When considering “blind auditions” for orchestras I began to wish opera companies were forced to cast their operas based on blind auditions. A blind audition means the auditors do not know anything about the musician ...

The author of a thought piece in the New York Times wants to get rid of blind auditions for top tier orchestras in order to create more diversity in orchestras. A blind audition means the ...

Well, we are back to square one with the reopening of the county, and that is bad news for San Diego classical music. The good news is that the restriction on concerts is forcing our ...

Having spent the last eight days in the Santa Cruz Mountains and having walked many a forest path, I began to consider the greatest music inspired by nature. What follows is by no means a ...

I’m spending some time in the Santa Cruz mountains and a redwood forest. A redwood forest is often compared to a cathedral and for good reason. I must admit there is something of a sacred ...

There are a multitude of stories currently presenting the idea that Beethoven was black. The claim is that he had a Moorish background through his mother’s side. His mother’s family came from Flanders which was ...

Since Father’s Day is coming up, let’s look at some operatic fathers and decide if they deserve a Father’s Day card or not. First up is Rigoletto from Verdi’s Rigoletto. We see Rigoletto as a ...

I’ve been sitting in on some voice lessons at the studio of a good friend. In the course of the conversation between lessons, the topic of sports performance came up, and then we realized the ...

What could an early 20th Century British composer and a 19th century American poet possibly have to say about the context of police brutality in early 21st Century America? First of all, I am growing ...