Taking mom home

Thursday, June 25, 2015

shapeimage_2-2Today is my parents anniversary and they are both gone. Michael and I just returned from Rhode Island and Cape Cod where we took my mom’s ashes to rest in her favorite places. It was just a year ago on Father’s Day that we buried my dad’s ashes in the Temple Beth-El cemetery in Providence. Now, once again on Father’s Day, we gathered with friends and family to reunite my mom with my dad in that lovely spot. Except this time it was pouring! Continue reading

Pierrot in an ice storm

Monday, April 20, 2015

shapeimage_2-1A lot of time has gone by since the Richardson Chamber Players performance of Pierrot on March 1, but I wanted to relate the crazy time leading up to it and my thoughts in the aftermath.
About a year ago I bumped into my wonderful colleague, pianist Jennifer Tao, in the hallway of our underground conservatory in the music building. Jennifer was on the RCP planning committee and asked me if I wanted to request anything for the next season. Continue reading

FR – take care and proceed with caution

Sunday, January 25, 2015

shapeimage_2Remember how I have remarked that external circumstances so often reflect your inner state of mind? I had arranged to spend nine days at Forest Refuge with Taraniya teaching. The first thing that happened was that the check engine light came on in the outback just as I was getting on the Garden State Parkway. Is this serious? Should I turn around and go back? Continue reading

Fall Break in New England

Thursday, October 30, 2014

shapeimage_2-15Our travels over Fall Break accomplished a number of things, all having to do with the heart. We started out in Barre at the Barre Center for Buddhist Studies. Remember when I went to seshine with Michael? (see the blog entry from June 17, 2012) Well, he was finally making good on his part of the bargain – to come to something at IMS with me. Continue reading

High Holy Days once again

Sunday, October 5, 2014

shapeimage_2-1Taking Peggy’s advice, I didn’t sing much the last few days before flying to Kansas for Rosh Hashanah. My flight was late getting in to Wichita and I was exhausted by the time I finally got over to Tony’s apartment for our rehearsal. I had gotten into a conversation with the interesting woman sitting next to me on the plane while our flight was delayed in Chicago. Halfway through the flight I realized I shouldn’t be talking at all, let alone over noise. Continue reading

Philly ENT

Tuesday, September 16, 2014

shapeimage_2-14Sataloff’s office has moved from Pine to Broad Street. It is actually much faster and more convenient for me to just zip off the highway and into the numerous parking lots right near the Drexel University Building. The waiting room has all the maroon leather couches from the Pine Street office, but Peggy and Bridget have more spacious studios with wonderful views of the downtown sky line. Today I saw Bridget and Peggy for an hour each, back to back. Maybe that was a mistake. Continue reading

Touring Ireland

Sunday, August 31, 2014

Ireland 2012

Ireland 2014

Michael will be taking the PU Orchestra on tour to Ireland in January, so we decided to go scout out some performance venues while having a bit of a vacation too. We flew into Dublin, stayed three nights at a lovely small hotel right off the bustling Nassau Street across from Trinity College. We saw the book of Kells, the famous library, and took the tour at the Jamison Whisky factory. We also managed to catch some fun music in various pubs in Temple Bar – Continue reading

Menopause Survey at Boston NATS

Saturday, July 12, 2014

shapeimage_2-13The other big project that has been going on this winter is the Singing Through Menopause Survey. On Sataloff’s recommendation, I got the survey approved by the Princeton Institutional Review Board and enlisted the help of the Princeton Survey Research Center. Everyone I worked with in both offices was wonderful. After getting feedback from a number of my voice teacher colleagues, I launched the online survey in early March – hard to believe with everything else that was going on then!!! Continue reading

Philly ENT – try again

Tuesday, June 3, 2014

shapeimage_2-10I finally decided to make an appointment to see Peggy Baroody again, the singing voice specialist in Sataloff’s office. School is over, the estate work has settled down, I have some more time and energy to devote to this. I have been pretty faithful to the low acid diet since January, and I have been doing the few exercises I got from Peggy and the speech pathologist on that first visit. Continue reading

U Tejaniya at IMS

Saturday, May 10, 2014

shapeimage_2-8This year I got offered a spot in the highly prized retreat with visiting Burmese master Sayadaw U Tejaniya. Some of the 100 folks at this years retreat had been at his last retreat two years ago. Others had been on the long waiting list for that one and were thrilled to be here now. The list of yogis was also filled with well known teachers and celebrities, Continue reading