Americans will consume 818 hot dogs every second from Memorial Day to Labor Day. I’m not sure who figures these things out….but I do know that this is the season most of us take time out to do things outside the realm of music. If you haven’t been to a Cubs game,...
I like this quote by Martin Luther King that I recently read, “Everybody can be great. Because anybody can serve." Though as a musician, we might be content to just enjoy the experience of learning and performing beautiful music, often our responsibilities entail much...
The temple of Artemis was one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World and had taken two centuries to build. One hundred and twenty seven columns of white marble enclosed an enormous marble statue of the goddess herself. Artemis seemed immortal. Yet she has long...
Five centuries before Christ, Greek philosopher Anaximander constructed the first map. He made Miletus - a city in western Turkey where he lived – the center of the world. Perhaps his decision was less ego than experience. How tempting it is to consider our lives...
March 1, 2019 | Judy Kohl David Brooks of the New York Times had a piece this week about the “silent Pearl Harbor” going on in this country because of “our 60 year experiment with hyper-individuals.” He laments, “There is a lot of emphasis in...
Recently, I’ve been thinking about the in-between moments of life. These are usually considered unimportant transitions during which nothing happens, as we aren’t completing a task or discovering a new insight. Yet, one moment is really no more important than the...
For me, it seems like along with my annual reading of Christmas cards (which I still send and love to receive), I read a lot of articles commending gratitude. We were reminded that not only does God expect our gratitude, but listing our blessings improves our outlook;...
Our Hymn Festival of Global Hymns and Songs held on Sept 16th was a wonderful way to begin a very exciting year of programming for the North Shore Chapter. Royce Eckhardt prepared a varied program of hymns and songs from around the globe and left us wishing the...
Can you hear Tom Bodett’s welcoming voice in the Motel 6 commercials - “We’ll leave the light on for you”? That is the message I want to clearly communicate as we begin this new season of programs for our North Shore Chapter. In the busyness of life, it is easy...
We’ve had a wonderful year celebrating our 60th anniversary as the North Shore Chapter of AGO. Hopefully you have been able to join us for at least some of the events as they have included such a variety of programs. This year, we had the opportunity to...
Wow – my last dean’s column. I just looked through the archive of dean’s columns and saw that my first dean’s column, in September of 2013, noted that we were beginning our 55th season. And as we all know, we just finished an entire season of celebrations for our 60th...
What a magnificent final anniversary celebration we had this past Sunday, first with a dean’s recital at First Presbyterian Church of Evanston and then a delightful banquet and program at the Crystal Ballroom in Evanston. Please make sure to scroll down to read a...