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Let your mercy be on us
I was using a microphone, though I probably didn’t need it. I was just doing my job, singing a psalm like I do every weekend. I was exhausted. The weight of difficult months had leached energy from my...
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Grateful for faith
I often sing without thinking. So many songs have been on my rotation for so long that I have stopped noticing them, and even though I once examined the lyrics to be sure they fit me, I now spit them...
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Just as it is, right now
With my eyes closed on my mat, I hear the teacher’s voice invite me to rest my hands over my heart. “Take a moment of stillness to set an intention for your practice today.” I have heard these words...
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Why me?
A year ago I took my younger choir to sing in the beautiful chapel of the old Jesuit retreat center outside of Boston. Another example of Jesuits adapting to meet current needs, the center has morphed...
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Singing through the Messiah
Voice lessons are all about best use of the voice – catching overtones, tuning perfectly, collaborating with accompanists, singing powerful, gracefully, cleanly, and with control. Until this week I...
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What I’m into, March/April 2015
Another surgery, a wedding, settling into a new house, and rehearsing a show that opens this weekend: March and April were very busy. Here’s what I was into the last two months. A Fighting Chance by...
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Relationship in Music Ministry
This week I am sharing some of my remarks from Notre Dame Vision’s inaugural Summer Conference for Liturgical Music Ministers. Today’s thoughts were part of a workshop on Accompanying Fellow Disciples....
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How must we grow to serve?
This week I am sharing some of my remarks from Notre Dame Vision’s inaugural Summer Conference for Liturgical Music Ministers. Today’s thoughts were part of a workshop on Accompanying Fellow Disciples....
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Honoring our skills in ministry
This week I am sharing some of my remarks from Notre Dame Vision’s inaugural Summer Conference for Liturgical Music Ministers. Today’s thoughts were part of a workshop titled Beauty Ever Ancient, Ever...
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A Soul that Shouts: My guest post for Marian Way in the Modern Day
When Celeste from Marian Way in the Modern Day reached out about a guest post about Mary, I knew exactly what I wanted to revisit: A post about the Magnificat from a few years ago. A revised version is...
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Giving thanks for playing the piano poorly
That my parents never got me piano lessons is one of the great tragedies of my childhood…which of course means that I had it pretty good. With that acknowledged, I’ll admit I always wished I were a...
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My one word for 2016: Create
Looking back over the archives, I realized it has been three years since I last wrote about choosing one intentional word to guide my year. The great team at OneWord365 encouraged me to do it in the...
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What I’m into (March 2016)
I’ve been way overdue on sharing What I’m Into the last few months, since I’ve mostly been into running Boston Singers’ Resource, performing in The Light in the Piazza and Company, and teaching a few...
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Maybe artists aren’t crazy after all
Not long ago, getting ready for an event at which I had to dress and act professionally and convince people of my qualifications, I was hit with a wave of insecurity. I was in the shower (where many...
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Riposo: The value of taking a break
This blog began in 2008 as a travel blog while I travelled to a small town in Italy to sing opera for five weeks. It was on that trip that I finally learned the value of the riposo, the Italian mid-day...
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What I’m into, July 2016
I can’t believe August is here already, but I refuse to allow that to auger the onset of fall. It is still summer, darn it, and if this last month of break is anything like the first two, it should be...
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What I’m into, August 2016
Summer ends now; now, barbarous in beauty… you didn’t think I would cruise into September without quoting Hopkins, did you? The days are getting shorter and the evenings cooler, and I’m linking up as...
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What I’m Into, September 2016
As it often does, September flew by, full of back-to-school activity, rehearsals starting up for different groups, auditions and meetings filling days and nights. I’m always so grateful for Leigh...
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The thing worth chasing: on saying goodbye to a friend
I get awfully emotionally seeing the people I love receive the Eucharist. When I was quite ill with Crohn’s, before surgery put me into remission, I was often unable to stand through mass. I would...
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Giving thanks for playing the piano poorly
That my parents never got me piano lessons is one of the great tragedies of my childhood…which of course means that I had it pretty good. With that acknowledged, I’ll admit I always wished I were a...
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