From Richmond to Charlotte (Sorta) to the NC Outer Banks-March 2026
Spirituals in Richmond I had been invited to be a panelist for a discussion of spirituals for the 2026 Society for American Music (SAM) annual conference in Richmond, Virginia, so I decided to add a side trip to the Outer Banks of my home state, North Carolina. It would be only my second visit to the area, when my mother and I made it as far as Buxton, NC, in 2017. Shortly before the trip was scheduled to begin, I saw a Facebook notice that the American Spiritual Ensemble (ASE) was scheduled to perform in Charlotte, North Carolina, the Sunday after the conference. As the departure date neared, however, two events caused me to debate whether I would complete the trip as planned. First, I got an email notification that a different conference had just experienced numerous confirmed cases of COVID. While I had gotten my annual COVID vaccine a…
Business First–AAASA Conference
Usually when I drive, I am free to take as much “stuff” as I want and leave at my convenience. However, I had scheduled a hair appointment in Des Moines because I wanted it to look its best for my presentation. I somehow managed to get out late yet still arrive only ten minutes late despite the heavy traffic. Amanda did her usual great job, and I asked her not to comb it out in the hope that would help my hair hold up until my scheduled time Saturday morning. Wishful thinking, I know, but I had to give it a shot. Anyway, although the drive from Grinnell to Costa Mesa, California, calls for more than a day to cover the approximately 1741 miles, almost all of the trip is on interstates with speed limits up to 80 miles an hour the further west one drives. Plus, I was travelling…
NATS-Tennessee Workshop
It’s always good when I can combine business and a few days of vacation in one trip. Sorry that this posting is being added eight months after the fact, but better late than never, I guess. This was my first journey since the world went on lockdown due to the COVID pandemic. I’d done several virtual events and debated until the last moment whether it was safe for me to go to Tennessee for a face-to-face workshop, even one sponsored by the state chapter of the National Association of Teachers of Singing. Their workshop was scheduled October 22-23, 2021, and was co-sponsored East Tennessee State University, Johnson City. Event information is on their website. Vaccinations and masking protocols were in place by that point, and I felt that with sufficient care, I could minimize the exposure. I had two events scheduled that Saturday. I decided to drive so that I…