Smoke & Mirrors: A Rant
I love getting unexpected packages in the mail. And by unexpected packages, I mean unsolicited materials and recordings submitted for possible review. It’s like Christmas to tear open the packaging…
The Anti-Masterclass
Antimatter: Any substance that, when combined with an equal amount of matter, results in the complete and direct conversion of all substance to energy. () Anti-Masterclass: Any masterclass that, when…
Playing With Wolfgang: My Dog Ate My Minuet
The first time I ever worked on a Bach dance movement I felt like I had encountered an alien landscape. I had grown up on Bach chorales but somehow those…
PA Shorts: Boundaries
"You can’t fill up when you’re holding your breath. And writing is about filling up, filling up when you are empty, letting images and ideas and smells run down like…
A Personal Lesson In Promise
The following is a portion of a speech I gave last Saturday at the local kick off for the National Veterans Creative Arts Competition. I was asked to speak, to…
Creativity & Method: Redux
It's the start of the school year and with it has come much discussion among colleagues, questions from new students, and personal observations about transfer student readiness. I have read…
Artist Portrait: Mark Isaacs
Pianist and composer, Mark Isaacs is spirited, animated, and vibrant with a penchant for channeling his inner techie. He is also wonderfully open and forthright about the realities of his…
Vintage PA: Relationships
Several of my students and colleagues have recently purchased new pianos. It has been fun to rediscover the honeymoon phase of choosing and then learning to partner with a new…