Letters From the Editor

"Is this decaf?!" & Other Musings About Change

"Is this decaf?!" & Other Musings About Change

I see so much of myself in TV characters sometimes. I am:

  • The introvert version of Leslie Knope from Parks and Recreation

  • A unique (and admittedly less caffeinated) combination of Lorelai and Rory from Gilmore Girls

  • A more independent (and less whiny) version of David Rose from Schitt’s Creek

  • The brunette version of Miranda Blake from The Mallorca Files (without the British accent)

Steve says I must be earning money from all the licensing deals—sometimes the similarities are uncanny. Like when Lorelai said, "Life's short. Talk fast." Or "I can be flexible, as long as everything is exactly the way I want it."

The Start of Something New

The Start of Something New

I felt it this week when I pulled on my teal Columbia fleece jacket for our morning walk. I noticed it in the cluster of red leaves at the top of the Maple tree on the corner and the baskets of Zestar apples (my favorite) at the farmer's market.

And then Wegmans had a sample of cornbread with hot honey on Saturday morning and all I could think about was a big bowl of Taco Soup and weekend football games (Go Dawgs! Go Bills! 🏈).

Fall is here and with it, a return to work and school rhythms, academic calendars, Gilmore Girls (IYKYK), and pumpkin-spiced-everything.

The One About the Balance Beam

The One About the Balance Beam

The Olympics Primetime coverage has been a nightly ritual in our house these past few weeks—the Women’s 1500m Freestyle (go, Katie Ledecky!), the Men’s pommel horse routines (go, Stephen Nedoroscik!), and of course, Women’s Gymnastics (go, Simone Biles and Suni Lee!).

All of it is impressive—the vault, the floor routines, the high bars—but the balance beam routine takes me right back to grade-school gymnastics classes…

SCENE: World of Gymnastics, Thursday afternoon class, early 1990s

I'm wearing a light pink leotard with silver polka dots. I stare down at my bare feet on the blue mat, then peer around the shoulders of my classmates ahead of me in line to see a camel-brown balance beam that's taller than I am. 

Today, we're doing cartwheels on the balance beam.

The Thing About Ben Franklin...

The Thing About Ben Franklin...

Last week, we celebrated Independence Day here in the U.S. 🇺🇸

We went canoeing with Rory, I made a red, white, and blue charcuterie platter, and we reflected on the meaning of freedom, democracy, and independence and how this plays into our work as musicians and teachers.

And that led me to Benjamin Franklin. 

Franklin was a Founding Father of the United States, signing the Declaration of Independence, the Treaty of Paris, and the U.S. Constitution. There's also the famous story of flying a kite in a thunderstorm with a key attached to test his theory of electricity. 🔑

But it turns out there's a lot more to learn.

The Red Light—We're Live!

The Red Light—We're Live!

I climbed onto the stage, my black patent leather Mary Jane’s clacking across the hardwood floor. I sat down at the Kawai piano and placed my hands in C position. I was performing “A Short Story” from Suzuki Piano School, Vol. 2, which my teacher said was a challenging recital piece (I refused to listen).

I was 10 and perhaps overly confident because as I entered the final section, I caught a glimpse of the audience. The stage lights were bright and the room was dark—too dark to see anyone’s faces, thankfully, but it was impossible to miss the steady red light of the shoulder-mount camcorder my dad had perched on his left shoulder (remember those??).

Courage Is Contagious

Courage Is Contagious

The room grew quiet for a moment when the lights dimmed, but applause quickly broke out as soon as he stepped onto the stage.

This was the ninth and final concert in a year-long journey through the Beethoven Piano Sonatas (all 32 of them) performed by Eastman faculty member Alexander Kobrin.

Since September, he's presented a program of 4-5 sonatas in consecutive order on the 1st of each month, all from memory.

We were about to hear his first attempted public performance of Sonata No. 29 in B-flat major, Op. 106 (known as the Hammerklavier).

Let's Talk About AI

Let's Talk About AI

I watched an online symposium recently about musical creativity and AI and… I have thoughts. 

In one sense, it's incredible how fast the technology is developing, its current capabilities, and its potential in the future.

It's also disconcerting.

There's no denying the powerful capabilities of Generative AI and its potential to support and enable our work as musicians, teachers, thinkers, writers, and creators. But I think it's important for us to consider: Is it helpful or hurtful?

3 Things to Tell You

3 Things to Tell You

Here we are, five weeks into the New Year. 

Maybe you're settled back into your routine or maybe you're still adjusting to the changes this year brought. Maybe you've abandoned your New Year's resolutions (studies indicate that 80% of people have by now) or maybe you're using February as an opportunity to restart. 

Wherever you find yourself, here are three things I've been thinking about recently that may inspire or encourage you in this season:

Buddy-the-Elf Moments in NYC

Buddy-the-Elf Moments in NYC

A few weeks ago, we spent a few days in NYC (our first visit in years!).

The holiday decorations were going up, Central Park was a dreamy late-fall landscape with a distinctly European feel, and I loved noting all the Art Deco details throughout the city (the doors, the signs, the tree grates).

The Holiday Market was in full swing in Bryant Park (side note: have you seen Something From Tiffany's? A great feel-good holiday movie set in NYC) and we saw at least three ice skating rinks and too many hot chocolate stands to count.

There's something magical about New York at Christmas and I found myself caught up in the sights and sounds, the wonder of it all (a little like Buddy and Jovie's date in NYC from my favorite holiday movie Elf).

How One Man Wrote 17,897 Comic Strips

How One Man Wrote 17,897 Comic Strips

This month marks the 50th anniversary of the classic TV special A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving.

Synopsis: Peppermint Patty invites herself and a few friends to Charlie Brown's house for Thanksgiving dinner. The only problem is Charlie Brown can't cook. Still wanting to be a good host, Linus and Snoopy step in to help and together, they serve an unconventional feast of jelly beans, popcorn, pretzels, and toast and learn that maybe Thanksgiving is not about the turkey and mashed potatoes after all.

Maybe you grew up reading the Peanuts in the newspaper or watching the animated shows on TV. Maybe you had a favorite character (Snoopy!) or learned Vince Guaraldi's "O Tannenbaum" on the piano to entertain guests at holiday parties.