The halftime show

Normally half-time means you get a break, but the looming renewal of my work visa in the UK (fun, fun) completely killed off my modest three free days last week, and now I am back in the maelstrom after a slightly-more-tiring-than-usual flight over to the US....

More on Felix

I’m happy to call your attention to a new blog, My Second Act, especially as the author had the good sense to use one of their first posts to call attention to my post on Mendelssohn- Felix Rocks.  The Balance of All Things Just as nature is said to abhor a...

Disco Post Mortem

I’ve had a few email requests for a post-mortem on my concert/recording project for Discovering Music with the BBC National Orchestra of Wales last week. It’s nice to know readers are paying attention, and it was a project that left me with a lot to think about. It’s...

Enjoying the trip

I’m heading into the back country this morning.  Twice every year we take the youth orchestra here on a weekend retreat. Instead of heading for a private school built around an ancient mansion (as we have in Kent), the OES Prep Orch heads into the nearby mountains,...

PDX PDQ

We’ve thought from time to time about moving to Portland, Oregon. It’s a famously nice place, and it would be very convenient for my work with the Rose City Chamber Orchestra, who are based here, and the OES which is not exactly next door, but Portland is the nearest...