Friday, March 31, 2017:  Chronicle of a Full Day.  Every so often,  I experience a day that is extraordinarily FULL.  Not “busy” or “frantic” or “crazy.”  I have plenty of days where those terms best apply.  But I call Friday a Full Day because it was the kind of day that left me satisfied and energized rather than depleted and exhausted.  It’s the kind of day that I would gladly repeat if such a thing were possible because by the end of it I feel richer than I was when the day began.

It began with one of the most tightly stacked mornings I have ever had at WGTD,  the public radio station where I work every morning.  Right off the bat,  at 7 a.m.,  I did a phone interview with John Wukovitz, the author of an engrossing book titled Tin Can Titans.  It chronicles the exploits of the U.S. Navy’s most decorated squadron of destroyers,  Desron 21, which was on hand and an integral part of almost every significant American action in the Pacific theater of World War II …. although often in ways that did not garner headlines.   (At one point, the author characterizes much of what these ships did as ‘grunt work.’) I just love the way in which this book helps us appreciate and understand the crucial role of these unsung heroes – and what higher purpose could a book serve than this?

A half hour later,  it was time for my second interview of the morning – with New York Times reporter Gina Kolata,  the author of a most intriguing book titled Mercies in Disguise, which I believe takes its title from the lyrics of a very poignant and powerful contemporary Christian song about the benefit of suffering in our lives.   In this particular case,  the suffering in question is caused by a horrific and mysterious disease that brings terrible suffering to many members of a prominent and respected family in North Carolina.  The book is about this family’s efforts to help unlock the mystery of what this strange and terrible disease was- as well as the story of the courage and grace with which they confronted this grim reality.   The book is at once both a medical mystery as well as an uplifting testimony of faith.   Perhaps the most interesting question is whether or not various members of this family want to know whether or not they are destined to contract this disease, once a test to determine this is possible.  And we find ourselves wondering- would I want to know that this was in my own future?   I love a book that gets us pondering such profound questions.

I had scarcely finished that second interview before it was time to begin the third-  a live interview with Dr. Jerry Mast, Associate Professor of Political Science at Carthage College and a very frequent Morning Show guest over the years – particularly in and around every recent presidential election.  Needless to say, there was no shortage of things for us to talk about and the only problem was trying to figure out on what particular issues/concerns/controversies to focus our time.  But beyond that was a second concern that was almost more worrisome for me-  namely, how to talk about President Trump in a way that was fair, even-handed, and not too heavily shaded by our own opinion of the man and what he stands for.  I think that’s a challenge with which many of us in the media are wrestling right now.  In the moment, it felt like a no-holds-barred yet reasonably objective conversation- although I suspect that a diehard Trump supporter would probably disagree.  I think my favorite part of our conversation came when Dr. Mast discussed the president’s propensity for tweeting and suggested that it was a rather drastic break from traditional convention of how a president should communicate with the public.  In short, is President Trump acting ‘presidential’ when he tweets?   His critics would certainly say no.  I suggested that his supporters actually love that he reveals himself and his opinions in such unguarded, ‘un-spun’ fashion.   It was one of those delicious moments where I was thinking about something in a way I had never considered before.   That is what Public Radio –  at its best – is all about.

The moment my conversation with Professor Mast finished up,  I was back on the phone to record an interview with a war historian from Waterford, WI named Robert Laplander,  one of the experts featured in an upcoming 3-part American Experience documentary titled The Great War.  As the title suggests,  it is an examination of World War One,  a horrific conflict like the world had never seen before …. the kind of conflict no one could have imagined until it erupted in a massive wave of carnage and destruction, and a conflict that most experts believe was entirely unnecessary.   Mr. Laplander has a special expertise when it comes to a particular group of American soldiers that came to be known as The Lost Battalion,  but I soon discovered that his knowledge about this conflict encompassed every facet of it – and the fifty minutes we spoke did not feel like nearly enough.  As our conversation finally drew to a close,  I remember thinking “I hope that potential listeners won’t see the program’s description and bypass it in favor of something lighter and fluffier.   This is too important.”

After that came my fifth and final interview of the morning-  an in-studio conversation with a very talented and personable young man named Matthew Udry,  a junior at Tremper High School and the son of a faculty colleague of mine,  Dr. Steve Udry.  Matthew is a brilliantly gifted cellist,  and he is the winner of the Racine Symphony’s most recent Youth Auditions.  (That affords him the opportunity to perform with the RSO for their final concert of the season.)  I’ve done plenty of these sorts of interviews over the years,  and more often than not they turn out to be what the late Bill Guy characterized as “heavy lifting” – interviews where the young person is just too stiff and/or shy to speak easily and the host ends up working really hard for what turns out to be a rather mediocre interview.  But in this case,  Matthew spoke very articulately and charmingly about his life with the cello and in some ways this turned out to be the easiest and most effortless interview of the morning.

After such an exceptionally busy morning at the station, I would have loved for my day at Carthage to have been ordinary- but it was not.   The very first thing confronting me once I got to campus was the Pre-Recital-Jury for two of my juniors,  Austin Merschdorf and Stephen Steinheiser,  who were seeking the go-ahead to sing a Junior Recital together on April 22nd.   The PRJ involves going before a jury of three faculty members and demonstrating that you have all of your repertoire memorized and ready to go.  The student starts with a song of their choice, but after that it’s up to the jurists to ask for whatever it is they are curious to hear- songs in their entirety or just portions of them,  whatever they request.   It’s not that absolute perfection is required- but if there are too many mistakes and/or if the mistakes are too serious,  then in most cases the singer is required to come back another day and try again.   And in certain cases,  the recital itself is postponed. Needless to say, it’s a nerve-wracking experience for students and teachers alike because even a well-prepared musician can go crashing on the rocks.  But Austin and Steve were in fine form and ended up Passing With Distinction.   On to April 22nd!

From there,  I taught a couple of voice lessons – and was blessed with an unexpected 45-minute break when my last student of the day forgot about his lesson (as often happens in the week after spring break.)  It gave me a chance to properly prep for that afternoon’s Opera Workshop session with my colleague Matt Boresi.  We happened to have a prospective student visiting us that day,  and I found myself watching her reactions to what Matt was doing as he worked with our singers in Menotti’s Old Maid and the Thief and The Medium.  I could just tell how taken she was with Matt’s directorial insights as well as his wonderful sense of humor and his easy rapport with students.

My Fridays at Carthage usually end with Carthage Choir rehearsal,  but on this particular day that hour was spent hearing an audition by a freshman at another school who is thinking about transferring to Carthage.   Obviously I won’t be saying anything at all about the student or their audition – but I do want to say how much I enjoyed the discussion afterwards with three of my colleagues as we talked about this student, their plans and how realistic those plans were,  and whether or not we could envision this person being part of our musical community.  Each of us had our own particular concerns and perspective,  but it was amazing how closely our four opinions aligned.    The discussion also made me very grateful that I teach with such intelligent and sensitive colleagues.

That evening,  I had to shift from teaching mode to performance mode for the first of three concerts with Racine’s Belle Ensemble,  under the direction of my friend and former voice student Nick Barootian.   Nick had asked me on several occasions to participate in various projects,  but this was the first time that my calendar allowed it.  The concert consisted of two masterworks: the Stabat Mater by Arvo Part and The Seven Last Words of Christ by Heinrich Schütz.  I was the bass for the Schütz,  and singing this work brought back marvelous memories of my four years singing in Luther’s Collegium Musicum under the direction of Dr. Bartlett Butler.  Dr. Butler loved the music of Schütz and we sang a lot of it- but never this particular work.   Five of us sang the Seven Last Words,  and it reminded me of the unique beauty that comes when solo voices are perfectly blended and balanced.  Accompanying us were two recorders,  two violas, a cello, and harpsichord,  with Carthage colleague Fumi Nakayama our fearless and accomplished leader.   It was a nothing less than a privilege to be part of this- and to be reminded of a special joy to be derived from singing great music with great musicians.  There is nothing quite like it.

So there you have it …  a Full Day in every way!  It reminds me that my goal should be to do whatever I can so my life is less busy and more full.  I think that’s how it’s supposed to be.   And I wish the same for you.