Wake up! It's choir time!

As summer is winding down, do not be alarmed if your singer friends actually offer to pay for lunch. Church choirs are coming off hiatus, and singers across NYC are singing a brighter tune (think Daddy Warbucks' "Something Was Missing"). After months of hardship (Starbucks surely felt the hit), the prospect of half-full coffers have NYC's singing worker bees all aflutter. Just don't go too crazy friends - June is only nine months away!

I myself am looking forward to this season. Kyle Babin, organist-director extraordinaire, has planned quite a nice fall/winter for us. Highlights include a veritable hit-parade Advent Lessons & Carols service on December 2 and a Christmas Eve anchored by Mozart's Missa Brevis in D. Come visit us at Christ Church Manhasset (www.christchurchmanhasset.org).

Also look for me amid the billowing incense at St. Mary the Virgin (www.stmvirgin.org) at several feast day services. Robert McCormick always chooses the most exciting repertoire, so go and go often.