Ahh! Back under the Texas blue skies.

A whirlwind of events has me here in Dallas for a few weeks, including programs for the Dallas Symphony Orchestra and the Dallas Winds, as well as the first of the three-day Great Homeschool Conventions (Fort Worth), plus a dash out to Phoenix to speak at the National Classical Education Symposium. In between all of this will be far too many dashes out to El Fenix for platters of longed-for Tex-Mex. 

Now don’t get me wrong. I am delighted to be positioned in our new life in the Tar Heel State. North Carolina has deep roots for me, dating back to my years in graduate school at The University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill as well as an intense time at the North Carolina School of the Arts in the early 1970s. NCSA at that time was small and almost experimental in its atmosphere. 

Now, The University of North Carolina School of the Arts (new title) has expanded and remodeled to the point that I cannot recognize a single spot on campus. Not a building looks familiar. But one place is familiar: the office of Dr. Michael Dodds—for many years my colleague in the music history department of Southern Methodist University and a close family friend. In those days, his family and ours came together regularly. 

Then he took a position as a professor at UNCSA in Winston-Salem. Thirteen years later, we’ve arrived here too. Now, wonderfully, we live in the same city and are reviving our tradition of Sunday night suppers together. Our kids may be grown, and little grandchildren on both sides may be running around, gleefully at play, but it’s as if no time has passed. Our reunion has brought us much joy.

For those who have taken Exploring America’s Musical Heritage or Early Sacred Music, Dr. Dodd’s podcast (follow the link) will bring you a happy reunion. Dodds, after all, provided key commentary in both courses and was instrumental in setting up our connections to the Moravian Music Foundation and facilitating the use of the Bethabara Chapel for recording he and I did of a violin/organ piece by the 18th-century Moravian composer Friedrich Wilhelm Riedt.

I have to say, Michael is one of the smartest guys I’ve ever known. Simultaneously, he is one of the most down-to-earth and empathetic of people. (Those qualities don’t always go together.) His scholarly work is intensely cerebral, yet his conversations overflow with contagious enthusiasm. Hence, we decided to share some of discussions that have arisen since the return of the Dodds-Reynolds soirées.

Seriously: how many people can you name who have read the Chronicles of Narnia fourteen times (although perhaps there is a group of folks who share that distinction)? It is made more interesting if you take into account the fact that Michael grew up in some remote spots as a child of missionaries. He more than once regaled his SMU students with tales of his childhood antics on the Amazon (the river, not the internet retailer). Some of these tales involved alligators. Or was it crocodiles?

We began with our two-part podcast with a discussion of The Chronicles of Narnia and medieval cosmology and ventured into numerous topics in Part 2.

With Michael’s focus on Medieval and Renaissance theory, plus his sterling talents as a composer, violinist, and conductor, any conversation with him is bound to be a pleasure. I hope you’ll enjoy this podcast.