist Kirstin Myers holds degrees in Music Education and Oboe Performance from Indiana University of Pennsylvania, and in 1999 she graduated summa cum laude as a full scholarship recipient from Michigan State University with a Masters in Oboe Performance. For the past 21 years she has been on the faculty of Millersville University and York College of Pennsylvania and in 2016 was also appointed as oboe professor at Lebanon Valley College.

In addition to her collegiate appointments, she is the oboe instructor at York College’s YCPrep Community School and maintains a private studio at her home in the Lancaster area. Her students have gone on to win positions in LLMEA County, PMEA District, Regional, State and All-Eastern Bands & Orchestras. She currently performs with the York Symphony Orchestra, Berks Sinfonietta, Reading Pops Orchestra, Trio Jolie, The Silverwood Trio and most recently began collaborating with Frances as the duo “Double Keyed” performing a variety of classical and popular selections (and if Frances asks nicely, sometimes songs Frances wrote). She has also been part of the Portraits of White Annual Winter Concert for seven years.

More about Frances…

As both a singer and songwriter, Frances has a unique way of presenting real-life experiences and meaningful messages that are gently woven throughout her music.

• Frances has served for a total of over 16 years on staff as the Director of Worship at various churches and she brings that experience into her worship leading at conferences and churches. As a worship leader, she has shared many platforms with well-known author and Women of Faith speaker, Carol Kent. She has also shared the stage with Kay Arthur, Dee Brestin, Ruth Graham, Margaret Feinberg, Bonnie Keen, and Ellie Lofaro.
• Frances has also been featured as a guest on the Chris Fabry Live Radio Show.
• Frances is also a songwriter for Songs Of Love – a nonprofit organization that connects songwriters with terminally ill children. She has composed and recorded hundreds of songs for the families with their child as the star of the song.
• Her most recent release (June 2020) is a meditative solo piano project combining music with sounds of nature woven into classic hymns and hints of classical melodies. Perfect for your meditation moments, you’ll love Sunrise Meditations.
• “Portraits Of White” is a Christmas/Winter release filled with a beautiful wintery mix of familiar carols and new tunes, instrumentals and vocals. “Portraits of White” has turned into more than just a CD project; it is now a beautiful winter concert featuring a mix of songs from her winter album and beloved holiday favorites. The musical extravaganza also features other talented local musicians, including Kirstin Myers and that’s actually how they first met.
• In December 2016, Frances released a pop album titled “Brand New Me”. It’s an audio-journal of the work God has been doing in her life in the past decade and challenges audiences to believe that God can still change a heart and make you into a new creation.
• Frances was the winner of the 2009 Momentum Award for “Female Artist Of The Year” and was also nominated for “Inspirational Artist Of The Year” at the 2009 Momentum Awards ceremony in Nashville, TN.
• Frances and her husband, Tom, love to ride their Yamaha Vstars when the weather is perfect. 
• Frances has 3 indoor cats and has been known to feed most outdoor strays who come to visit.

More about Kirstin…

Kirstin has been a featured soloist in a multitude of musical groups, including:

• Johnstown Symphony
• Berks Sinfonietta
• Reading Pops Orchestra
• Millersville University Wind Ensemble
• IUP Symphony
• New Holland Band
• Lyric Band of Hanover.
• Kirstin was also 1st oboist of the New Holland Band for 16 years.
• In addition to her work as a freelance musician and teacher, she thoroughly enjoys spending time with her 3 musical children, 3 un-musical cats and her wonderfully supportive and great music aficionado husband, Ken.

Music Music in the Hall, Who's the Finest of Them All?

"You're not using any music so that means you have a gift!", the older gentleman said as he walked by the piano today. We chatted for a few moments and he was on his way. He didn't know that I had a stack of music in my bag. I just happened to be playing without written music when he walked by.

Piano music from my piano lesson days (1978) with my teacher's handwritten notes.

Every week I play the piano in the hospital lobby at PennState Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center and it's still one of my favorite places to play. I've been doing this 'gig' for years now and my choice of music varies every week—from my own compositions to hymns to classical pieces. Sometimes I follow written music and sometimes I play by ear. I'm grateful that I can do both. 

Though I started playing the piano by ear when I was two or three, in sixth grade my mother found a piano teacher for me and I began taking lessons. It seemed like my first piano teacher enjoyed the entertainment as I played by ear, but my second piano teacher wasn't there for entertainment. She soon discovered that I could play a song if she played it for me and if she didn't play it for me first, I struggled to learn it. Once she realized what was happening, I was forced to learn to read. To this day, I still do better if I've heard a song first, but I am SO glad I can read music and I have that teacher to thank!

This past August, Kirstin Myers and I formed a piano/oboe duo we call "Double Keyed" and we're enjoying the musical camaraderie of playing together. Kirstin has been a part of my annual Portraits of White concert every December, and I was excited when we were able to work together beyond the holiday concert. And oh, by the way, we play from written music. 

I love the novelty of the oboe and it's inspiring to watch people's reactions. This opportunity would not be possible if my piano teacher had not insisted that I learn to read music. 

"Double Keyed" (Frances & Kirstin) @ PennState Health.

Sometimes I feel as if there can be a subtle air of pride among some musicians who "don't read music" or "never had a lesson". Even the audience "oohs and aahs" when someone announces they are self-taught, especially after they've dazzled us with their abilities. 

I admit, it IS a very special thing to be able to sit down without any sheet music and just play. I could sense the "awe" from the gentleman today who commented on the fact that I wasn't using music, but I pondered this all afternoon and decided to encourage people who want to play music not to be afraid or ashamed to get training. I sure wish I had more music education! I'm no Liberace, but there are opportunities that have come my way that would never have happened if I couldn't read music.

It almost feels as absurd as bragging that you are able to create imaginary stories in your head without being able to read. That's creative, but you're missing out on a whole world of possibilities when you can read a book and I believe the same is true when you can read music. You open yourself up to playing great music that others have composed for our enjoyment. Why not learn to play their music?

I suppose the moral of this story is obvious, but just in case it's not, I just want to say that you're not a lesser musician if you have to read something on the written page. You can move people with your music and that's what really matters.

I couldn't do Portraits of White if it weren't for the professional musicians on stage with me. We don't get much rehearsal time and it's crucial that they can play what's on the page with accuracy and expression. They've spent years mastering their instrument and the payoff comes when you hear them play together.

So here's to all the music teachers in the world...thanks for teaching us to read!!

And HERE's a special video with a message from my piano teacher, Donna Houser, who made sure I could read. Now she and her husband bring a group of friends to my December concert every year. I hope I make her proud.