Tuesday, December 25, 2012

Conceptually Possible - Christmas and reeds




Christmas day and very nice to be up north with Dad and Jake and even the stupid cat, Diva.  She is happy to be with all of us, very interested in all the new smells and makes the weird, jaw-vibrato-cat-must-kill-bird sounds when she spots the many blue jays on Dad’s balcony feeder.

Sunday, December 23, 2012

Grace - Return from Japan with Dad, Dec 17, 2012


I haven’t written since our return from Japan.  Using the unusual gift of some free time to finally organize my office.  And to woodshed the Berio Sequenza XII, coming up soon.  And visiting with Nic McGegan, here to conduct 5 concerts of Messiah with the Toronto Symphony.  And trying to make a nod towards Christmas...


Sunday, December 16, 2012

Japan with Dad, Dec. 15 & 16, 2012

Photos on Facebook

15/12/12
(previous days' blog)

Rainy morning... still going to go for a run.  I only had to get up once last night to help keep the fire blazing.  As always, my upstairs room is so hot that I am not in any need of extra heat, but must keep in mind that Dad feels the cold so strongly.  It is so hard because he cannot move quickly at all which is the one thing that would keep him warm!

Today many more people arrived to see Dad. Toward the end of the day, a local artist (Fukami-san) arrived to show Dad a special door that had been commissioned by the mayor of the  Tochigi prefecture.


Friday, December 14, 2012

Japan with Dad, 2012


Japan Trip with Dad
December 10/11, 2012

Photo album is on FaceBook

In some way, this journey is a door to the world for me, witnessing the path that my Dad took alone for so many decades.  It is humbling to see the way that his Japanese and Korean friends welcome him, how they honour him yet integrate him into their midst.  How they respect his old age yet still remember the vibrant super hero that he was.  How they quietly try to understand his cryptic humour, explaining the metaphors to one another until the laugh takes over the room.  How candid they are through the veils of multiple languages (the Japanese speak English to the Koreans, some of them understand one another’s languages while not speaking them) and open about their emotions while somehow staying very calm. How much they laugh and how quietly glad Dad is to be in their company.

Wednesday, December 12, 2012

Vivaldi 2012 - Prêt-à-Jouer - 8:00 p.m., Saturday, December 8, 2012 at Walter Hall, University of Toronto



This was the very best Vivaldi celebration that we have done since I first jump-started this event into existence 7 years ago.  Every year I say that it was the best production and insufferable as it seems, I am sure that I have been right every year.


Wednesday, December 5, 2012

Seventh Annual Vivaldi Concert - Pret-a-jouer 2012




We do this every year and it gets bigger and better every year and sometimes we think it is so dammuchwork that we'll never do it again.  Either way, this will be a really special, once-in-a-lifetime experience!

Saturday, December 8 at 8:00 p.m. in Walter Hall at the University of Toronto ---

Sunday, December 2, 2012

FatGurlWannaBeARockStar presents Found Things


Show was wonderful (FatGurlWannaBeARockStar presents Found Things)... my reed was geriatric --- I have NEVER played on such an old reed (one month!  aka 30 days!!);  have been so screamingly busy recently and the two unexpected sight-reading-Don-Quixote concert nights at the symphony killed my last-minute-reed-making-and-learning-new-movement-of-electronic-work Master Plan.