Contents:
12/5/21 Cellist Kyle Pearl performers Peter's Cello Suite
12/11/21 Doug Johnson Open Studio
RIP Stephen Sondheim
Dear Friends,
I hope everyone had a holiday weekend filled with light, laughter, loved ones, and good food. Especially as the winter months get so dark so early, it's important to have time together to rest, express gratitude, and work on our winter layers! At the same time, it's important to acknowledge and better understand the origins of this feasting day off, and to shed the myths and propaganda that have surrounded Thanksgiving. Read this excellent article from The Smithsonian Magazine about it. Staring down the hallway of the December holiday hustle, I am excited to share two great, easy ways to interact with powerful art before the truly mid-December plunge.
12/5/21 Cellist Kyle Pearl performers Peter's Cello Suite
At 5:20PM EST, cellist Kyle Pearl will perform, via livestream, my Cello Suite: Los Visitantes de la Noche at a recital of new pieces for solo cello at the University of Miami Frost School of Music in Miami, FL. I'm very excited that this dramatic and challenging piece is finding life again, close to ten years after its premiere. Watch the livestream here, and or click the link to set yourself a reminder now!
12/11/21 Doug Johnson Open Studio
Doug will be selling his wonderful artwork on Saturday, December 11th, 2021 from 9am to 5pm at his studio in Bolton Hill in Baltimore. Come stop by and say hello, browse his excellent art, with small pieces priced to move and larger gorgeous pieces available too. We'll have cookies and hot cider, and even some of Doug's popular calendars left for purchase there! (though it would be advisable to order or reserve yours today! Do that here!). Use the button below to go to the Facebook event for more information.
RIP Stephen Sondheim
Black Friday 2021 marked the passing of a composer whose music and lyrics I have deeply loved since I was in my early teens. Stephen Sondheim's music has had an enormous impact on my own creative development, on my development as a human being, on my relationship with my younger sister, on my exploration of jazz and improvisation. It feels maudlin to say that someone you have never met has changed your life, but it is true. Despite commercial ups and downs, the artistic achievement of his work is unparalleled in the realm of musical theater. More important than any posterity, though, I am grateful for the music and drama which Sondheim created, and for the experiences which his music served as the catalyst for which have made my own life richer and more beautiful.
Keep practicing safe health measures. Just when we think we're out of the woods, we have to go back in again. Stay safe and healthy everyone.
Best,
-Peter