His name was Ralph Houghton - and it is impossible to talk about the marvelous music program of the Kenosha public schools without talking about this incredible man. In that rich history, he looms as a colossus - even though physically he was fairly short and completely ordinary-looking guy. But in all of the ways
There is no way to count the number of musicals that I have experienced over the course of my life ... between the shows I have directed, the shows for which I have played piano, and the shows I have seen as a plain old audience member. The thought of trying to calculate the number
The May 12th Chicago Tribune had a wonderful Mother's Day essay by Heidi Stevens that included these perceptive words: "I know mothering is wonderful and exhausting, gratifying and soul-crushing, electrifying and tedious. I know it is not for everyone." As I read those words a second time, it occurred to me that they apply
Highlights from this past Saturday's State Solo & Ensemble competition at the University of Wisconsin-Parkside, where I had to play (or maybe I should say 'where I had the pleasure of playing') for 28 different events . . . a busy State for me although far from my busiest. It was just busy enough to
