How does one play Johannes Brahms on the other side of Ben Folds? I asked myself this question as I considered a response to my piano student's first lesson on one of the Romantic composer's pieces.
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On Loving Japan
...Children in post-2011 Fukushima prefecture are still suffering from the nuclear plant's leaked radiation. Many of their parents are afraid to let them play outside, and I am grateful to Lancaster Bible College's Journey Teams for providing me the opportunity to turn my grief into action.
From the Back Porch
David Crowder Band's "We Are Loved" played at least three times as I drove the four exits along Highway 30 West from my apartment to The Row House's Back Porch Music & Arts Fest at Prospect Valley Farm. I chose this song to stave off the self-consciousness I felt about attending my first music festival.… Continue reading From the Back Porch
Wait a minute! Wait a minute!
In Fall 2007, I gave a presentation designed as a class session on the 80th anniversary of the film The Jazz Singer for a course on cinema history, theory, and pedagogy. To open our discussion, I asked my pseudo-student classmates to describe Elvis Presley. They talked about his fame and stage presence, and I told… Continue reading Wait a minute! Wait a minute!
Susquehanna
When I found out I was moving from New York to Pennsylvania, I had a romantic, Mississippi-River-steamboat notion of loading my books, clothes, and instruments onto a vessel and riding down the Susquehanna River to a new life. Aware that transit for people and cargo no longer happens that way, however, I considered taking a… Continue reading Susquehanna
Once Upon a Fido
One day this week, my music theory students asked if we could have class at an on-campus cafe. Wanting coffee myself, I agreed, and we took our impromptu walk on the first mild afternoon of the semester. Our octet convened around three tables, and we ordered drinks ranging from an earl grey latte to an… Continue reading Once Upon a Fido
Changing Stations
Today, I told my students that I don't listen to Spotify or Pandora because I like radio DJs. To a few astonished faces, I admitted that I listen more through the web than through the airwaves, but a robust response might require an entire semester. In short, it is the hosts of WFUV who explained… Continue reading Changing Stations
On the Fringe of Conservatories
This December, I performed within ten minutes of two of the most prestigious music schools in the United States: Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York and Peabody Conservatory in Baltimore, Maryland. Although I applied to both schools (for an undergraduate degree in piano at Eastman and for graduate study in composition at Peabody),… Continue reading On the Fringe of Conservatories
Dessner Convergence
A decade ago, a friend at the Blair School of Music suggested I listen to some music by Steve Reich. Kronos Quartet's album, Steve Reich: Different Trains was the first recording of exclusively this composer's music in our library's CD collection that resonated with me. I had become fascinated with the tightness and camaraderie of… Continue reading Dessner Convergence
How Star Trek Changed My World
Fictional and non-fictional space travel were equally important to me as a child. Immersed in Star Trek: The Next Generation, I dressed up as Mae Jemison for an elementary school project. I wrote "Not Sci-Fi Anymore," a middle school paper about the first U.S. human space flights, while oscillating between Star Trek: Deep Space Nine… Continue reading How Star Trek Changed My World
Ars Arvole 