Life Lessons From Painting: Your Self Portrait is Never Finished
Six months ago, I began talking painting lessons. It has been fascinating, exhilarating, challenging and more than anything, educational.
Art
Music and the Arts: A Privilege For a Lifetime
Something that truly bothers me is when someone believes they have no musical talent or that they used to play as a youngster but gave it up. This is sad because everyone can play music. After all, everyone has music pounding away inside of them in the form of a rhythmically beating heart. That is …
‘Strange Fruit’ to ‘Hey Jude’: Music Protests Large and Small
For my money, WBGO, which airs out of Newark, NJ, is the world’s finest jazz station. Founded in 1979, WBGO is “a publicly supported cultural institution that preserves and elevates America’s music: jazz and blues.” Due to the wonders of the internet, you can livestream WBGO anywhere in the world. In this case, I was …
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Guns for Teachers? How About More Violins for Students?
Originally published in Lancaster Online on May 25th, 2018 As I walked home from the March for our Lives rally for gun control and school safety in Lancaster, Pennsylvania’s Binns Park, being one of millions of participants in the estimated 800 events worldwide, I couldn’t help but think, “Maybe…possibly…this time will be different.”The typical …
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Music as the Glue of the Core Curriculum
An ongoing debate within the educational community relates to how to classify physical education classes, athletic programs (in particular, football) and music programs within the academic curriculum. Specifically, the question relates to whether these programs should be considered “extracurricular” or “core” activities. The purpose of this essay is not only to examine that question, but …
Reflections on a Return to Vinyl (Side One)
My daughter handed me a large box. “Dad, it’s time you returned to vinyl.” I quickly agreed. Then I heard the whisper from that dark spot deep in the back of my wounded psyche. I’d heard that whisper before. This wasn’t the first time I’d considered returning to vinyl. She had been doing vinyl for …
Music, Creativity and the 21st Century Workforce
In our increasingly fast paced, interconnected global economy and world community, every issue we face is becoming more complex. Whether these issues are local or global and regardless of whether they relate to health care, the environment, governance, poverty, science, technology or international relations, the challenges we face in this increasingly interconnected and multilayered world …
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