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A Musical Gift… Bach Christmas Oratorio

December 22, 2020

It’s not Christmas for me without performing this at least once! With so many concerts cancelled this year, I am amping up my listening, and playing through scores of my favorite pieces, and Bach tops the list! I miss being exhausted from holiday concerts, mid-night mass, church services, and private…

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A Musical Gift… Swingle Singers Jingle Bells

December 22, 2020

Jingle Bells is a super song for my beginning students! Like all great songs, from the easiest version to the most elaborate arrangement this melody has infinite possibilities. Listen for the terrific accompaniments made up of tiny chunks from the melody, and the harmonic modulations.

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A Musical Gift… New York Jazz Lounge

December 19, 2020

There’s nothing like some amazing jazz to put you in the mood to decorate the house, wrap presents, or just have a cozy cup of cider by the fire. I love the New York Jazz Lounge compilations, and I love NYC at Christmas. This recording has some of the finest…

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A Musical gift… Beethoven’s Birthday

December 17, 2020

In honor of Beethoven’s recent birthday, I thought a departure from music about Christmas and Winter would be appropriate. Aside from his notable success as a performer, choir director, and conductor Beethoven succeeded in persevering on a lifelong journey of musical study and composition in spite of numerous family and…

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A Musical Gift… Twelve Days of Christmas Confusion

December 14, 2020

For my students, colleagues, and music lovers, here’s a Christmas piece which, while hilarious, displays a tremendous level of vocal skill, timing, counting, memorization, pitch, ensemble and oh so, so, so much more, or perhaps I should say oh ho, ho, ho so much more! Twelve Days of Christmas Confusion,…

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A Musical Gift… Corelli Christmas Concerto

December 13, 2020

For my students, who may not be familiar with Corelli yet, he wrote twelve Concerti Grossi. Concerto grosso, or plural concerti grossi, is a common type of orchestral music from the Baroque era (c. 1600–c. 1750), characterized by the contrast between a small group of soloists (soli, concertino principale) and…

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A Musical Gift for My Students Past, Present, and Future!

December 11, 2020

As I have been speaking with many students this week, I have realized that for young musicians, the importance of learning to listen, read, and write music (or about music) is often not emphasized as much as the skills involved in playing an instrument. Music is a language, and like…

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The Snow

November 29, 2020

“The Snow”, by Edward Elgar, exemplifies the power of music to capture emotions and evoke memories. It exists in the moment and evaporates. Tomorrow is supposed to be the first snow in Indianapolis, and this work reminds me of many snowy walks, the chill, the quiet, the beauty and peace…

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FROM SILENCE TO SOUND

October 17, 2020

I find it fascinating that an actor, who spent most of his life in silence, composed and arranged such beautiful music. Sort of exemplifies the dichotomy of isolation and public life that all performers balance! Terrific performance, here!

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Ravel, Le Tombeau de Couperin

October 14, 2020

“The dead are sad enough, in their eternal silence.” – Maurice Ravel, referring to his friends, musicians and artists, who served in World War I. While seldom remembered, many composers and artists left what they felt to be their life calling in both World War I and World War II.…

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