Some nights at the opera are sparkling, glittering affairs. And then there are other nights that feel more like a step or two away from a Stephen King horror story - more gore than glamour. And believe it or not, that’s much more my kind of opera . . . the kind that offers up
Every so often, something comes along that is so much bigger than us that all we can do is shake our heads in wonder and wait for it to be over, and then pick up the pieces as best we can. Such is the humbling destructive power of the super storm Sandy, which just struck
For many years now, my wife’s two biggest dreams were: to see MIchael Jordan in person play basketball . . . and to see Barbra Streisand perform live in concert. We never quite managed the first one (and it’s not like we didn’t have ample opportunity- we just didn’t get the job done, perhaps thinking
I wish there was a fancier, more beautiful word for the special service when someone officially becomes the pastor of a congregation. We use the word installation when we’re putting in new drapes - or replacing our furnace filter. Heck, we install mufflers in our cars. Surely we need a more beautiful word to describe
This past weekend was like a triple decker sundae of various delights, and the first was the wedding of two Carthage grads, Audrey Henning and Joe Torcaso (a former voice student of mine) - whose splendid wedding was followed by an absolutely spectacular and fun-filled reception. But for all that went off exactly as planned,
The scene you see in the photo probably looks entirely ordinary to the rest of you, but to me it’s an incredibly beautiful sight - because the guy in the the black and white plaid shirt is Nick Huff, the Carthage student who has been hospitalized and away from school for the last two weeks.
Here are some more recollections from and reflections on the weekend I just spent in Decorah on the occasion of my 30th year college reunion. From the second half of the weekend: By the time Jim Penning had regaled us with his beautiful performance in the recital hall, I felt like I had already had
The title of this blog entry comes from a verse in the 90th Psalm . . . “Lord, thou hast been our refuge from one generation to another.” Nordic sang Ralph Vaughan Williams’ gorgeous setting of it while I was at Luther, and it remains one of the great mountaintop experiences of my musical life.
This photograph was posted a few days ago on Facebook by Mark Penning, a classmate of mine at Luther (and a wonderful tenor to boot.) It shows the 34 seniors who were in Nordic Choir 1981-1982. I am assuming that this photo was taken towards the very end of the year, judging from the happy
