Composing

I’m continuing the weekly exercise, intending to keep this up for 52 weeks, as I recount a wee piece of the story of my life. This week’s prompt: When did you start composing? Oh my. This one is really digging deep into memories. I suppose my first composition was a required assignment for a high

Puff, the magic dragon

A few days ago I started a Peter, Paul, and Mary nostalgia trip. I’m not unhappy I did. And may I just say — “Puff, the magic dragon” may be one of the saddest songs I’ve heard in some time. At my age of 62, this song has so much resonance. [And I’m taking on

Songs

My voice-teaching life is varied. Songs that I’ve touched with voice students this week: And this is a light week for lessons!

Slammed #3

I’m slammed this week, so you are getting videos of songs that meant something to me when I was a teenager. And yes, I was a nerd.

Slammed #1

I am slammed this week, so I’m posting videos of songs that meant something to me as a teenager. And yes, I was a geek.

Cabaret: “What I wish I’d said”

Here’s video from my cabaret this week at Webster University. The theme, “What I wish I’d said,” had a subtitle that indicated I was reconsidering decisions from a chunk of my life. And some photos from the evening: Photo credits to Bev Garner and Jessica Hentoff.

Two songs

I had the pleasure of working with Carolbeth True this past Sunday as I sang at First Unity Church of Saint Louis! And thanks to Steve Schenkel for inviting us to be part of the Sunday service. Here’s a couple of songs: “I believe” and “If I can help somebody.” This looks like the same

Bat out of hell

NPR ran this story earlier this week. I took it all in, and loved the breakdown. https://www.npr.org/2022/01/24/1075383870/like-a-bat-out-of-hell And then on Tuesday, they ran an articles about “Don’t stop believin’.” https://www.npr.org/2022/01/25/1075624862/encore-dont-stop-believin-goes-on-and-on-because-we-need-it-to Must be ‘break down a song’ week at NPR!

Random thoughts

Jason, of “Jason’s Song” fame, had another birthday this week. I wish I could have joined him to celebrate. A chance encounter at the Muny lower lot led to a serendipitous visit on Friday. Grace Jones had just dropped off her son, and I was dropping off Tyler who had been hanging with me after

Tangier Sorties

Two years and a few months after first visiting Tangier, Morocco, and two years and one month fewer than a few months since I wrote the poetry, I am finally at work on my “Tangier Sorties” for voice and piano. The outline for the melody and harmony came together in a 25-minute flash last week.