It was two days before the Great American Eclipse and I still had no plans. It's not that I didn't want to see it; I really, really wanted to see it. In Madison the sun would be 89% eclipsed by…
The holidays are here! There's music. There are decorations. There are presents! But, as the years pass, the old tradition of sending cards is fading away. But, I have to admit that I'm old fashioned and still like to send…
(This is continued from A Day in the Life: Part 2) After a week of improving their play on individual instruments and rehearsing with bands, orchestras, jazz combos and other musical groups, the students are ready to perform in concert.…
(This is continued from A Day in the Life: Part 1) As one o'clock rolls around, the students gather up their instruments and begin to head out to their 1:20 PM classes in Music Hall, Humanites, Ogg, Hamel Music Center…
Since 1929, the University of Wisconsin-Madison has invited young musicians -- middle school students (grades 6-8) and high school students (grades 9-12) -- to participate in its Summer Music Clinic (SMC) program. There they can enjoy all forms of music…
It dawned on me last night, assuming that dawn can happen at night, that I have a difficult time not going out to photograph the moon, especially the full moon. Some people like babies, some people like cats, I've just…
I had difficulty sleeping last night. Christmas is coming and it's unlikely that we will have any happy memories from this crazy corona year. While I was lying quietly in the darkness, suddenly the air turned cold and I heard…
With a lot of time on my hands and only one or two tasks on my to-do list, I thought I'd look through some of my old photographs. My Lightroom photo catalog currently holds 119,124 images, so there might…
I've never been to the Superbowl or the World Series, but recently I was lucky to attend another exciting major world championship. If you guessed the World Champion Cheese Contest, you're right! This biennial event was held in Madison this…