Over the last week and a half, I have either attended or provided music for four funerals. I have already mentioned the marvelous service for Ralph Houghton (described in my blog entry from June 5th) - but haven’t yet mentioned a funeral from several days earlier for another music man in the area, Lee Matthews,
Sunday afternoon was the final performance of “Godspell” at the Racine Theater Guild, and as usual I stuck my head in the door for the closing minutes. I just find that doing that gives me some sense of closure- plus the cast in question often is inspired to an especially impassioned performance. (I almost wrote
I’m sort of hoping that my wife will miss this blog entry, because I’m sure she won’t be excited to have me sharing a photograph of a bug in our bathroom on the internet- and also because the story which accompanies it is going to make me sound like a weirdo. Then again, so what
Friday was Jackson Barrow’s graduation, but yesterday was the party. . . and what a party it was! First of all, the big behind-the-scenes drama was whether or not the Barrows house - undergoing extensive renovation - was going to be finished in time for the party. (As of 11:30 yesterday morning, thanks to all
You haven’t lived until you have attended a commencement ceremony for Walden III High School in Racine. As you might possibly guess from its name, Walden is a profoundly unusual school, although I can’t begin to spell out all of the specifics which make it so unique. Among its most noteworthy characteristics is a highly
Kenosha bade farewell today to one of its true giants, Ralph Houghton - the man more responsible than anybody for making the nationally-acclaimed music program in the Kenosha public schools what it is today. But those words do not begin to convey what this man meant to this community - and to all who worked
We’ve been in Frantic Party Mode around here, in anticipation of this weekend’s celebration of Jackson Barrow’s graduation - a party which for awhile looked like it was going to have to happen over here because their home renovation project has had more setbacks than the ’08 Detroit Lions. But now it’s looking like their
God bless Facebook - and God bless whoever persuaded me to give it a try. Actually, I entered Facebook sort of through the backdoor or for a rather odd reason - because I wanted to check out a group that had been formed sort of in my honor by some members of the Chamber Singers
I played piano yesterday for the funeral of a remarkable woman named Frances Ziemann - and among the many interesting things about her is the fact that - according to her family - she was born in the house which you see in the background of Grant Wood’s famous painting American Gothic - you know
Even as the RTG continues to stir up considerably excitement with its production of “Godspell,” rehearsals are already underway for our next show. . . a country music review called “Honky Tonk Angels.” When I first heard the title of the summer show, I fully expected to be gritting my teeth from first read-through until
