Revisiting “The Red Violin”

The lack of performing arts events during this time of shuttered concert halls has brought its own silver lining: the opportunity, indeed, the hunger, to revisit films that incorporate the classical music world and/or its instruments. And you know, reader, which instrument to which I am most partial, right? Step in François Girard’s 1998 The … Read more

Cover reveal: Book 3 of the Ballet Theatre Chronicles

At long last, I’m so happy to reveal the cover for Book 3 of the Ballet Theatre Chronicles! Ballet Orphans is a prequel to the series, same location (San Francisco), same company (West Coast Ballet Theatre), only it’s set twenty years before the other two books. I just loved creating this fascinating backstory. And I … Read more

10 Somber Classical Tunes for a Pandemic

In my last blog I offered you, dear reader, 10 Happy Classical Tunes for a Pandemic. But what if you don’t feeling like listening to “happy” music right about now? You’re in too much pain. Understandable. Been there. It’s that weird state that commonly follows the death of a loved one, or something huge like … Read more

10 Happy Classical Tunes for a Pandemic

It’s a tall order these days to command oneself to be happy and productive. I myself have started and stopped this blog over a dozen times in the past few weeks. Something in me is frozen, distraught, in shock over the same thing everyone else is feeling discomfort and/or trauma over, and even though that … Read more

COVID-19 presents: Worldwide Ballet Class

The world of COVID-19 restrictions introduced itself to me in a rather heavy-handed fashion. On March 6th, San Francisco Ballet opened a new production, Balanchine’s glorious A Midsummer Night’s Dream. I rose the next morning, eagerly anticipating my trip to San Francisco for the weekend to attend two performances. Turning on my computer, I opened … Read more