I am back from Madison safe and sound - quite a relief since I was driving through a nasty snowstorm for most of the way. (The trip, which usually takes two hours, took three and a half.) And more important than that, I am relieved to have left behind the acute frustration that I was
Music-making is typically a joyous experience for me, and events like last Sunday’s Mendelssohn concert or the recital of a beloved student are happy occasions in every way. But from time to time I find myself making music through gritted teeth and with astonishing dark thoughts rumbling through my head. . . and that’s how
The very best part of this incredibly long and taxing day was an extraordinarily unexpected surprise which greeted me this morning at 7 when I swung by the Carthage library to pick up an opera DVD I needed for my class. Something caught the corner of my eye which it appeared at first to be
It’s so interesting how life manages to puncture our delusions of grandeur just in a nick of time. The big Mendelssohn concert this past Sunday left me loftily perched on Cloud Nine, awash with feelings of great satisfaction and pride - and with every new compliment I receive about the concert, I have found myself
Yesterday afternoon I experienced one of the true summits of my life as a musician, surrounded by some of the former students/ now friends who comprise my group Musici Amici (which is Italian for “Musical Friends.”) The occasion was a concert I organized to celebrate the 200th birthday of composer Felix Mendelssohn, titled “Lift Thine
Some people jet off to exotic locales like Cancun or Key Biscayne for spring break, but the farthest I managed to get was Batavia, Illinois. The occasion was a happy one, however- because a former student of mine, Paul Marchese, is the new director of choirs at the high school there- and he had his
During a spring break in which I conducted a 200th birthday concert honoring Felix Mendelssohn, led Paul Marchese’s Batavia High School Varsity Choir in three of my compositions, and gave perhaps my best opera lecture ever for Adventures in Lifelong Learning, my finest hour and most astonishing achievement actually came Wednesday afternoon when I -
I have been a veritable Mr. Clean for much of this spring break. First, I had to clean out our guest bedroom so the bed could be taken by Mark and Polly and given to our niece, Lorelai. Second, I had to completely clean off our grand piano to make it ready for our piano
I have a lot of catching up to do, but I have to begin with something I just experienced last night, because I can scarcely think of anything else right now. I’m talking about last night’s simulcast from the Metropolitan Opera of Puccini’s Madama Butterfly. This was actually the repeat simulcast- the live simulcast
I’m not sure I can convey in words (but of course I’m still going to try!) how proud I was of my four high school voice students who competed yesterday in Racine’s Solo & Ensemble contest. Each of them managed to earn the highest possible award - six top ratings in all, since two of
