I’m very proud to announce that the Manhattan School of Music (MSM) will be performing a showcase version of Gargoyle Garden as part of their opera outreach program to New York City Public Schools. The roles will be sung by MSM opera department students, and directed by the talented Gordon Ostrowski. MSM will present 6…

When I was in high school and college, I spent many summers marching in drum and bugle corps. One year, I spent the summer living in Boston and marched with the corps The 27th Lancers. This corps’ standard parade song was O Danny Boy. Whenever we marched in parades, the locals knew that we would…

The New York Times ran a piece in this past Sunday’s Arts/Music section about The Metropolitan Opera’s recent program of transmitting live performances on the Met stage to cineplex theaters across the nation and around the world. This program has been widely successful in theaters, with hundreds of thousands seeing either the live performance or a…

Well, I suppose I should weigh in on the kerfluffle surrounding the performance of John Williams’ Air and Simple Gifts at Obama’s inauguration. The first thing that I noticed when the quartet began playing was how loud it was. Then, I noticed that they had microphones. My next thought was, “It looks pretty windy out…

The Astoria Music Society Press is now the official publisher of The Gargoyle Garden, the opera for young people that I composed (with libretto by Jeff LaGreca). The Astoria Music Press offers only online sales of the item. Check it out!

I just returned from a wonderful vacation in Belize. But, just before I left, I got some good news: The Manhattan School of Music has chosen Gargoyle Garden to be their children’s opera for their annual educational outreach program with NYC schools. The good news is that the opera will be performed multiple times to multiple…

I’m presently preparing myself for a holiday visit to Belize, where I hope to do some scuba diving at one of the world’s largest coral reefs! Rebecca, Naomi, and I will all be there from Dec. 6 – 20. In the meantime, I’m working on a large orchestral work to be premiered by the Round…

First they ignore you, then they ridicule you, then they fight you, then you win. —Mahatma Gandhi

Almost 125 years later, the words of Walt Whitman touch me deeply: ELECTION DAY, NOVEMBER, 1884 If I should need to name, O Western World, your powerfulest scene and show, ‘Twould not be you, Niagara – nor you, ye limitless prairies – nor your huge rifts of canyons, Colorado, Nor you, Yosemite – nor Yellowstone,…

Some months ago, this video was all the rage on liberal blogs and websites. Then, after a while, it became a bit passe to invoke it at all. But, I decided to watch it again. You know, it still gets me. I get a little misty-eyed watching it. Go ahead and make fun of me…