Posts Categorized: Uncategorized

Spent the last two evenings at the Kennedy Center, at two wildly different events. But the most important thing I learned had nothing to do with either the performers or the content. Rather, I was reminded how difficult it can be to incorporate concert-going into one’s life. (And in case you’re wondering, I’m sticking to

The good news: I still get to play the piano in public a few times a year. The better news: In one month, I have the privilege of playing a concert with one of Wolf Trap’s most marvelous alumni, bass-baritone Alan Held. The bad news: I have to find my chops again. When I went

This week has blind-sided me, and I’m about to join all of my blogger colleagues out there who are taking a brief sabbatical. I’ll resurface the first week of January, well-rested and ready to dig into our pre-production phase. (There are some benefits of working for a summer festival company, and a full week of

But First, the Really Important Stuff…Toys for Tots collection at work. For the Record A few responses to some of the challenges posed to my previous postings on the Juilliard master class event: I acknowledge that the star artist behavior in most master classes is neither brutally inhuman nor more abusive in general than much

Hot Topic Receiving even more feedback and comments on the master class discussion, and yesterday’s entry saw a significant increase in readership (about 1,500 hits for the day). Clearly it’s a hot button for people on both sides of the fence. I’ll jump back in tomorrow for a final post on the topic. Then I’m

Barbara Cook’s Master Class – A Response As they say, I should’ve been there. And since I wasn’t, I shouldn’t have assumed. Two days ago, I interpreted a New York Times account of Barbara Cook’s master class at Juilliard through my own particular lens of experience and expectation. Why? I believe so firmly in what

Master classes are many-headed monsters. I’ve seen very few that deliver significant results and even fewer that purport to be about what they say they are. But according to Sunday’s New York Times, it sounds as if Barbara Cook is using this format to do important work with young singers. The master classes that are

But First…. I have to weigh in on the veritable snowstorm of reporting and critiquing that’s been done on last weekend’s premiere of Tobias Picker’s An American Tragedy at the Met. I was not lucky enough to see it, but I am looking forward to hearing it on the December 24 broadcast. Thanks to An