Auld lang syne

A little ditty from the piano at Casa Carter . . . Happy new year to all! May 2026 be a far sight better than this barely tolerable 2025 . . . .

2025 in pictures

Family &c.

On Christmas Eve, I departed Saint Louis at noon to drive west to Lee’s Summit to see my sister and niece and nephews for a few minutes on Christmas Eve. Christmas Day was spent mostly at their house, with a side trip to a few sites around Lee’s Summit where I showed niece Anna a

Wizard

Last weekend, I had the privilege of seeing two of my voice students singing and dancing (and flying!) in The Wizard of Oz, produced by Gateway Center for the Performing Arts. Photos: Jeffrey Richard Carter Studios LLC

Messiah

In a full-circle moment, this past Sunday, I sang in the chorus for a performance of Handel’s Messiah (Part the First) under the leadership of once-upon-a-time student Dr. Connor Scott, who is now the Director of Music at Christ Church Cathedral (Episcopal) in Saint Louis. Thanks to Webster University alumnus Riley Cameron for ensuring a

Two stories

Two stories I loved on NPR in the past week . . . . https://www.npr.org/2025/12/20/nx-s1-5630365/a-look-at-the-musical-two-strangers-carry-a-cake-across-new-york And https://www.npr.org/2025/12/22/nx-s1-5498768/ralph-fiennes-nicholas-hytner-the-choral-film

Christmas Day

An oldie but goodie! Happy Christmas to all!!

This Christmastide

Today, a repost from three years ago . . . . And a very happy Christmas Eve to all, far and near and in betwixt, from me and the pup!

Feeding the soul

Over the last week, I have seen three of my brood of surrogates. And the soul is filled with joy. I got not one but two Dennis sightings last week as he is home from college for the semester break. And then on consecutive days, meals with Spencer, home for a week’s break during the

2025 Christmas letter

To friends and family far and near — I am continuing the tradition, as is my wont. My parents wrote a Christmas letter to be sent with their December greeting cards, keeping in touch with (or mildly bragging to) friends from childhood, college, seminary, and places they’d lived. (By the time I was nine years