… And MORE Star Trek!

Well, as might be expected, my summer 2016 travel plans have undergone some adjustments.  And the odds are quite high that there will be other changes (hopefully only minor–and better option–ones) even as RB and I are on the road. In this case, I’ve added Riverside, Iowa, as my first stop so I can attend …

Afterthoughts about Goin’ West 2014

This is the map of my 16-day, Goin’ West 2014 trip: This surpassed my previously longest car trip from Grinnell to Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada, by a whole 17 miles!! I stuck pretty closely to my original route, with some new additions–especially Little Bighorn National Park and North Cascades National Highway–and only two major deletions.  …

Ease on Down the Road (Day 4)

Nearly bit off more than I could chew today. I’d spent several hours in the gracious company of Eugene Simpson, with whom I discussed several research approaches to Hall Johnson’s compositional philosophy and ways I should prepare for a much more extended visit and study of the Johnson collection. I then visited and got a …

Ease on Down the Road (Day 2 & 3)

No post on Friday because I didn’t really stop long enough to do one. RB and I went from Port aux Basques, Newfoundland, to the outskirts of Philly (1284 miles) in about 36 hours. See the route at http://mapq.st/q2Puzi. Along the way, I had to stop at an Esso gas station, a holdover from years …

Ease on Down the Road (Day 1)

Since I got in so late last night, it was after one a.m. before everything other than what would be needed to dress in the morning was packed.  I concluded that I didn’t have a snowball’s chance of dragging myself out of bed at 3:30 a,m., which I’d need to do to allow enough time to …

At the Symposium (Day 4)

Sorry I didn’t post yesterday, but I didn’t get back to my room until nearly midnight!!  And that was early because the party was just getting started when I left! The last day of the symposium was cold–at least to me–with intermittent rain.  The presentations that day were interesting.  It’s amazing the sounds that the …

At the Symposium (Day 2–or is it 3?)

Tuesday was very busy.  Last minute details that always seem to crop up.  Sessions were interesting with lively discussion, especially a couple that dealt with Newfoundland musical history. My presentation came that afternoon.  I’d put together a slideshow with pix and musical examples, then ended up not using most of it.  Surprisingly, when I asked …

At the Symposium (Day 1 Pt. 2)

To say I woke up tired would be an understatement.  I’d set the alarm for 6 a.m. in a useless exercise.  Between that and managing to rehearse with the pianist, I missed the morning sessions.  The afternoon ones were primarily geared to choral music, so I’m afraid I didn’t get much out of them.  Hopefully, …

At the Symposium (Day 1, Pt. 1)

Good morning! After the ship–anything big enough to hold semis is not a ferry, IMO–docked in Port aux Basques, Newfoundland, on Sunday morning, RB and I disembarked and started our 809 km (555 miles according to my GPS–btw, those who have been trying to get me to buy one for years now have permission to …