After Ariel sang her first four notes, I was shocked to think she was lip-syncing! What? The Eastern Shore Repertory Theatre (ESRT) is known for their live performances using children and few adults in our community. But hold on . . . as she continued the enchanting song, and I realized — wait, could it […]
Memorial Day — The Meaning of Taps
Memorial Day will be celebrated this weekend with ceremonies across the United States. Often, the traditional “Taps” will be played signaling the somber end . . . the end of the day, the end of soldier’s lives. The origins of the song are mingled with legends and folk tales, so it’s difficult to find hard […]
Prince, Elizabeth . . . and Fred
Well, were you as shocked as I was to hear yesterday’s news about the untimely death of Prince? He was definitely my generation’s bad-dude of hot pop/rock/funk. There was a girl in my sorority who dropped out of school to follow Prince around to all of his concerts one semester. Although we all loved Prince, […]
A Dinah Washington Valentine
One of my favorite Alabamians is the Queen of Blues, Dinah Washington. Born in Tuscaloosa in 1924 as Ruth Lee Jones, Dinah rose to fame in the 1950’s with her earthy voice that thrilled fans, but baffled and often irritated the critics because she was able to bounce from one genre to the next with […]
The day I sang with a jazz band
I had always heard the rumor that the street performers in New Orleans had to audition and/or obtain a permit of some sort, but I recently learned it’s a little more lenient than that. I guess that’s why I was pulled out of the crowd to join a fabulous jazz band. No standards at […]
Pagliacci at the Mobile Opera
What a fabulous experience my son and I had at The Mobile Opera‘s production of Pagliacci. We were fortunate to be invited to the dress rehearsal where my son was allowed to take these beautiful photos, and an added benefit was the lyrics gave a boost to his new study of Italian. At one point, […]
Concert time for the Baldwin Pops!
Oh, how we love the Baldwin Pops! Many of you live in a large city where you have access to professional symphonies and although we have the Mobile Symphony across the bay, our smaller community in Baldwin County has the Baldwin Pops Band. Founded in 1997 and made up of volunteer musicians, the […]
Find your Steinway
“If you could have any power, talent or ability, what would it be?” This was the question asked by friends over dessert one night. After thinking for a moment, I decided that aside from having the power to time travel (hello, young Elvis) I would like to be able to play the piano like Harry […]
Operation Lawrence Welk
When we’re home on a Saturday evening, and everyone is scattered around the house doing their own thing, I like to slip over, grab the remote control and turn the TV to the PBS station and crank up The Lawrence Welk Show. You should see the teenagers come running out of their rooms, faces filled […]
Palm Sunday
Palm Sunday is an exciting time in Christian churches around the world. It’s the start of Holy Week which leads into Easter. Children in our church, as well as many other churches, traditionally wave palm branches at the beginning of the service to signify the palm branches that were waved by the crowds, welcoming Jesus […]