My seatmate on a plane recently was a middle-aged man on a business trip. We struck up a conversation, which included the range of usual topics: jobs, families, home cities, and frequent flier status. When he heard that I am a radio host and trained musician, he told me about his own background playing several […]
Today we mark a terrible, somber anniversary. We humans seem to naturally want to mark the passage of time in one-year increments — we celebrate anniversaries of weddings, births, new jobs and other happy occasions. We also mark anniversaries of sad and tragic things — deaths, losses, and shocking events. For these anniversaries, we remember
Everywhere you look lately, there are celebrations of the centennial of Leonard Bernstein. The legendary musician’s work as a conductor, composer and educator left an extraordinary legacy. He would have celebrated his 100th birthday on August 25, 2018. You may be thinking: What does Leonard Bernstein have to do with Sunday Baroque? Well, he helped create
Creating Music Lovers Read More »
Today’s Sunday Baroque show (7/29/18) includes some highlights about summer music festivals. No matter what genre of music you fancy, there is a music festival suited to your tastes. You may be solely a spectator/listener, or an active participant — summer presents so many rich and rewarding opportunities, so many hands-on possibilities. I have a wealth
As much as I love music, I also appreciate silence. Or perhaps I should say I appreciate the absence of what we traditionally define as “music.” It offers a chance to focus on a different, more nuanced layer of sound. Birds singing, leaves rustling, chipmunks fussing in the yard, rain gently tapping on the house
The Music of Silence Read More »
Did you see the fascinating recent article in Time about the connection between early piano lessons and language ability? http://time.com/5322121/music-lessons-language-learning/ The findings resonate because I have long had strong feelings about the connection between musical ability and facility for languages. While it’s only anecdotal, I notice that many people around me with good musical ears
The Music of Language Read More »
Two decades ago, cellist Yo Yo Ma embarked on a new musical journey, forming his Silk Road Ensemble. It’s a multicultural artistic collaboration between musicians from all over the world. They have made recordings, earned a Grammy nomination, commissioned diverse new musical works, created collaborations with students and teachers, and so much more. Silkroad boldly states
The Music of Strangers Read More »
Some of the things I’m most grateful for are things I did not plan for and could not have imagined for myself. For example, as a young musician, I hoped/dreamed/planned to be a full time flutist performing in a significant professional orchestra. Yet, along the way, I stumbled into radio and fell in love with
The Path to Success Read More »
What will you do to make yourself happy today? It’s a question I sometimes ask people, an extension of a question I’ve made a habit to ask myself each day. Sunday Baroque listeners frequently say the music on the program makes them happy and provides mental and emotional nourishment. Recently a listener told me he
Is your glass half full? Read More »
My earliest Memorial Day memories are connected to my earliest days as a fledgling musician. My hometown Memorial Day parade included most of the local public school bands, and we looked forward to it every year with a sense of excitement and gravity. We prepared extensively, practiced marching along while playing our instruments, and learned
