What I Learned About the Coolest Mashup Ever: The Stroh Violin
During my many years as a musician, I spent all my time at the back of the orchestra. I wasn’t hidden behind the other players for lack of talent, but…
Two Nights, Three Bands
This week good things came in threes. I was lucky to attend concerts by three fantastic bands: Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue, St. Paul & The Broken Bones, and Pink…
Scandinavian Summer
A story of summer and winter has haunted me since I was a little girl. One afternoon our elementary class gathered for an assembly in the school gymnasium. The occasion,…
My July with Tidal
I became an expert at packing jewel cases back in the years we were moving to Italy, NYC, and other apartments in between. The trick to packing an extensive CD…
Old and New: Tsugaru-jamisen Rock
I will never forget walking down the streets of Turin, Italy, with my husband, in search of classical Japanese koto and shakuhachi music. One Italian music seller, eager to help…
New Heart, Only a Heartbeat Away
During my teen years, when kids form deep attachments to their favorite bands, I was forming deep attachments to classical orchestral music. I bought every album I could find by…
Am I a fan of One Direction?
One warm night in April, my husband called me out of the bathroom. I came, dripping toothpaste, to see what all the fuss was. The fuss was Harry Styles performing…
The Phantom of the Opera Made into a Movie!?
Lately as I've been falling asleep, melodies learned by heart in childhood have been playing in my head. As a girl I was totally and completely obsessed with the musical,…
A Whole New Experience: Sgt. Pepper’s Remixed
This Memorial Day we were home cooking ramen while listening to NPR podcast, All Songs Considered. The host interviewed Giles Martin, who just remixed a super deluxe edition of Sgt.…