For many, August is a month of transitions—the last days of summer, going back to school, starting up a new choir season, and so forth. For me, I always remember August 12th as the day “I got my new brain,” as my husband, Carl, used to tell me. In 2008, I was diagnosed with a… Read More August transitions
When I was in Philadelphia for the Organ Historical Society convention in June, I bought yet another edition of Bach’s Clavierübung III, the music which I’m playing in a concert on October 30. This marks my sixth edition of this music, and you’re probably asking, “Why do you need so many copies of the music?” The… Read More “I am still learning”
You remember that huge box of mail that I returned home to, after being on the road for nearly six weeks? The bills always get my attention first, but what I look forward to is reading all the magazines that have piled up in my absence. It was not until yesterday that I finally opened… Read More Ding, dong bell!
Some time ago, I took a PBS Newshour quiz called, “Do you live in a bubble?” Charles Murray, a political scientist theorizes in his book, Coming Apart, that certain Americans have little exposure to American culture at large. They therefore live in a social and culture bubble. If you’d like to take the test, you can click here.… Read More Musical Olympian
A couple of posts ago, I used the expression, “Back to the salt mines.” Ever wonder where that expression came from? According to the American Heritage Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer, this means to: “Resume work, usually with some reluctance, as in With my slavedriver of a boss, even on Saturdays it’s back to… Read More Back to the salt mines
What is awe-inspiring and amazing about concert organists is that they can jump from organ to organ, and with seemingly little effort, can register their pieces and play with ease, no matter how different each instrument is, no matter the acoustic, the touch, and the stops. And believe me, all organs are different and not created… Read More Memories of Sparky
“I read somewhere that everybody on this planet is separated by only six other people. Six degrees of separation between us and everyone else on this planet. The President of the United States, a gondolier in Venice, just fill in the names. I find it A) extremely comforting that we’re so close, and B) like… Read More Six degrees of separation
Every concert at the Three Choirs Festival begins with an announcement: In the unlikely event of an emergency, please wait for instructions from the verger and the ushers will direct you to evacuate the building. Then there is a prayer from the head clergyman—this week there have been prayers for the terror victims in Nice,… Read More In the unlikely event…
Today started off at St. Peter’s Catholic Church, only a few blocks from the hotel, where I heard the Rodolfus Choir, a group of 32 young singers. Their program consisted mostly of choral transcriptions of instrumental works such as the Barber Adagio for Strings. The group arranged themselves in smaller ensembles around the church, creating… Read More Allegri and Mozart
I have just come from a performance of Hector Berlioz’ Grande Messe des morts, and I was being helped to my seat in row F, and the usher said to me, “it is going to be very loud. Are you going to be okay here? Let me know if you want to change your seat!”… Read More Hair-raising and earsplitting