Farewell from Julia Tai

Dear members of the Magnolia Chorale,

This is a very hard letter for me to write and I’m really sad about not being able to continue as your music director in the fall.  I have enjoyed every minute of our rehearsals and performances together in the past three years, and I really appreciated your trust, good humor and friendship in the times we’ve shared. 
 
As many of you know, I’m currently conducting two orchestras in Seattle: Philharmonia Northwest and Seattle Modern Orchestra.  Next season I will also be guest conducting Saratoga Orchestra on Whidbey Island and Seattle Symphony.  As my concert schedule grows busier and my workload increases, I have more and more conflicts with our Sunday evening rehearsals at the chorale (I already had to miss a quarter of our rehearsals last spring).  I really feel guilty for not being able to be there for you all the time and think that it is not fair for the chorale to have a music director who is not there half of the time.  Because of this I reached the difficult conclusion that I should no longer continue as director of the chorale. 
 
I was happy and relieved to learn that Jean-Marie is willing to come back and lead the chorale again.  I know many of you have fond memories of her and I have tremendous respect for her as a colleague and a conductor.  I know you are in good hands and I look forward to attending your future concerts as an audience member! I do hope that our friendship continues and I will always keep you in my heart.  And if you ever come to one of my concerts in the future, please don’t hesitate to come backstage and say hi! 
 
Yours truly,
Julia