The Hubble Cantata

The stars were certainly out in Brooklyn last night. I mean gazillions of stars — more stars than I have ever seen here in our light-polluted city. In fact, I felt like I was floating through the cosmos. I could see infinite space in every direction. There were shooting stars, and I even watched the birth of a star in…

the public domain: rehearsal with Simon Halsey

Get ready to mark your calendars! Last Friday we began weekly rehearsals for an exciting choral event to be held later this summer in NYC in the plaza at Lincoln Center. This Wednesday evening we had a special rehearsal with the delightful Simon Halsey — Choral Director of the London Symphony Orchestra — who will conduct…

Philadanco at Celebrate Brooklyn

I already knew there was a lot to love about Philadelphia — Reading Terminal Market and the Philadelphia Museum of Art, among many things — but after seeing Philadanco perform in Prospect Park at BRIC’s Celebrate Brooklyn! Festival, I have yet another reason to to adore this city and its cultural arts. I had no idea what to…

Fun Home

Sometimes life just dishes up the most amazing surprises. Take this week, for instance. I no sooner leave my Carnegie Hall performance on Sunday, but I learn that friends from Portland (Oregon) are in town visiting two of whom I am sure are some of the best school teachers (and their amazing spouses) in the city….

New York Philharmonic, Violent Femmes & Carnegie Hall

It’s all in a weekend, from the high to the low to the high again — in terms of culture, that is — and I guess, in terms of my mood, too. Confused? Sure you are. Bear with me. The weekend began with the first of three intensive rehearsals in Manhattan with visiting choral conductor, Alex…

Denmark

“Something is rotten in the state of Denmark” —  Shakespeare’s Hamlet, Act I, Scene IV Picture this: It is 8 pm on a perfect June day. I am seated on risers in a lovely white room on lower Broadway. A perfectly composed contemporary kitchen and living room is artfully placed in the foreground. Sheer curtains stir in the…

Martin Creed: The Back Door

I had a fun, if not slightly unnerving romp around the Park Avenue Armory with friends last night. Artist Martin Creed took over the entire first floor of the Armory, creating an exhibition entitled The Back Door. He has been working over 20 years, and is known for his minimalist style. This interactive exhibition presented…

La Double Coquette

I was lucky enough to catch the New York Premiere of La Double Coquette at Montclair State University this past weekend. Wow. Il était merveilleux! It was part of the university’s Peak Performances series, which consistently presents an exciting season of productions each year. The French Institute Alliance Française (FIAF) in Montclair joined Peak Performances…

Green-Wood Cemetery Memorial Day Concert

Tradition dictates that if certain friends and I are in town, we amble over to Green-Wood Cemetery for their wonderful, old-fashioned Memorial Day concert. This year it was their 18th. The ISO Symphonic Band — under the direction of Brian P. Worsdale — conducts. There are always talented guest vocalists. Even the wild green parrots…

Park Slope Singers Spring 2016 Concerts

I am a member of this chorus and we would be honored to have you attend our upcoming concerts the weekend of June 4th and June 5th! We are under the incredibly talented direction of Dusty Francis. You can find out more about us here!

A Season of Beautiful Music

April showers bring not only May flowers — or more showers, as the case has been this spring — but they also bring beautiful music. Actually, more music than I can keep up with. But until I have a cultural clone to help me with the wealth of performances I wish I could attend at any given time, I…

Henry V

It has been a season of endings: both for BAM’s King and Country cycle of Shakespeare’s King plays, as well as for the folding of the print magazine I designed for years. (Print is dead. Long live print!) Focusing on the job situation is the reason for this extremely late review of Henry V, and for…