The phrase “letting the cat out of the bag” apparently dates from the “quaint days of the English country fair,” according to John Collins of the Writers Block web resource. It means to “reveal a secret, a plot, or a subterfuge of some kind,” and originated from the practice of switching plump suckling pigs for tomcats. When the sale was made, and supposedly the piglets were put into a bag, if the customer opened the bag too early and found a feline, he “let the cat out of the bag.”
Ever since last July, Randy Castello and the Cantor Search Committee (later renamed the Director of Music and Liturgy Search Committee; also known as the Call Committee) have been hard at work to find a successor for Carl Crosier, including formulating a complete job description, wish list, etc. Nearly thirty inquiries about the position were received, and interviews via Skype were conducted with several applicants.
Finally . . . last weekend Pastor Jeff announced that a candidate will be visiting LCH the weekend of July 9-10. His name is Dr. Miguel Felipe, and he has recently been named the Director of Choral Activities at the University of Hawaii. You can check out his website here. He most recently was Visiting Director of Choral Activities at Oberlin College & Conservatory, and earlier served at Mt. Holyoke, Boston Conservatory and Harvard University. Miguel is quite a globetrotter, and this summer he will be conducting workshops in Singapore, Indonesia and Brazil — all within the space of a month (June 23-July 30). So we’re fortunate that he will briefly stop in Hawaii the weekend of July 9-10. He will have an opportunity to conduct the choir — at least those who are not away on vacation — and unfortunately that’s quite a few people. In addition to having him conduct the anthem and psalm for Sunday morning, July 10th, we will also have some social time so people get a chance to meet him and ask any questions they may have. I think everyone is quite excited not only about Miguel’s experiences as a conductor, teacher and scholar, but also getting to know him as a person. I understand he has quite a sense of humor, which is always valuable in a church situation!
Disclaimer: In using the “cat out of the bag” metaphor, I am not in the least suggesting anything about anybody! I am just using the phrase figuratively!