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You had to be there. It's as simple as that. There are no words to describe the incredible energy that was crackling in the air the night that the Lyric Opera of Chicago opened its doors to the public for the first time in 18 months and offered up a stunning performance of Verdi's Macbeth

Today marks an important anniversary ... the 15th anniversary of the death of Jan Gall, my mother-in-law.  Not a day goes by that I don't think about her and what a special person she was. A number of close relatives were invited to write remembrances of her from which excerpts were read at Jan's funeral. 

Miracles still occur. In a time when nearly every arena of the performing arts has taken a painful blow to the solar plexus, thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic,  it seems nothing-short-of-miraculous to see a brand new performing arts venture not only spring into life, but score a triumphant success.  That's the story of the Kenosha

For a lifelong church-goer like me, there is no more familiar sight than people sitting in a  church pew.   It has been a part of my life for as long as I can remember - and for nearly every Sunday morning of my entire life. Nothing could be more ordinary for me.  Then came COVID-19

Yesterday, Kathy and I (and Mabel) piled into the car and drove four hours - the longest trip we have taken since the dark curtain of COVID-19 descended fourteen months ago.  Just getting out on the road for a drive of that length ("getting out of Dodge" as Kathy likes to call it) was a

For all of the books that I have read over the years - both for fun and for my work with WGTD - I don't think I have ever taken the time to amass an end-of-the-year Top Ten Favorite Books list.  I am finally doing it now because 2020 has been a year in which

Several days ago, I viewed the holiday concert of Westminster Choir College, at the suggestion of a Carthage music colleague who did some of his graduate study there.   There were things about it that were quite impressive (and a moment or two that were downright amazing, visually).  In fact, it was like an extravagantly-produced music

This arrangement of my song "Pace" was done for my CD "God Gives Me Wings."  The main vocals are handled by Trevor Parker, who was a voice student of mine at Carthage - and the background vocals are by Scott Frost, who studied with me while he was a student at Tremper High School.  Eric

I recently recorded a series of interviews with five local choral directors- at both the high school and collegiate levels- to find out how they have been coping with the restrictions and complications of the COVID-19 pandemic.  I came away with a new and profound understanding of how this pandemic, while a frightening and maddening

This is only the second time I have blogged since the dark curtain of COVID-19 descended on this corner of the world in mid-March.   It's not that I haven't had the time; thanks to the pandemic,  almost everything 'extracurricular' in my life came to a screeching halt - and Free Time has been remarkably abundant.