It was one of the most incredible sights I’ve ever seen - and this photograph doesn’t begin to do it justice. It happened at the end of the memorial service for one of Kenosha’s most distinguished and beloved citizens, renowned children’s author Florence Parry Heide, who died this past Monday at the age of 92.
It was twenty years ago this fall that I began teaching at Carthage. It was so long ago that Brett Favre had not yet thrown a pass for the Green Bay Packers . . .there was no such thing as Youtube, EBay or Amazon.com . . . there was still something called the Soviet Union
Today was the Racine Theater Guild’s final performance of a play which I love above all others- Doubt: A Parable, by John Patrick Shanley. My very first encounter with this play came when I watched the Tony Awards one year and was mesmerized by a brief clip from one of the most nominated plays of
The Carthage music department officially unwrapped its newest toy yesterday afternoon- and what a spectacular toy it is! It’s our long-needed, long-coveted new Steinway 9-foot concert grand piano - and through most of yesterday’s dedication recital, most of us were still pinching ourselves to make certain that we weren’t dreaming and that this new piano
Talk about a glorious housewarming party! Indian Trails High School in Kenosha dedicated its gorgeous, brand new auditorium with a festive concert that involved the school’s chamber choir, wind ensemble, and concert orchestra. It may have been miserable outside, thanks to drenching rains and 40 mph winds (with gusts up to 55) - but inside
Friday the 14th was one of the longest days of my life, and full of tears almost from beginning to end (save for a much appreciated respite in the middle of the day when life reverted to some semblance of normalcy) - but there were also many smiles. Allow me to share a few of
I spent most of yesterday trying to take in the numbing news that Kris Novaez, the choir director at Union Grove High School, had been killed (along with her husband) in a motorcycle accident the night before. The first Facebook posts seemed utterly preposterous - surely just a cruel joke. But no, real life turned
Some highlights from my visit this weekend to St. Luke’s Lutheran Church in Greendale, a Milwaukee suburb. . . SINGING WITH STRANGERS: This was a rather rare opportunity for me to visit a congregation that does my liturgy “O the Joy.” I composed the service back in 1995, and a couple of years later I
I am experiencing a very strange mental split these days. By day, I am teaching voice lessons to college students- coaching them in the songs of Franz Schubert and the arias of Giuseppe Verdi. By night, I’m teaching 7-year-olds the Oompa Loompa songs from Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. And I’m not sure which
