Sunday, September 15, 2013
The Holidays were very early this year, for my 19th year going to Wichita as the “rent-a-cantor” at Congregation Emanu-El. Has it really been 19 years!!!??? The weather was beautiful for Rosh Hashanah as I flew out of a deserted Newark airport on Labor Day. Because of various scheduling issues involving Tony the pianist and the local High School musical, we rehearsed, if you can call it rehearsing, a day early. Continue reading
Wednesday, July 24, 2013
Australia: “Uluru” Ayers Rock 2009
So there we are standing in front of Ayers Rock, or Uluru, as the indigenous Australian people call it. It was winter down under, but we enjoyed beautiful October-like weather in the red center of the country. After a week in Brisbane at the voice teacher conference, Michael and I set out on a whirlwind 10 day tour of the top sights in Australia. Continue reading
Sunday, July 14, 2013
Michael and I are standing in front of Queensland Conservatorium in Brisbane, Australia, with Mimmi Fulmer on the last day of the 8th International Congress of Voice Teachers. More than a year ago, I had been asked to contribute a chapter on ornamenting Classical and Bel Canto arias to a book edited by Scott Harrison, who teaches at the Queensland Conservatorium. He was also involved with hosting the conference, and he suggested that I give a talk on the material from the chapter. Continue reading
Saturday, February 9, 2013
Dragon Mother with Princeton University Orchestra, Amsterdam
I have spent the past week mostly in bed, recovering from the stomach flu. Little did I know when I sat with Kendra on the bus ride from Cologne to Amsterdam and told her the story of my trip to Mongolia, (see Diva in the Desert on the writing page) complete with food poisoning and a memorably revolting bathroom at the last concert venue, that there would be a repeat performance on this trip. Continue reading
Friday, September 28, 2012
Heading to Kansas to sing High Holy Days again, I decided to go out there a day early and visit the Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve. I had seen an article about it in the National Parks magazine and it looked incredibly beautiful. About an hour and a half north east of Wichita, in the Flint Hills, it was a bit too far to go back and forth in one day. Continue reading
Thursday, July 26, 2012
There I am, sunning on some rocks, somewhere in the Frank Church River of No Return Wilderness, writing in my travel journal as my wet clothes dry, watching the Middle Fork of the Salmon River flow by and by. Michael and I flew to Boise, and drove three hours into the mountains to arrive in the tiny town of Stanley, Idaho, nestled at the foot of the magnificent Sawtooth Mountain range. Continue reading
Sunday, June 17, 2012
After hearing about sesshin at the Rochester Zen Center for 30 years, I finally went to one with Michael. What a wild ride! Michael and I drove up in two days, staying overnight in Cortland NY where we enjoyed a lovely dinner at an outside cafe.
When we arrived at Chapin MIll the next day, Michael loved showing me all his favorite spots. The country property is beautiful and the retreat center is open and spacious, yet compact and comfortable. Continue reading
Sunday, May 20, 2012
Michael and I spent three glorious days in Cape May for the NJ Audubon Spring Migration weekend. The weather was perfect, not too hot with bright sun and blue skies. We stayed at the Angel of the Sea B&B again and enjoyed the overstuffed parlor, overstuffed breakfasts and sunny porches. All the guided birding walks were fantastic and we usually got completely overloaded after two hours of mindful seeing and hearing. Highlights included piping plovers with babies on the beach, indigo buntings in the fields, pine warblers in the trees and many more. I especially loved meeting NJ Audubon legend Pete Dunne. What a character! He said when you see a bird and can name it, then you own it. Yes, there is definitely a feeling of grasping in the seeing, when you are trying to get a good look at the bird and see it clearly enough that you can really identify it. We definitely have to get better optics! Too bad the weekend was clouded by Emily’s troubles with Henry. We tried to be as supportive as we could over the phone.
Sunday, November 27, 2011
Michael and I returned to the Ukraine last week to do another concert with the Odessa Philharmonic. Michael is on leave this semester, and Hobey is covering for him with the PU orchestra for the December concert. This time we would bring some of our favorite American music, Barber Knoxville, and Copland Appalachian Spring, to share with our Ukrainian friends. Continue reading
Sunday, October 16, 2011
This was my 17th year as the rent-a-cantor for Congregation Emanu-El in Wichita Kansas. I love going there, and it feels like a home coming at this point. Even though I only see folks for several days a year, many of them are good friends and feel like family. Continue reading