I can’t get over what an interesting morning of “blending” I had yesterday. My workday began at 8:10 with a live radio interview with a formidable faculty colleague from Carthage, Dr. Thomas Carr, who heads our paleontology department. Dr. Carr has been on my program a number of times to talk about dinosaurs -and it’s always equal parts exciting and imtinidating to sit across from him and interview him. He is exceptionally brilliant in a field that I know very, very little about- and in our conversations I always feel like I’m skirting the edge of Sounding Stupid. Fortunately, he is gracious and patient and has a knack for explaining things in a way that make sense even to me – and by the time we’re done I am always happy to have had the experience. Today we talked about a new paper of his which has just been published in the scientific journal Nature – which seeks to spell out as much as is currently known about the full history of T-Rex. (It turns out that there is a gap of about 45 million years right in the middle of the timeline …. which also gives you an idea of the mind-blowing expanse of time with which we’re dealing.) Today was actually one of our most interesting conversations, although the effort to keep up with Dr. Carr and to grasp all he was talking about left me mentally weary. I think if I had needed to record any sort of weighty interview right afterwards, I could not have done so.
Fortunately, what followed my Morning Show conversation could not have been more fun. I actually had to sneak away from the station right at 9 and head over the Schulte Elementary School, where Kathy teaches, in order to play piano for a dress rehearsal of her upcoming concert. Her 4th and 5th graders are going a program devoted to music from the 1950s like “Rock Around the Clock,” “La Bamba,” and “Splish Splash, I was Takin’ a Bath!” For someone who spends most of his days dealing with the music of Schubert and Mozart, this kind of thing is an absolute blast for me, and just the kind of change of pace that really does my heart good. And of course, it’s really fun to watch my wife in action. She is so good at what she does.
From there I went to Carthage to begin my teaching day – and my first two voice students happened to be two of my most gifted non-music majors. Michael Huff is a brilliant freshman physics major (and younger brother of my former student Nick Huff, who is now at Eastman) who also happens to love singing and possesses a beautiful voice. Today was a productive lesson as we tackled a couple of thorny issues that arose in his big aria “La Vendetta” which he sings in our production of The Marriage of Figaro. Working with him on this reminded me that one of Michael’s best qualities as a voice student is tenacity. He has had next to no vocal training up to this point, so he is playing catch up in terms of musical skills- but he is working his tail off and making great progress. So is another of my non-majors, DaQuawn Bruce – who I first got to know when he sort of wandered into opera workshop class last fall, pretty much on a whim, and ended up loving it! He is Antonio in our production of The Marriage of Figaro and has thrown himself into the role with just the right balance of fun and seriousness – and this semester he elected to take private voice as well. DaQuawn is a fascinating young man with lots of gifts, but I’m sure glad that he has made room on his crowded dance card to nurture his gifts as a singer. What a pleasure that my teaching responsibilities at Carthage include not just working with fine music majors, but with remarkable non-majors like Michael and DaQuawn. Lucky, lucky me!
In a rather radical departure from my normal day, I actually had to return to WGTD (missing chapel, I’m sad to say) in order to record what turned out to be quite an interesting interview with a British author named Wendy Holden …. who comes to the Lake Geneva Public Library on May 14th to talk about her book called Born Survivors. It spells out the extraordinary and absolutely true stories of three Jewish women imprisoned in Auschwitz who somehow managed to conceal their pregnancies from their captors – their three babies were all born just as the camp was being liberated by the allies. (If a female Jewish prisoner was found to be pregnant, it meant almost certain death for them and for their as yet unborn child.) There’s a lot in the story that is almost unspeakably horrific- but as the author was quick to point out in our interview, this is mostly a stirring and inspiring story of courage and ingenuity in the face of pure evil. These three young women lived to see Auschwitz liberated, and then went on to live decades beyond – and to build remarkably happy lives. And those three babies, born under such adverse conditions and lucky to have survived at all, are all alive and well, having all turned 70 years old – and actually one of those three children (who are sometimes thought of as the youngest of all Holocaust survivors) will join Ms. Holden at the event on May 14th- as will also the son of the soldier who led the allied liberators of the camp. It’s not all that often that I get over to Lake Geneva, but this sounds like an utterly unique event that should not be missed. And I was so glad to find myself engaged with one of those stories that puts the ordinary frustrations of life into proper perspective.
Of course, the rest of the day had its own blending as well …… I had voice lessons with Matt Burton and Austin Merschdorf that also served as coachings for The Marriage of Figaro. (They are Figaro and Count Almaviva, respectively.) The mood between these two antagonistic characters is usually pretty nasty, and I really appreciate how these two young men – who are such close friends in real life – are nevertheless managing to tap into the fierce tension that is one of the driving forces of the opera.
And during a quick break when I ran up to Einstein’s to get something to drink, I happened to walk past this table which at which were seated two young Muslim women with the sign “Ask A Muslim.” They were offering free doughnut holes and cookies to anyone who asked them a question. (What a neat idea!) My question: If and when you ever get married, will your parents insist that you marry another Muslim? They seemed to appreciate the question and gave a very thoughtful and thorough answer. I hope that a lot of people took advantage of the opportunity to learn a bit more about a group that tends to be so badly misunderstood by the rest of us.
After my workday at Carthage ended, I was off to Bradford High School to play piano for what’s always a heartwarming set of auditions. It’s for a special scholarship that’s given to an outstanding high school senior who’s been active in choir. The scholarship recipient is chosen after careful deliberation on a number of matters, just one of which is that evening’s auditions. As fun as it is to hear from an array of strong singers, there is also something quite melancholy about the event because it always underscores the sense of loss that must be sustained every spring when the latest group of seniors prepares to move on. For as happy as one is for whatever new adventures stretch ahead for them, one cannot ignore the sense of loss that is also at play. But it’s also neat to look out and see the directors in the room watching and listening with such pride and affection. (pictured below is James Booker, who is one of the singers I played for. He sang “Make them hear you” from Ragtime. It was also a great pleasure to accompany one of my own voice students, Colin Robertson)
And after all that, my day ended at the Racine Theater Guild, visiting rehearsal for Fiddler on the Roof. Even there, “blending” was the order of the day, because when I first arrived they were working on one of the most heartbreaking moments in the score- when Tevye and the other residents of Annatevka are brusquely told that they are going to have to leave the only town that most of them have ever called home. And then, as if to underscore the remarkable emotional range of this piece, we went from “Annatevka” to “To Life” perhaps the most exuberant song in the whole show. It was so exciting to see this – and especially to see our marvelous cast in such fine form.
And yet, for all that made yesterday an interesting and blended day, in some ways what mattered most to me was the good news out of Madison , where my youngest brother – Nathan – underwent major brain surgery yesterday. All seemed to go well, but it was only today that the doctors could run Nathan through a full battery of tests to determine how he was both physically and cognitively. I’m happy to report that Nathan seems to have passed every one of these tests with flying colors. It’s still a bit tricky to know what the lasting effects on his health will be, but the signs thus far are pointing in a very positive direction – so much so that Nathan was sent home from the hospital tonight to live with Dad and Sonja for a few days. I made repeated calls to my dad throughout the day, but I didn’t actually get to talk directly to him until this evening- and making all of these calls in between lessons and my other obligations just underscored for me how none of the things I did today – no matter how fun – mattered at all in the grand scheme of things. Or at least they didn’t matter nearly as much to me as my little brother’s well-being. I’m grateful for just about everything that happened to me today- but knowing that my brother Nathan is doing well – is the highest of mountaintops.