My Musical Journey

    I'm just sort of wandering through photos of places I've been in search of musical experiences. I've sung a Sunday morning Mass at the Basilica San Marco. I've sung in Carnegie Hall. I've sung Eastern Orthodox and Folk music with a Bulgarian choir. In 2006, I'm going to be part of a choir in residence at Christ Cathedral, Oxford.  Oh, and I've rung handbells in St. Louis, but I don't have pictures of that.  I'm going to see if some of my fellow ringers will lend me some.

    I play oboe. That's what I do...so why all this singing? Well, because hanging out with singers and singing in choirs and LEARNING MY PART and being able to sight read have gotten me invited on a bunch of really cool trips.  I think it's important.  We don't have a lot of music history in this country; this country just isn't that old.  I think we should know about the heritage we do have.  I think we should know about the musical and artistic heritage of Europe.  And I think the best way to retain that information is to have been there.

    Besides, singing gives me a different perspective on what I do. Singers have a tool that no oboist will ever have. They have a text.

    Just as way of background, here are some pictures of my own home church.  It was established in 1843, which in this country sounds really old.  In Europe, that's not even broken in good yet.  I'm still trying to learn how to focus while using the exposure compensation.  Hmm....

The Apse	One of Many Side Windows

The Baptismal Font