I had been thinking about Donald Hall, wondering how he was getting on. That usually means: pay attention. Twenty years ago, I wrote a song cycle for soprano and piano based on Hall’s baseball writings. In the Country of Baseball, a title I borrowed from one of...
BOBBY VEE IS DEAD I didn’t know he was a Minnesotan, born in Moorhead. According to Chris Riemenschneider’s obituary in the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Robert Thomas Velline and his band “were recruited to fill in for Buddy Holly at the Moorhead stop of the Winter...
August, 2016 As a kid, I enjoyed the syndicated column of Sidney J. Harris (1917-1986), which appeared on the same page with Ann Landers and Erma Bombeck. Like those writers, Harris helped you navigate the real world with insight and humor. One of his regular features...
This coming Wednesday, April 20, 2016, The Schubert Club will welcome the Welsh bass-baritone Bryn Terfel back to Saint Paul. There is no better ambassador for Welsh song—for song, period—than Terfel. That’s “Terrrvel.” (For pronunciation help from actual humans, I go...
I entered the party on eagles’ wings. A noted Constitutional originalist had received the ultimate justice that awaits us all. But a disapproving look from my more judicious friend Haley quickly brought me back to earth. After all, who am I to enjoy the demise of...
