Professor Carol
Every semester we receive questions asking how students should approach the “Putting It All Together” sections in the Discovering Music text. Many of you know that each unit contains a set of projects organized around three principles: traditional academic research; exercises in comparison and contrast; and … Read more
I’m spending my birthday in Central Eastern Europe this year. We’re coming into the final stretch of our tour, leaving Vienna, enjoying Bratislava for an overnight, and then reveling in our last three days together in Prague. We’ve visited palaces, cathedrals, monuments, and castles galore. … Read more
The bells are ringing at 6 p.m. in Weimar, Germany, as I look directly at the dome of a tiny Russian Orthodox church. This church is so small it would fit inside a lecture room at a university. It was built in 1860 to be … Read more
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The weather is warm in Germany today, with clear blue skies and a hint of fall scent drifting on the occasional breeze. Lush carpets of summer flowers now sport dry heads that break off in surrender to the changing seasons. Any day, the rainy reality … Read more
I intended to write about a different topic for today’s post, until this article about a Wells Fargo advertisement drew my attention. Poor Wells Fargo Bank. Perhaps they had no idea that the world is full of people who sacrifice their entire lives to be artists. … Read more
It’s “Title Season.” Well, everything has a season. So why not titles? Let me explain. During these weeks, I’m wrestling with the need to submit many titles for upcoming programs, mostly talks at educational conferences or lectures for future Smithsonian Journeys tours. Now, perhaps you … Read more
Do you have this problem? Every summer I construct a beautiful list of all I hope to accomplish. The list bulges with practical tasks, personal goals, and artistic dreams. The problem with my list? Much of it doesn’t get done. Some items never get started. … Read more
My granddaughter just brought me a platter of invisible cookies. When I asked her what kind, she beamed: “48 Cookies!” Then she offered to “peel them” for me. Gobbling them down, I proclaimed their tastiness. “I put onions in them, grandma.” Does this exchange represent … Read more
A few months ago while sailing the Arabian Sea, I was engrossed in a conversation with a new friend about music on the Amazon River. What kind of music? Western Classical music. Panos Karan had given an extraordinary piano recital the night before. It was … Read more
