Spent a lovely 90 minutes at the Steinway Piano Gallery on Saturday, listening to a young pianist (and humorist) by the name of Julian Gargiulo. Born in Italy, Julian trained at the Moscow Conservatory and at the Peabody Institute. He now lives in New York, touring the country with a unique blend of piano virtuosity, his own compositions, and a little stand-up humor. Continue reading
Tag Archives: musician
Camerata Ireland Begins U.S. Tour
Members of Camerata Ireland
Camerata Ireland, the all-Irish orchestra founded by Barry Douglas, plays Carnegie Hall tomorrow night. It’s the first stop on a week-long U.S. tour that includes stops in Nashville, the Chicago area, and Indianapolis. They’ll be playing Mozart, Bunting, and works by the Irish composer John Field, who is said to have invented the nocturne form perfected by Chopin.
It’s part of a year-long celebration of Irish culture in the United States sponsored by the Irish tourism department. Continue reading
Filed under Events and Calendar, Inspiration
A Leap of Faith
From time to time, Chuck and I do encounter interesting people. What makes them special is that they have taken a leap of faith which has propelled their lives in new directions, often at midlife. Continue reading
Filed under Inspiration, Returning to Music
Barry Douglas: A Key Source of Personal Inspiration
Barry Douglas
Chance encounters can change your life. That’s what happened to me when I encountered Barry Douglas, almost by accident.
Barry Douglas is a world-class pianist from Ireland, who skyrocketed to fame in 1986 when he captured the gold medal at the Tchaikovsky piano competition. Continue reading
Filed under Inspiration, Musicians of Note, Personal Journey
Why Did You Stop?
Talking with friends over the past few weeks about this blog and its goals, an interesting question has emerged. Why did you stop? Why did music fall out of your life for so long?
There are no easy answers – and everyone’s story is different. But in conversations, we’ve come up with a few possible answers. Continue reading
Filed under Returning to Music
Rediscovering Music in Midlife
The studies are clear. Studying music early in your life can improve academic performance and help kids build confidence.
When we hit our teens, many of us put music aside to pursue our academic careers, start families, and get on with life. If you become a parent, the growth and development of your kids takes precedence — and we sacrifice a lot of time and energy to make sure our kids get a healthy start in life.
For me, becoming an “empty nester” re-awakened old desires: to learn to play the piano, an instrument that I’ve always enjoyed but had never successfully mastered beyond picking out a few notes with one hand. I had played the violin through public school and into college — at one point had considered music as a career — but as the years slipped by, active playing had fallen out of my life. Continue reading
Filed under Personal Journey, Returning to Music
Midlife Musicians 