I was recently thanked by an opera singer via twitter for being so “enthusiastic”.  My enthusiasm for opera is long and deep with roots in childhood and I spent much of my 20’s working as a stage manager, production coordinator, and/or cueing supertitles in Houston, No...

Singing has always seemed to me the most perfect means of expression.  It is so spontaneous.  And after singing, I think the violin.  Since I cannot sing, I paint. – Georgia O’Keefe

Loving opera is something I inherited somewhat by accident from my father.  H...

An ounce of practice is worth more than tons of preaching.  – Mahatma Gandhi

Concert pianist Arthur Rubenstein was walking down the street in Manhattan when a tourist stopped him and asked, “do you know the way to Carnegie Hall?”  And Rubenstein reportedly replied, “pr...

“You can safely assume you’ve created God in your own image when it turns out that God hates all the same people you do.” – Anne Lamott

I recently got to live-tweet the final dress rehearsal for San Francisco Opera’s new opera, the Gospel of Mary Magdalene by Mark A...

Like most folks who work in the arts, I hate auditions.  Spend a little bit of time with an actor, singer, or dancer and you’ll get a wagon-load of horror stories under the category “auditions”.  It’s not much fun to be on the “other” side of the audition process eithe...

This past Sunday was in the midst of Memorial Day weekend and in between all the grilling, drinking, graduations, and festivities, I spent some time thinking about freedom.  It is a regular part of the vocabulary when talking about sacrifices made by members of the Ame...

On any given evening, the musicians of the San Francisco Symphony, like any first-tier orchestra, are capable of playing beautiful music.   But there are times when the context of a concert affects the performance and turns a lovely evening of listening to good music i...

On a personal note:  I never intended to become an actual blogger who got comments from folks beyond my normal sphere of activity.  I really appreciate all the wonderful discussion that continues to take place concerning my first “off -the-cuff” piece about the San Fra...

For the past few days, I have found myself increasingly depressed and angry over the general reaction to the strike by the musicians of the San Francisco Symphony.   I have observed via social media and in person a variety of people refer to these top flight musicians...

When did “Christmas” arrive for you?  Or did it?  Was it last night during a candlelit “Silent Night” or when you first laid eyes on your grandchild this morning or . . .

For me, “Christmas” arrived just after the evening service.  After Silent Night, I walked out...