We spent the weekend playing one of our favorite cantatas: Gottes Zeit ist die allerbeste Zeit. We were up in Oregon House, CA, one of the old wagon stops on the way up to Oregon. The Fellowship of Friends, a spiritual community founded in the 1970’s, owns a huge complex there with vineyards and gardens over 1400 acres in this eastern California rural setting. The Fellowship has a choir and small orchestra, and occasionally hires outside musicians to fill in the gaps.  We didn’t know what to expect, but ended up having a very pleasant weekend playing with people who clearly shared our passion for this piece.  The other works on the program were a Bach harpsichord concerto (played on piano (!!) very beautifully), Brandenburg 6, and Cantata 29. We weren’t quite sure what the Fellowship of Friends was all about, but it seems they are concerned with being mindful at all times, and using music to help them improve their ability to be mindful. We couldn’t have been treated better – in fact we felt more appreciated than usual.