Bath Jubilee 2013

Last year I signed on to music direct a yearly show for the Chocolate Church in Bath, ME. This is the Hot Chocolate Jubilee that Martha Mayo and Co. have to gather local talent in a variety show to raise money for the church and yearly events. I am happy to be a part of it, but this approaching week will see a rehearsal every night and shows all weekend-- my hands are already aching a bit.

Here is the poster for the show-- I opted out of buying a sweatshirt with this design because I didn't see a piano player on it (just kidding).

Here is a Saturday morning rehearsal-- we had these for over a month and the last one was today.

More of the same.

Here is the chorus with their director. I hope I don't let them down in the heat of battle!

I look forward to a speedy week of rehearsing and smooth sailing for the show. This is a great cast of caring people and I know if we work together everything will be fine.

Good luck to everyone!

Come see the show! (to everyone else)

Media Blog

Hard to believe, but I never thought about releasing videos and audio through my blog. It seems like the best way to do things until the site gets a major overhaul.

I will be making a few demos of pieces I have played for years but never found the time to record. I also hope to record a few lessons and music philosophy onto here to save from the same old humdrum of reading text.

Here's to a bright future!

Thanks!

Pay it Forward

This will be brief, but all the more effective.

We have all heard the saying "pay it forward", to refer to positive deeds that are not reciprocated back to the original doer but reallocated to a new person-- or in other words, pass along a similar good deed to someone else in need. How often do we do this? Why don't we do it more?

Let's think about this... Someone buys you a gift as a good deed and immediately you are thinking about how you want to repay the favor. Is that giver also a good receiver? I know that many times I am not. Why not think about someone else who you may meet on your journey who could use a favor? What does the completion of a "giving circle" accomplish-- I will tell you what, nothing! If you are given something and return the favor all good feelings are relegated to two people. But, if you set off the domino effect of paying the good deeds forward (and requesting it of each successive person) then more people will be effected. If those effected really come to believe in what they are doing they will no doubt repeat it and may even look at the world as a different place.

What needs to happen? Cooperation of course. But here is where it gets tough-- we can't expect someone else to initiate the chain, we must do it ourselves. Now I am not proposing to start a life of philanthropy and begin to save for several donations. You can choose to do things for those in need as you mindfully find them and even, surprisingly, to those that have wronged you.

Here is a recent story:

I arrived at work yesterday and parked my car in the mall parking lot where I work. I saw a large truck pull in next to me at an angle and start attempting to drive past to make it to another open parking spot. The space was too small and the truck was too large. The driver was not looking and the truck slid against my mirror as it went past. The back tire of the truck caught on my front and the driver actually applied the gas to slip through, doing further damage. The driver knew what they did and waited with their door ajar and with hand in purse ready to give me an insurance card. I asked if the driver was alright, asked if they knew what had happened, and told them to be more careful with such a large vehicle. They asked if I wanted their insurance and I told them it was alright and to pay it forward.

I realize my little incident was not overly dramatic, but I was put into a position of power and I passed on that power. Now, whether the driver fulfills my request is unknown-- hopefully a conscience comes through and possibly a story attached. There is a general lack of trust in this country and more anger to go around than anything else. We need a new mindset. I would almost say that this should almost be forced upon people in order to better our society. Maybe an accident happens, you get the culprit's license plate, and you make a convincing phone call that threatens charges being pressed unless you are given proof that they pay a good deed forward (it would do something).

How to be a global citizen lesson #1: Be in the right mindset to see things from all sides!

Thank you.