Category Modern Family
Recital II
My father-in-law and brother-in-law have been visiting from Virginia this week, and last night I had the opportunity to play my violin for them for a bit. It was my second little recital ever, the first being back at Christmastime. It was a treat to get to play my instrument for my father-in-law. Faithful readers […]
And All the Boys Sing Mahler Eight
While in Wichita last week, I mentioned my interest in digging up more information on the boys choir in which I participated when I was about ten years old to my mother. So on Christmas morning we took a few minutes to go hunting through our family ephemera for whatever we could find. Though we […]
Inbox Delight
I came home from a long day yesterday to find a lovely present in my e-mail inbox – the accompaniment tracks I asked my pianist sister to record for me! Of course I played my violin before I dealt with e-mail last night, so I didn’t play with them yesterday. How lovely will it be […]
King of the Road
I wrote a post on how I feel about various musical genres a few days back, and with one category in particular I always choose my words carefully – country. I have a nostalgic love for old country music, including folks like Johnny Cash, Loretta Lynn, Hank Williams Sr., Roger Miller, and Dolly Parton. While […]
Between Siblings
Facebook Message Conversation, August 30, 2014: Ryan Libel: I just sent you a present, which is actually a present for ME. I’m hoping you’ll agree to record the accompaniment part for some of my Book 2 songs. No rush – I know you’re super busy – but I think it would be fun to play […]
Fiddler and Family
Teacher is in a production of Fiddler on the Roof, so we’re going to go see her. Since starting lessons with her she’s been in probably 3 or 4 shows but I just haven’t been able to make it work yet. Something about Fiddler is in the air for me anyhow – a friend and […]
The Kodály Method
My musical sister called me Saturday to wish me happy birthday, and as we chatted she made me aware of a pedagogical method about which I’d been clueless – The Kodály (say ko-DAY) Method. Apparently Sister and Brother-in-Law are prepping to host a fellow who’s doing some intensive study on the Method at a nearby […]
The Dave Matthews Band
One good thing about my lack of musical passion over the years is that I’ve never spent any energy on hating popular acts the way some people seem to need to do. Justin Bieber? Never heard one of his songs. Brittney? Same. Going further back in time we can look at New Kids on the […]
Unexpected Delivery
Nana sent me a CD. It’s of the family-compiled variety, and the first track on it is “The Dream Man’s Train,” a song with a provenance unlike any other I know. My great-grandmother (Granny Pat) used to sing it to us kids as kind of a lullaby, and Nana tells me that Granny’s mother passed […]
Ryan Libel 