Dear ever-patient blog readers,

It has been a shamefully long time since I last posted here: I vow to do better going forward!

But it's been a very full, exciting and busy 15 months, with a performance tour in Hungary--for which I learned to sing in the beautiful but challenging language of Hungarian--recording a new CD, premieres of new music by Laura Schwendinger, William Ludtke, and David Garner, translating 4 middle grade novels and 6 middle grade graphic novels from Italian and French into English, a family reunion in NY, my normal performing schedule...and more. So hopefully you'll all forgive my absence on these blogging pages and understand the  hiatus.

The CD recording sessions took place last month, with the Jewish Music & Poetry Project's pianist Dale Tsang and cellist Adaiha MacAdam-Somer. Intense but satisfying.  Keep an eye on the Centaur Records online catalogue in 2016 (or this space, natch) for the release of Surviving: Women's Words, song cycles by David Garner of texts by four different women poets.

Back to the present, I just returned from the annual craziness known as Comic Con, which was just as packed and huge as ever--possibly even more so. There's always some concern that it's gotten too big (legitimate) and that it's becoming too much of a pop culture haven (also legitimate), but it remains a fun and energy-packed time.  For me, it's a chance to check out the swag (books, books, and more books!), attend panels, see friends, and visit the SoCal wing of my family.  A shout out to First Second, which celebrated its 10th anniversary this year with not one or two but three Eisner Awards, for The Zoo Box by Ariel Cohn and Aron Nels Steinke, This One Summer by Mariko and Jilliam Tamaki (which I read earlier this year and recommend), and The Shadow Hero by the multitalented Gene Luen Yang whose Airbender: The Last Avatar, from Dark Horse was the other half of his best writer award; also to Graphix/ Scholastic for its Eisner-winning Sisters by Reina Telgemeier, and to all the other Eisner nominees and winners.  Now everyone gets to catch their breath until next year's Con.

It's less than a month until another big annual conference in SoCal, although one that's a little tamer than Comic Con, thank goodness: the annual SCBWI conference from July 30-Aug. 3. I'm thrilled to have been asked to give a workshop on translating, quite the honor, as it's the first time they're having a talk on the subject.  Check out Avery Udagawa's interview with me on the SCBWI blog if you feel like it...

 In a far more sobering note, an important professor  of mine from grad school died this week at the age  of 81, Alan Curtis.  Alan had a major impact on  the early music movement, both at the keyboard  and also conducting Handel and Monteverdi.  And he had a major influence on me:  performing in the Collegium as a grad student with  him directing-- particularly my singing the role of Nino in Cesti's  Semiramide with the inimitable Elizabeth Anker-- was crucial in my decision to be an opera singer.  Requiescat in pace to him, and to also the towering  dramatic tenor, Jon Vickers, who passed away last  week.

Watch a marvelous interview with Alan Curtis  during recording sessions for Alcina in 2009, with Joyce Didonato and other wonderful musicians.

To hear some Monteverdi live, check out West Edge Opera's Festival 2015, which will include Monteverdi's Il ritorno di Ulisse in Patria, conducted by Music Sources' Gilbert Martinez.

What I'm reading: all the marvelous books I got on Comic Con! More later...

What I'm listening to: the first edits of the JMPP's CD, to give feedback to our wonderful team of audio engineer, Jason O'Connell, and producer David Garner; Elektra (Strauss, for performing).

What I'm working on: new-to-me Bartok settings for 2015/16 concerts; the Fuenfte Magde from Elektra by Strauss for a concert performance in August.

Grand Budapest Hotel, Miklos Rozsa, and World Premieres by Garner and Ruehr

Photo by Michael Halberstadt

Here in very occasional blog-land, I'm trying out a new way of going about this, using my trusty old 'droid mini Nexus tab (yes,  I was  a VERY early adopter on that particular trend) and a brand new Logitech keyboard that my kid got me for my birthday present.  (What a great kid!) Although it's for iOS, it seems to play very nicely with the Android OS, with only a few differences from what I'm used to, at least thus far.  Time will tell: perhaps the ease and beauty of use will persuade me to make this blog a regular thing (gasp!), instead of a random and very occasional one.

Speaking of which, everyone's subscriptions for the blog have gotten somewhat...messed up: for example, if you were subscribed here before Google killed off Google Reader a while back, you no longer are--and some subscriptions somehow went with that as well.  So if readers could pretty please resubscribe (it's now much easier, though), that would be a wonderful thing and greatly appreciated.  It took me a looong time to notice (actually I never did: an attentive reader told me she was having trouble with the subscribe feature), and even longer to fix it. Mea maxima culpa.  

Coming up this very weekend (on Saturday, March 29 at 8 p.m. in Berkeley...subtle hint, no?)  is the JMPP's next program of premieres at Trinity Chamber Concerts (2320 Dana St.... yet another even more subtle hint, yes?).  It's a great lineup: David Garner's newest song cycle for the group, to texts by Yala Korwin, Garner's new additions to his cycle Phoenix, Elena Ruehr's new song cycle Winter Solstice Songs, to texts by Berkeley poet Marcia Falk, plus Ruth Lomon's arrangement of her song "The Butterfly" for soprano, cello, and piano, and works by Czech and Hungarian composers Sandor Vandor, Miklos Rozsa, and Vitezslava Kapralova.  All this plus a composer/ poet Q&A at the start wth Garner and Falk.  Elena Ruehr had hoped to come, but in the end wasn't able to do so. Performers are cellist Adaiha MacAdam-Somer, Dale Tsang, and yours truly.

To all those wonderful readers and fans who correctly answered the JMPP's newsletter quiz (about which of this program's composers won 3 Oscars), congratulations!  If you'd like to find out the answer--and incidentally hear about the JMPP's future concerts--you can sign up at info at jewishmusicandpoetryproject.org.  Here's a visual hint, as well;).

Before I end this endlessly shameless (or shameful?) plug, in more exciting news, the JMPP is honored and thrilled to have received a grant from the Zellerbach Family Foundation Community Arts Program, in support of our March 29 concert.

Moving on to other topics: The Grand Budapest Hotel.  Yes, a movie!  Without giving away the plot or committing other acts of heinous spoilers, this wonderful Wes Anderson film is a comic, quirky, sweet and sometimes bittersweet paean to a time that has long passed, lost in the chaos of the events of the 20th century.  Highly recommended.

What I'm reading: Jasper Fforde's fabulous "Thursday Next" series. If you like Terry Pratchett and serious lit, too, you'll get a kick out of this smarmily tongue-in-cheek alternate universe series. And, on a far more serious note: Who Shall Live: the Wilhelm Bachner Story by Samuel Oliner and Kathleen Lee.  A chilling look at Eastern Europe in the 1940s under the Nazis, and one brave Jewish soul who saved many.

What I'm listening to: Andrea Chenier (the opera), Lorde, Bach (can one ever get enough of this intellectual master?), Mahler (ditto!), Prokofiev, Gershwin, and Crumb.

Music I'm working on: the pieces for Saturday's concert, natch, plus music for the Vinaccesi Ensemble's program at the Legion of Honor on April 5.  More on this last coming next week, should this occasional blogger manage to blog again soon. 

The Pianist of Willesden Lane

While it's been a blink of an eye in occasional-blog land, time has passed in the "real" world, where it's been several months since I last posted. Since then, I've shared the friendly skies with about a half dozen airline  companies with varying levels of comfort, even though the Eastern European tour was postponed. (Why? Think government shutdown (see below) and you'll have a clue on that one.) And just last month, both the Vinaccesi Ensemble and the Jewish Music & Poetry Project  had wonderful performances, at SF Music Day, Live + Free and Cafe Europa, respectively. For Cafe Europa (and the tour) I'd been learning to sing in Hungarian, thanks to a patient Hungarian coach and native speakers.  In my so-called spare time, I've been studying Hungarian as well: what a beautiful language.

Now that's it's November, Thanksgiving is drawing nigh in a once-in-a-millenium confluence of Thanksgivukkah which makes it already time to work on holiday concerts. Amazing how 2013 has flown...

In the meantime I saw a fabulous production last night with some great family friends. It's a must-see.  So if you're in driving distance, buy tickets and run, do not walk, to the absolutely brilliant production at Berkeley Rep of The Pianist at Willesden Lane, a one-woman show narrated and performed by pianist Mona Golabek, based on the true
story of her mother (pianist Lisa Jura), who was saved by the grace of the Kindertransport before WWII. A moving performance and a work of art, now extended to January 5, 2014.

On to more contemporary and mundane matters: the U.S. government shut down. Yes, that affected yours truly.  The JMPP was to be in Eastern Europe in October for a tour sponsored by the U.S. Embassy and part of the Daniel Pearl World Music Days.  But due to the shutdown, we've been postponed. Latest word is maybe, maybe...hopefully maybe Fall 2014.  Keep your fingers crossed and we'll keep you posted.

Oh, and did I mention that my accomplished sister, law professor Robin Feldman, testified as an expert witness on patent trolls for the hearing by the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations' this past Thursday, entitled "The Impact of Patent Assertion Entities on Innovation and the Economy?"

Am I proud of her, or what?  Check out her learned tome on the subject, if you're curious--Rethinking Patent Law--and her testimony, starting around 13:20 in the following clip:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=932oen0UjwE .Yes, that's her with the clear diction, cogent argument, and excellent delivery--not to mention the lovely sweater. Great job, Ms. Feldman!

Recently read: Cinder (Lunar Chronicles #1, by Marissa Meyer).  Excellent.  Just when you think you've seen every twisted spin on retold fairy tales worth reading, a new one comes along that knocks your socks off.  As does this one.  It's based on...you can guess, I'm sure.

What I'm reading: The Golden Dice: A Tale of Ancient Rome (by Elizabeth Storr, the sequel to her award-winning The Wedding Shroud - A Tale of Ancient Rome) and Maggie Stiefvater's The Scorpio Races.

What I'm listening to: Beethoven Sonatas (Moonlight, Op. 26, Op. 13, Op. 31, Waldstein), songs and arias by Rameau and Campra, lots of concerts by my busy friends, including the talented Michael S.

What I'm working on: other than Christmas concerts, lots of new music by Elena Ruehr, David Garner, and Kurt Erickson, for preview in January and premiere by the JMPP in April at Trinity Chamber Concerts; music by French Baroque composers for the Vinaccesi Ensemble's appearance at Noontime Concerts on Jan. 21 as part of Noontime's annual French Festival.

Lara's Gift and more

What a crazy, full week it has been!  First there was Sunday's wonderful Vinaccesi Ensemble concert at Congregation Netivot Shalom--thanks again to our fans, friends and the terrific folks at CNS--then I turned in the translation to another fabulous Thea Stilton graphic novel, the third in the series, tonight did the subtitles to help out Verismo Opera in their current production of Rigoletto, and went to the Merola Master Class taught by conductor John DeMain--all the while continuing to look for a car to replace my beloved 96 Audi A4 that someone smashed into :(, among myriad other things.

In the meantime, a shout-out and a small plug for my friend Annemarie O'Brien, who's YA novel Lara's Gift, just released by Knopf, has earned a starred Kirkus Review. Check out the trailer here! To celebrate the release of Lara's Gift, blogger and editor Deborah Halverson is giving away a free edit here.  Wondering what Deborah Halverson has to do with Annemarie and why she's doing this?  Well, check out that link and you'll get the full scoop ;).  Congrats and kudos, Annemarie!

And a few updates... The Vinaccesi Ensemble will next be at SF Music Day, Live + Free, Oct. 20, in a program of Latin American Baroque music.  Fun researching this new and interesting rep.  For instance, did you know that the first Latin American opera is from 1701?  And that there's a wealth of music from the continent in that period that seldom gets heard?  More later, but check out the recently updated website!

The Jewish Music & Poetry Project's next performance is at Noontime Concerts in SF on Sept. 10, in a program of Zemlinsky, Mendelssohn, Gershwin, and more.   This just two days after I join the The Handel Opera Project and a number of wonderful singers for a program of Mozart, Handel, and Bach, on Sept. 8 in Berkeley.  Check it out!

What I'm reading: Genie Wishes, Wolf Hall, hopefully Lara's Gift soon :)
What I'm listening to:  Fabulous songs from the '40's by Joseph Kosma; more songs by Zemlinsky; Verdi's Rigoletto (see above).
What I'm working on: Handel's Allor ch'io dissi addio for THOP, Zemlinsky, Wolf, and Garner, and Kosma, Vandor, and Justus for the JMPP's upcoming Eastern European tour--and more. Whew!

Comic Con!

No surprise: Comic Con was huge, huge, huge, and fun! 

Imagine 100,000 or so steam punk, graphic novel, comix, animation, sci fi/ fantasy and film folks flitting around in a--here's that word again--huge convention center...with costumes galore, give-away bags and swag at the ready, and you'll have a glimmer of a glimpse of the scene. Although I occasionally thought about posting on my occasional blog, there were so many panels to go to, booths to visit, books to investigate, new friends and colleagues to meet,  family to enjoy, and old friends and colleagues to say hello to, that I'm just starting to recover a week later.  Whew!  I need a vacation from my vacation ;).  Can't wait 'til next year!  

One of those new friends is actress Arlene Newman-van Asperen--snapshot of us above at the Papercutz booth--not too far from the Star Trek booth, for that matter. My spouse couldn't resist Enterprise pinky rings and I... well, an Emily the Strange messenger bag had my name on it after successfully singing its siren song to me.  Yes,indeedie, I have that fab bag slung across my shoulder with a water bottle stuck in the pocket.  And the cool thing is that Emily the Strange's booth had a giveaway and I won a great hoodie. Gotta love Comic Con ;).

And one of those old friends, below, is Jim Salicrup, at that same Papercutz booth. If you like graphic novels for kids, check out Papercutz' Ernest and Rebecca, Geronimo Stilton, Thea Stilton, Annoying Orange Smurfs, and more.  Over at NBM's booth for grown-ups, I bumped into some great new or at least new-to-me GNs on display: Persia Blues, Stargazing Dog, Philosophy: a Discovery in Comics.  Can't wait to read them, along with the books I brought back from San Diego.

Had some great meals in SD, too, especially at Craft and Commerce--a repeat visit from last year's end-of-the-Con, celebratory pre-flight meal. Yum! Highly recommended.

Back on earth, aka the Bay Area, I saw West Edge Opera's creepy production of Benjamin Britten's The Turn of the Screw. Based on the Henry James ghost story of the same name, the chamber opera uses a small cast and a reduced orchestra that becomes a palpable character in its own right, an instrumental Greek chorus that foreshadows and reflects upon the onstage drama.  (The regular disclaimer--many of the WEO folks are my friends and colleagues...)

One of the challenges in doing a horror story from another era has to do with changing sensibilities. Given the horrors we see on today's big screen, let alone the real life events shown so often on the small screen or in  newspapers, can a less-than-explicit but spooky little tale still speak to a modern audience? 

In a word, yes,  And Britten's setting grows increasingly gripping in the second act, as the story drives towards its chilling denouement.  

In the midst of everything else, the Vinaccesi Ensemble is in rehearsal with some great new northern-Italian Baroque repertory for our season finale in Berkeley on Sunday Aug.4 at 3 p.m. (1316 University Ave.).  Madrigals, canzonettas, and songs with Baroque guitar by Salamone Rossi, incomparable psalm settings by Benedetto Marcello--and a soupcon of Vinaccesi, natch.  Catch the musical worlds of Mantua (Rossi) and Venice (Marcello/ Vinaccesi) as they glide into the 21st century. Discounted advance tickets available.

What I'm reading: I've mostly been living in the land of YA, with.... Seraphina (a beautifully written, delightful and very relevant interspecies morality tale) Anna and the French Kiss (from a book exchange--wonderful to revisit Paris through its pages), and Veronica Roth's Divergent/ Insurgent dystopian pair--looking forward to the third of the series, Allegiant, due out in the fall.  Also reading some Joseph Roth, a grown up novelist :). 

What I'm working on and listening to: Britten, Rossi, Marcello, Handel for September, Joseph Kosma, Gershwin, Vandor, Justus, and Zemlinsky for September in SF and October in Eastern Europe, and Hugo Wolf for the future.  A busy time :)!

Two Shout-Outs and a Third Vinaccesi

Vinaccesi Ensemble in Santa Rosa at CAS on June 2

Today's post is a quick one, two, three, four...two shout-outs for friends and colleagues who are performing in the Bay Area over the the next week plus a third Vinaccesi concert and yet another shout-out.

First, pianist John Boyajy will be playing Debussy, Chopin, Bach, and Callaway at Old First Concerts on Friday June 7 at 8 p.m. (that's tomorrow, folks, and today by time you read this post, in all likelihood!).  Ticket link: www.oldfirstconcerts.org/performances/530.

Second, on Thursday, June 13, at 7 p.m., mezzo-soprano Kindra Scharich--who is in the Vinaccesi Ensemble with me--will be joined by violist Paul Yarborough (of the Alexander String Quartet) and pianist John Parr for "Songs of Voice and Viola," Lieder Alive's season closer, in a Liederabend of Brahms, Marx, Loeffler and more.  At Salle Pianos (1632C Market) in SF.  Three marvelous musicians performing seldom-heard gems. Ticket link: http://liederalivevoiceandviola.eventbrite.com/

And sandwiched between those two concerts, the Vinaccesi Ensemble returns to San Francisco on Tuesday, June 11 at 12:30, at Noontime Concerts (Old St. Mary's, 660 California St.), for the third our "Voices of Venice" series, this time a lunchtime version. Music by Vivaldi, Vinaccesi, Strozzi, Rossi, and Monteverdi. Read more about it in Classical Sonoma and see the program here.

Isn't the Bay Area great?!  Sooo many things to do, places to see, music to hear, people to be with...

What I'm reading: the second Andrea Camilleri book, The Terra-Cotta Dog, which arrived from the library last week. (The Berkeley Public Library is a jewel in the crown of the public library system.  I am a frequent visitor, a regular patron--and very grateful to my local librarians!)

What I'm listening to: Rossi, Vinaccesi, and more Italian Baroque music...can't shut off my internal sound track of these fabulous tunes.

What I'm working on: spurious Vivaldi, Rossi, Strozzi, and Hugo Wolf.

And...as a P.S., almost forgot about yet another colleague's concert(s) this weekend. The Vinaccesi Ensemble's own Adam Cockerham has a duo, Jarring Sounds.  You can hear them this weekend in Berkeley (Garden Gate Center at 8 on the 8th) and SF (Church of the Advent of Christ the King at 3 on the 9th).  Check out how they named their ensemble...

A Vinaccesi Weekend

In the ever-so-infrequent land of my occasional blog, it's time for yet another quick and last-minute  announcement...for my Baroque group, the Vinaccesi Ensemble.  Our June series is in full swing, which in this case means concerts in Berkeley, Santa Rosa, and SF, plus a CD release celebration.  Here's the low down....

After our much-loved archlute player, Sarge Gerbode, decided to focus on the revisions to a new edition of his book on metapsychology, Beyond Psychology, we are thrilled to welcome a new and fabulous plucked instrument player (say that five times fast if you can), Adam Cockerham, who will be playing theorbo and Baroque guitar in our June concerts.   The rest of the group is the same as before: Kindra Scharich, mezzo, Jonathan Smucker, tenor, Kirk Eichelberger, bass, Hallie Pridham on Baroque cello, Susie Fong on harpsichord, et moi.  Welcome, Adam!

Adam recently earned his Master's degree from the SFCM, where he won the concerto competition with the Vivaldi Lute Concerto.  You can hear him play the slow movement from it this weekend.

Curious about the rest of the program? There's more Vivaldi, Scarlatti, Monteverdi, Strozzi and more... Check it out here.

And the schedule?

Voices of Venice, Saturday, June 1 8 p.m., Trinity Chamber Concerts, 2320 Dana St., Berkeley $15/10
Post-concert, come and join us for an hour of celebrating our new CD at the Musical Offering, 2430 Bancroft, Berkeley.  Food, beverages, CDs for signing and sale...should be fun ;)!

Voices of Venice, Sunday, June 2, 3:30 p.m., Creative Arts Series, 303 Stony Point Rd., Santa Rosa, $15.
Catch a podcast of our interview with the knowledgeable Charles Sepos on KRCB in Santa Rosa, on his program "Curtain Call" last week here.

And if only San Francisco will do for you, we'll be performing a shortened version of the program on Tuesday, June 11 at 12:30 p.m., at Noontime Concerts, a great series at Old St. Mary's Cathedral, 660 California St.

Hope one of those will work for my ever-patient blog readers who are in the region by the Bay.

What I'm reading: Vigilant by James Alan Gardner, sci fi.  This is a sequel to his Expendable and an interesting read. Also the second book by Andrea Camilleri in his popular and beautifully-written Inspector Montalbano (Sicilian) mystery detective series (translated by Stephen Sartarelli).

What I'm listening to: Are you kidding?  I can't get the music for this weekend's concerts out of my head!
What I'm studying: ditto. :)

A last-minute weekend thought here...

Don't feel like fighting the Bay--to-Breaker crowds in SD or at BFD in the South Bay?

 

Well,  then,  have I got an event for you: join the JMPP-the fabulous Dale Tsang-Hall on piano,  the wonderful Adaiha  MacAdam-Somer on cello,  and me-in San Jose , for "New, Forbidden,  and Forbidden," our season finale.  New music by David Garner, Laura Schwendinger , Elena Ruehr, Gabriela Lena Frank,  and Ruth Lomon. Forbidden and forgotten music by Edwin Frost,  Vitezslava Kapralova, and Alexander Zemlinsky. 3 p.m. 

Yet another shameless plug among many,  but hope to see some of you there:-)!

Two wonderful musicians: George Mesterhazy and Zheng Cao

In the universe of my very occasional blog, here's a very much belated post about a colleague and marvelous jazz pianist, plus a slightly less belated post about another wonderful musician and talented mezzo-soprano.

I met George Mesterhazy through a Mensa-musician friend, a trombone player named Herb Roselle who thought we'd enjoy knowing each other and talking music, and connected us.  Herb was right...and I had the pleasure and privilege of hearing George play live in San Francisco a couple of years ago.  Such a special player, arranger, and composer!

George passed away in his sleep in April 12, 2012 (yes, over a year ago: I'm embarrassingly delinquent in this post, with my apologies to all), and Herb has given me permission to post this clip of a soulful, lyrical Tennessee Waltz that he recorded when George let him put a digital recorder inside George's piano as he played.

Enjoy...

Another inspiring, generous, and fabulous musician passed away this year on Feb. 12 after a long battle with cancer: mezzo-soprano Zheng Cao. Formerly an Adler Fellow and long associated with SF Opera, Zheng premiered Bonesetter's Daughter (operatic setting of the wonderful Amy Tan novel) and was beloved among audiences and colleagues for her passionate performances and warm, rich mezzo-soprano voice.  There's an open Facebook group as a memorial to her, Zheng Cao celebration, and a public memorial is planned on June 24 at 3 p.m.  Hear her warm, rich portrayal of "You'll never walk alone" in 2011.

Two beautiful stars in the musical firmament for us all to keep alive in our hearts.

What I'm listening to: Salamone Rossi's madrigals and canzonettas; Barbara Strozzi duets, especially "Begl' occhi"; Elena Ruehr, David Garner, and Laura Schwendinger, Ruth Lomon.

What I'm studying: Ruth Lomon, Viteslzava Kapralova, Gabriela Lena Frank,  Edwin Geist and David garner for the  upcoming JMPP concert (May 19, San Jose).

What I'm reading: Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children; Job by Joseph Roth, The Time Keeper by Mitch Alboum, and Stoner by John Williams.

Just a short post today, as ...the excitement is mounting...because in just two days, Dale (Tsang-Hall), the fabulous pianist of the Jewish Music & Poetry Project, and I will perform the World Premiere of David Garner's Phoenix, to texts by poet Rose Auslaender.  Four short but powerful songs to four witty, ironic poems, focusing on exile and displacement, in a post-Holocaust context.  The concert is timed for this weekend in honor of Yom Hashoah.

The concert will also feature the West Coast premiere of Edwin Geist's 3 Lithuanian Songs and solo piano works by Jewish women composers , Gabriela Lena Frank, Elena Ruehr,  Laura Schwendinger, and Viteszlava Kapralova.  Other composers: Zemlinsky and Golijov.

On a more serious note, this is the concert for which we were received our most recent grant, from the Zellerbach Family Foundation, and for which we've been very grateful to our many supporters, who've helped us commission this piece from fabulous SF composer David Garner.

WHEN & WHERE:  FRIDAY, April 5 at 8:00 p.m. at Old First Concerts in San Francisco (corner of Sacramento and San Francisco).  Tickets: $17/ $14

Hope to see some of my readers there!

Incidentally, Dale and I had the honor and pleasure of joining David Garner's seminar in 20th century song at the SFCM.  Great students, smart, good questions, excellent comments.  We hope they enjoyed having us there as much as we enjoyed getting a chance to talk to them!

What I'm reading: The Lives of Things by Jose Saramago, recommended by a friend;
What I'm listening to: Garner and more Garner, Zemlinsky, Geist, Frank, Schwendinger, Ruehr, Kapralova, and Golijov.
What I'm working on: the same ;)!