After living in Western North Carolina for thirteen years, this feels as much like home as any place to me. But, I still have connections to other places that I’ve lived; and this year, I was able to return to some of my favorite former homes, and make some music too.
In October, I traveled back to Portland (my hometown) and the University of Oregon in Eugene. Although I was officially there to perform at the College Music Society National Conference, it was the perfect opportunity to visit family and friends, as well as perform recitals in both Portland and Eugene. It
was wonderful to reconnect with two of the most influential people in my life: my middle school band director and high school clarinet teacher, Stan George, and my undergraduate clarinet teacher, Wayne Bennett. (That’s Wayne in the picture of me showing off his expert dancing skills after my concert at the UO School of Music’s Beall Hall.)
In July, I will perform at ClarinetFest 2010 which is going to be held at the University of Texas in Austin, where I lived for seven years when I did my doctorate. Not only will I get the chance to commune with the great people of the clarinet world, but I also get to visit with the other clarinet gurus of my life: Richard MacDowell (at UT Austin) and Michael Webster (Rice University), whom I studied with in Boston.
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