Baby Girl (BG, or Beege to those who knew and loved her) our adopted/rescued cat, died this afternoon at 2:45pm after a long and heroic battle with severe IBD, pancreatitis, and a host of other issues.
She was a beautiful cream-colored flame point cat who shared her life with my wife and me for six short months after being rescued from my brother's "care."
We've learned a lot about the bravery of a small cat, the will to live, and that nine lives are never enough.
A picture of our beloved Beege is added to the gallery. Thanks for taking a look, and for thinking for a moment of her - and your loved animal friends.
Planning is the key to success in music, whether it's practicing for upcoming performances or preparing for concerts which seem way off in the future. Plan!
There's a series of performances coming up in April of 2012 I am looking forward to. The music is by Beethoven. First, January 22, I'm joined by baritone Kryztof Biernacki for a performance of "An die ferne Geliebte," then violinist Marguerite Richardson and cellist Shannon Lockwood and I perform the "Ghost" trio. Margerite and I will conclude our concert with the Violin Sonata in C minor.
Later, in April (on the 13th), I join the Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra and conductor Michael Butterman for performances of the Third Piano Concerto.
A week later, April 20, I'll present a recital of four popular sonatas (can you guess which ones?) Pathetique, Tempest, Moonlight, Waldstein.
Finally, the whole project concludes with a release party in September of 2012 of my newest CD, a two-disc set of Beethoven sonatas (including those [...]
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New day ... new year!
Preparing for upcoming performances and revisiting old musical friends (Liszt Second Concerto, Schumann Symphonic Etudes, other solo works by Liszt). Thrilling!
Performances with The Florida Orchestra Wednesday and Thursday, preparing JSO/Opera production of Donizetti's "Elixir of Love" in late January with performance early February.
Have thoroughly enjoyed college football bowl games this season - but now time to get back to "reality."
Hoping your life and work in 2011 is productive and good.
All the best!
SW
Jeez ... don't we all feel as if we're jumping through endless hoops to achieve what somebody else prescribes?
Enough!
... if only it was that easy. hahaaha... NOTHING is ever as easy as it should be.
Shell games are easy when compared to the hoops one jumps through just to maintain the "status quo."
My Mom, who has, admittedly, had a very hard life, and is understandaby bitter and disillusioned and cynical likes to say: "shit in one hand and wish in the other - then look to see which hand is full." Bitter reality. Her message? easy: You can't count on a wish. Thanks, Mom.
You also can't count on hard work to get you anywhere - or anything. "No good deed goes unpunished." That's not just a cynical saying - it's actually true - and I've experienced it.
It's just the way things are.
Jacksonville University hosted the Florida State Music Teachers' Association Concerto, Young Collegiate, and Ensemble competition today. It was a long, challenging day with unexpected rewards.
First, the level of playing by the young artists was astounding. Enviable fearlessness of youth!
... and then I met Maria Gomez. Oh, if you live in the Miami area you might recognize the name. It's a name I will never forget. I had to struggle to fight back tears as I told her how profoundly impressed I was with her student's performance of the first movement of Chopin's E minor Piano Concerto. ... her FOURTEEN YEAR OLD STUDENT'S performance. This young artist, a kid!, played with a sensitivity, a maturity, a command that most people who profess to have these qualities in spades can only dream of.
And best of all, Ms. Gomez is an unassuming, soft-spoken, kind and gentle teacher. I enjoyed watching her listen to her student - flying with each phrase, shaking her head at those powerful [...]
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