Over the years at the ranch, we were constantly learning new material and adding new songs to our repertoire. This is significant - because it is commonly believed that people living with dementia are able to recall only the old tunes from their earlier years - and do not learn [...]
Rev. Wintley Phipps was no stranger to us during ranch years. He was a frequent performer with the Gaithers, a Southern Gospel group whose DVD's were so abundant in our household that they had their own library. Today he perfomed at a special memorial service for John Lewis in the [...]
During COVID-19, musicians from Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra recorded themselves playing Beethoven’s “Ode to Joy.” Savor the beauty of the moment created by this music community. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3eXT60rbBVk
In the mid-80’s, I served as an Adjunct Faculty Member at National Louis University in the Chicago area. It was here that I became acquainted with James Ellor, Chair of the Human Service Department, who provided a classroom support service on a weekly basis during my adjunct experience. Today, he [...]
In this concert performed in her living room, she is known as Deborah Henson-Conant. Introduced to her in 2006 via PBS performances on Saturday nights, we knew her then as “The Wild Woman of Harp.” Our DVD library included one of her albums titled “Invention and Alchemy” in which she [...]
I first encountered the work of Oliver Sacks, MD, BC-Neurologist, in the early 2000’s as the “www” was beginning to develop. By this time, Mother and I had been finding great joy singing together daily at the piano for a number of years – beginning in late 1998. He was [...]
Having a season subscription to the Chicago Symphony Orchestra for 35+ years, I looked forward to the return performances of this guest artist. He became a top favorite performer on a long list of guest soloists. Yo-Yo Ma, the renowned cellist, was told at an earlier point in his life [...]
Coronavirus, Cremona: the violinist Lena Yokoyama plays Ennio Moricone on the roof of the hospital. April 17, 2020 Cremona is a city in Italy known for its history of violin-making. The Stradivarius collection can be found at the Violin Museum. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tLwZgg-Zzo8
Kathleen Howland, Berklee College of Music When I was a child, on most Fridays, my dad, mom, brother and I would travel to Cape Cod to visit my grandparents. For my father, this drive would come after a long day of work, during which he had already commuted from our [...]
If there would be just one thing which transformed our intergenerational living experience, it would have been singing together at the piano. One of our song books from Mother's church is titled, Sing the Journey. Thus - the title of this post. Fathomless billows of love Dad’s musical involvement could [...]