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Caregiver Blog Gone Awry
I’m not a person for whom the word “serendipity” yields feelings of excitement and curiosity. I’m a planner: I like to know what’s going to happen next and hold as dear the illusion that I know how things are going to turn out. So, one of the reluctantly learned...
Max Janowski, High Holidays, and the Reproducible Choir Model
I turned 62 a few weeks ago. The night before my birthday, while walking the dog, I realized that it has been 45 years—73 percent of my life—since Max Janowski of blessed memory took a chance on a 17-year-old kid and hired me for the bass section at the Central...
Song Spotlight: Joyous & uplifting: “Hine Ma Tov”
This is a great tune with a lovely sentiment, in a terrific choral arrangement by a really nice guy. In other words, what’s not to like? This song will be familiar to those of you who sang with us during the Fall 2021 session—that crazy time of lockdown, during which...
“African Noel”—A Catchy Tune with Mysterious Origins
Now this is a fun tune! Give "African Noel" a listen, and you can hear why Linda and I wanted to program it—the piece is catchy and has great momentum. Its arranger, Victor Johnson, is one of the most prolific and accomplished arrangers working today. He lives in the...
Guess Who’s Singing Beside You? Ron Hadsall
Ron Hadsall: Pop culture guru, historian and music collector If all you know about Ron Hadsall is that he sings bass-baritone with the Sounds Good Choir in Arlington Heights and the Skokie Community Choir, you don’t know the half of it. This former math teacher is a...
The Value of Forgiveness, Any Day of the Year
Although there’s no confusion, in my mind at least, about the importance of forgiveness, there seems to be quite a bit of confusion about the national acknowledgement of that. My internet search found a “National Forgiveness Week” in June, a “National Forgiveness Day”...