(This is 7th in a series that begins with A Night in Steerage) Burnham-on-Sea is a small resort town on Bridgewater Bay, which is itself a dip in the Bristol Channel.  I was here in 2009 when Mervyn was alive and Pam was herself.  I stayed with them in their semi-detached house on Love Lane.   Read the Rest…

On the corner of NW 95th and 6th NW in Seattle is a duck pond. I’ve known about it since 1987 when I bought my first house in the Greenwood area of Seattle, not too far from where I live now. Back in the 80s, three of my piano students –known by the child whose  Read the Rest…

I yelled at the Chorale. In 23 years of directing the Chorale I never remember yelling at them. I am often irritated by them but I don’t let that show. I’m a singer and I know how to take a deep breath. I often raise my voice over them to get their attention, but that’s  Read the Rest…

The OK Chorale lost one of our long time singers three days ago. Quite unexpectedly, Hal, our resident funnyman, died in his sleep. He was cheeky, irreverent, and a reliable bass with a lovely voice. When I got the news, I went trawling through my blog posts to find the ones he had starred in.  Read the Rest…

My two choirs began last week. I’m not sure what prescience caused me to be more than usually prepared with the music, the schedule and the quarter routine but I shudder to think what the first rehearsals would have been like if I hadn’t been. The OK Chorale has been singing for 23 years. It’s  Read the Rest…

This post might also be entitled “The Life of an Alfred Piano Course, Lesson Book One,” something only a piano teacher can fully appreciate.  This particular copy has sat on my piano rack off and on for 15 years, thanks to the Seattle Mennonite Church, which has supplied me with a stream of students over  Read the Rest…

I have a seven year old piano student—Alex– who is obsessed with leprechauns. This year she is excited by them. Last year, when she was afraid of them, she asked me if I had ever seen a leprechaun. “Oh yes,” I said. “There was one in the house yesterday morning.” Her eyes bulged. “What did  Read the Rest…

The week after my Confining Illness was almost harder than the week itself.  There was a point what with the obscenely sore throat and conjunctivitis in both eyes that I realized couldn’t even pretend to work.  After that I almost enjoyed not having to do anything except occasionally forage for food.  Feeling well enough to  Read the Rest…

The All Present/OK Chorale Holiday Concert and Cookie Exchange took place over the weekend.  The actual Cookie Exchange was demoted to Cookie Potluck as in the end no one had the stomach for the politics of a formal cookie exchange. “Whose idea was this cookie exchange anyway?” asked Susan, my lovely assistant with All Present  Read the Rest…

When I tried to picture the logistics of the recent Summer Musicale featuring both The OK Chorale and All Present my mind tended to shut down. Working with either group can feel like trying to juggle Jell-O cubes. For this event we sang at the Community Hall at the Phinney Neighborhood Center.  It has great  Read the Rest…